The Ref

The Ref (1994)

Director: Ted Demme

Writers: Marie Weiss (story), Richard LaGravenese (screenplay)

Cast: Dennis Leary, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., Glynis Johns, Raymond J. Barry, Richard Bright, Christine Baranski, Adam Lefevre, Bill Raymond, J.K. Simmons

Synopsis:

Cat burglar Gus (Leary) is left stranded in an upscale Connecticut town after his partner Murray (Bright) abandons him during a heist on Christmas Eve. Alone and on the run from the police, Gus takes a married couple, Lloyd (Spacey) and Caroline (Davis), hostage and hides out in their home until he can craft an escape plan. Unfortunately for Gus, Lloyd and Caroline are a dysfunctional couple on the brink of divorce and frequently get into loud arguments. To make matters worse, the couple is not only expecting their son, Jesse (Steinmiller Jr.), to arrive home from military school that evening but also Lloyd's mother (Johns), as well as his brother (LeFevre) and his family. To avoid the ongoing police manhunt searching for him, Gus poses as Lloyd and Caroline's marriage counselor during dinner. Unfortunately, he soon learns that the couple aren't the only dysfunctional members of this particular family.

First Impressions:

I first saw this movie on home video shortly after its release. My brother picked it, and I was initially perturbed because it didn't seem like something that interested me. However, I laughed a good deal throughout the movie and enjoyed it quite a bit. I hadn't seen it again until a few years ago when I found a copy of it on DVD for cheap. It's been quite a while since my last viewing, and, like most comedies of a particular vintage, it'll be interesting to see how well the jokes have aged.

Story/Direction: 

"Great, I hijacked my fucking parents."

This film struggles from a bit of an identity crisis. It was most definitely marketed as a comedy when it was released, but it also veers into family drama territory. The film starts out as a farce, with our protagonist Gus breaking into the safe of a wealthy individual only to set off an alarm and subsequently get sprayed with cat piss and then fall through a trap door. At this point, the audience is expecting silly hijinks from this point on. However, the film introduces us to Loyd and Caroline, whose marriage is falling apart as they try to work out their differences with a therapist. While there are some dryly funny bits throughout this scene (in that jaded 90s kind of way), it's somewhat painful to watch as this is clearly a couple on the brink of an ugly divorce. At this point, an audience might become confused about what type of movie this is, as these scenes are uncomfortable to watch.

It's that from that discomfort where the film pulls much of its comedy out. As soon as Gus takes the couple hostage, they immediately begin arguing about the most ridiculous and mundane nonsense, causing Gus much consternation. This is the dynamic between the three for most of the film; Lloyd and Caroline argue, Gus gets frustrated and yells at both of them, and they calm down for a while. 

Once Lloyd's family shows up, Gus' ire shifts from the feuding couple to Lloyd's insufferable mother. It's also where the film shifts to a more heartfelt tone, as the stress of the situation, coupled with the apparent tension caused by visiting family, force a lot of issues, not just with Lloyd and Caroline, out into the open. It's really a Christmas story we can all relate to...well, except for the whole armed fugitive bit. Anyway, all of this ends up with Lloyd's entire family being tied up and gagged while the couple and their teenage son, Jesse, formulate a plan to help Gus escape because they suddenly realize that they like him. 

This is not really a knee-slappingly funny film as far as the comedy side of things goes. It didn't elicit as many laugh-out-loud moments as it did on my first viewing. However, I did give a few hearty chuckles at some of the dialogue. The film is very much a portrait of its era, where comedies were shifting out of the goofy farces of the 80s into the more jaded and meaner brand of 90s comedy. 

Acting/Characters:

I think this was my first experience with a Dennis Leary film, and I think overall, he carries the movie pretty well. It's always a crapshoot when you pull a stand-up comedian into acting. You may end up with a long-term box office draw like Robin Williams or a flash in the pan like Pauly Shore. I think Leary leans more to the Williams side of the spectrum than the Shore side. He was still getting a handle on this whole acting thing, so Gus is very much like Leary was in personality, smarmy, angry and constantly swearing. Still, it was a good outing, and eventually, Leary managed to broaden his horizons into more dramatic roles as his career went on.

However, what really carries the film is the chemistry between Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. The pair play off each other very well, and you can clearly tell that this is a couple that is fed up with each other, but at the same time, still care about one another. Now don't get me wrong, Kevin Spacey is pretty much a garbage human being, but he has an incredible sense of comic timing, which serves him well here. He plays Lloyd as a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and is always ready with a passive-aggressive shot at his wife or anybody else who may vex him. 

Likewise, Judy Davis does a great job with the manic and depressed Caroline. Davis plays the character as a woman who clearly needs to find a path in life but doesn't know where to look. As a result, she flits from one project to another, never finding inspiration. While a bit exaggerated for comedy, I think the performance exemplified the struggle that a lot of suburban stay-at-home parents have to go through. 

Visual/Special Effects:

There really isn't much in the visual effects in this movie. I mean, it is a comedy, after all. One thing about the visuals that I will note is that the filmmakers took great care in making the film's backdrop appear like something out of a Frank Capra movie. It's got that small town, Christmas/Holiday feel to it that really offsets all the angry bickering from the principal characters, which elevates the comedy, I think.

Score/Music:

David A. Stewart composed the music for the film, and I think, for the most part, he did a good job. While the score itself isn't terribly memorable, it's infused with enough jingle bells and such other Christmas-y elements to serve the movie well.

Action:

Again, there's not a whole ton of action to be had here. There's not even a lot of slapstick comedy (except for a couple of bits at the beginning). It's just not that type of movie.

Final Verdict:

I'm a bit surprised, as I thought I wouldn't enjoy the film this time around. However, it's a solid little Christmas film with a somewhat satisfying (if a bit 90s) heartfelt ending. Leary fans should definitely check it out, as should those looking for an outside-of-the-box option for a Christmas movie.