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Summary: Take the Phone Off the Hook ...
Review: ... and don't answer the door or you'll miss some great lines. You really gotta focus on this movie to squeeze all the delightful juices out of the performances delivered by the reliable Kevin Spacey and the surpisingly likeable Denis Leary. I suspect everyone grows up in a (to some degree) dysfunctional environment, and I'll bet you'll find at least one or two characters in this hilarious movie that you can identify with. This is one of those movies that (like spaghetti or movie popcorn) actually was better when re-heated! The second time through, I quit watching for plot and was able to watch for content. Both ways, I was thoroughly entertained. If you like raw, in-your-face, smash-mouth humor, do NOT miss "The Ref." I'm anxiously awaiting its release in DVD.
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Summary: The Best of Dysfunctional Christmases!
Review: THE REF is on my all-time-top-25 list of films. It is a festival of sarcasm and irony which captures with potent realism the dynamics of a husband/wife holiday battle. Into this couple's billingsgated midst crashes Denis Leary, whose mounting frustrations, the aftermath of a bungled burglary, are a resplendent glory to behold. Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey are electric as the embattled duo: neither have surpassed these roles in their many subsequent brilliant performances. If you grew up with more verbal knockdowns than eggnog at Christmastide, then this one's for you.I confess that the Swedish dinner sequence particularly appeals to me since my own fighting mother tried to capture certain Danish yuletide traditions in a context much like the one which faces Judy Davis. Some have objected to the profanity and vulgarity of the script. However, if you've lived through a dysfunctional Yuletide, you'll know that it's healthier to curse than to smolder!
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Summary: Fine acting and Xmas dysfunction
Review: Director Ted Demme, based solely on the strength of this movie and "Beautiful Girls", establishes himself as a great architect of snow-drenched tales of suburban loneliness. The cynical sweetness of "Beautiful Girls" is present here in small doses, but it gets stomped to pieces by bitter familial dysfunction. Kevin Spacey -- in my opinion the coolest actor working today -- gives a performance here that I rank as his best. I know that others would point to the flashier roles of Verbal Kint (Usual Suspects) or Lester Burnham (American Beauty), but for me Lloyd Chasseur (pronounced with as much pretension as you can muster) is the be-all and the end-all of Kevin Spacey roles. He is the ultimate put-upon husband/mama's boy, and his pathetic dreariness could not be any lower or any more real. Judy Davis -- who we don't get to see enough of these days -- is just great as the domineering wife, spoiled rotten by her upbringing and eternally disappointed with her failure of a husband. Her rage and her ice-queen exterior are just diaphanous enough to cover her unhappiness. She and Kevin manage to subtly hint that Caroline and Lloyd once loved each other, but now only loathe each other. They make a great tandem. Denis Leary -- in the title role -- plays the middle ground between these two fine actors. And he does superbly. His Gus is a criminal and a loser, and he knows it. Ripping off the Chasseurs is an opportunity to get out of cat burglary, and rid himself of his hapless partner Murray (a drunken Richard Bright). Leary is a fine comic who very rarely shows much acting range, but here he shows us Gus' quick temper (quite easy, as that is also his comedian persona) but also his humanity and his morality (relatively speaking, of course). If he had just relied on spitfire one liners and burning intensity, the whole movie would fall on top of him. Many kudos to Leary for holding his own here. The rest of the cast is quite fine, sprinkled with competent and familiar faces. They include Glynis Johns as the ultimate hard-assed matriarch, Christine Baranski as the plastic daughter-in-law, and a small but pivotal role for J.K. Simmons (one of my favourite character actors... he's Schillinger on TV's "Oz") as the military school Commandant blackmailed by the Chasseur's ne'er-do-well son. The script is tight and witty, the setting is a hysterically insipid Christmas season in an affluent Connecticut suburb, and the story gets all the satirical moments just right. And even thought the ending borders on melodramatic, after all that dysfunction we're entitled to some hope, aren't we?
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Summary: My Review for "The Ref"
Review: OK, The Ref is about a thief (Dennis Leary) who, on one Christmas Night, robs a house, while in the basement of the house, raiding the save for jewels an alarm goes off and he falls through the trap door. Then with a lot of luck, he out wits an attack dog and the police! After realizing that his partner left him, He then makes his way into a grocery store, and sees a woman (Judy Davis) he kidnaps her and her husband who are at odds with each other. The con makes it back to the couple's house and proceeds to raid the place, knowing that he may be caught at any time. The couple then lets them know that they have some company coming over for Christmas Eve dinner. He must then out wit the cops and the family. My thoughts on the film: This is one great film! Dennis Leary is one great actor. As said in my above review, Leary must get away with the crime. The acting is perfect and is non-stop entertainment! Kevin Spacey really delivers with this performance. It reminds me of American Beauty, and I wish this film would of gotten a more "push". I remember the first time I heard of this film, it was at the theater and it was the preview, the movie I saw was Home Alone 2, the preview was hilarious and I could not wait to see the movie. I recommend this movie to anyone with a sense of humor! Have A Nice LiFE!
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Summary: See this film!
Review: Since this movie is set at Christmas time, we have incorporated it into our holiday cache of holiday flicks. (I know, an odd choice however it "lighten" things up a little!) This movie is absolutely hysterical! A must see for excellent writing and for actors whoare PERFECT in their roles. This little known movie starring Dennis Leary and Kevin Spacey - simply brilliant!
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Summary: "18th Century French Hugonaut"
Review: This movie totally rocks, it is an action packed movie with standup comedy, tight yet respectable turns, a short amount of violence and a heck-of-a-lot of truth. My favorite character was the son, who incedently Blackmailed the principle of his military school with pictures of the principle in bed with two hookers, but i dont want to ruin it for you, so I wont tell anymore. You will probably think you know what will eventually happen in the end (That every character will leave the story happy) and ultimately...It will (except for grandma of course), It is a wonderful ride. Excellent movie done in good taste, a few parts (The psychitrist scene) that probably would not appeal to some viewers ideals, but We both know youll be laughing. An instant classic, everyone in my family owns it and when it comes to DVD, Itll be in my "best dvd" collection. I hope it has deleted scenes and outtakes, that would be cool too.
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Summary: Do not miss this one!
Review: A must see for any Leary or Spacey fan.
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Summary: My Favorite Christmas Movie
Review: Okay: if the "eff" word offends you, don't buy this video. However, if you grew up in a dysfunctional family in which your parents argued about absolutely anything while you were required to cheer, you'll love this comic holiday tale of a burglar who wanted simply to make his last heist and retire to the islands. Unfortunately, he's attacked by the dog Cannibal; his alcoholic partner deserts him; and he kidnaps a couple who resembles his own parents: two chronic arguers who would pick at each other at the very edge of doom. My mom was obsessed with certain Scandinavian traditions, and when the comedy cuts to a Swedish sit-down feast during which all participants wear garlands of candles and eat traditional Swedish food, I practically go into cardiac arrest. This is not only one of the funniest films ever made, but also it is an accurate portrayal of the nightmare which Christmas becomes for so many middle-class families. Dennis Leary, Kevin Spacey, and Judy Davis are brilliant beyond belief in their rapid-fire deliveries of sadistic sarcasm. Buy it; savor it. Ho ho ho!
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Summary: A Christmas Movie Classic
Review: This movie is one of the most underated movies I have ever seen. This sleeper is a GIANT in comedy. The performances by Judy Davis, Denis O'Leary and especially Kevin Spacey are tremendous and should not be missed. It has become our (both my husband and myself) favorite new Christmas movie (although you can watch it anytime you need to laugh). I can't wait for it to come out on DVD. However, until then, I will not miss seeing it on VHS if I were you.
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Summary: The Ref: Why Are We Wearing Swedish Candles On Our Heads?
Review: I rented then bought the Ref,not exspecting much. I had seen a little of Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey at that time was just blossoming into a star. Next to the Grinch trying to steal Christmas, this is the most uproarious funny send up of Christmas I've ever seen, yet after watching it you still feel good and miraculously it extends the good cheer. Leary plays a master thief, who robs and then takes hostages, Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis, and if he knew what trouble they would be, he would have run faster from them than the police. These two yuppies take arguments to high art, with Leary only barely having control because he has a gun, but that does not stop their tirades. Add to this wild mix is the family coming over for dinner, gourmet-cooked by Judy Davis, and they hate it. The great Glinnis Johns, as Kevin Spacey's mother, is wonderful, as is all the supporting cast. Only a super-animated character like Leary can keep up with this wildly funny, fuming couple and try(barely) to sort things out. From start to finish, the film rocks with verbal velocity, sight gags(the Swedish candle headpieces were my favorite, with mother saying "my head is getting hot,") and a drunken neighborhood Santa turning quite Scrooge-like and whacky when inebriated. The laughs never stop but like most movies there is a short time to try to stop all this nonsense, draw some moral conclusions(after all this is a Christmas movie-kind of) and find an ending. The ending isn't very clear, for we have seen and heard so much. It would be difficult to draw just one conclusion. Suffice it to say that The Ref is the funiest movie I've watched in years. The acting is brilliant, and that other Director Demme brother, Ted, has a great touch, keeping the sparks and laughs flying at a furious pace. In its own way, The Ref is a minor masterpiece of comedy.
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