The Ref
Encyclopedia
The Ref is a 1994 American black comedy film
directed by Ted Demme
and starring Denis Leary
, Judy Davis
, and Kevin Spacey
.
and Judy Davis
) in marriage counseling on Christmas Eve; the session does not go well and their problems become evident. Caroline has had an affair, and Lloyd is miserable and blames the problems with their son, Jesse (Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr.), on his wife. The marriage counselor tries to get the two of them to talk to each other, but, behaving professionally, he himself refuses to intercede on either side.
The film cuts to a criminal named Gus (Denis Leary
) in the midst of stealing jewelry from a safe in a home he has broken into; however, he accidentally sets off the alarm, a trap door opens, and he lands in the basement. Only after he is bitten on the leg by a guard dog is Gus able to escape the house, but his getaway car, driven by his bumbling, alcoholic, partner Murray (Richard Bright
), is no longer there.
While Caroline is in the market, Gus spots her and, holding a gun to her back, orders her to take him to her car. He then proceeds to order both her and Lloyd to take him to their house. Along the way the couple continues to argue, with Gus beginning to act as a referee to make them shut up, all the while regretting his decision to kidnap the two.
Back at the house things continue to get worse as the police have set up roadblocks and there is a reward out for Gus. Lloyd and Caroline continue to argue, their neighbor dressed as Santa stops by, and two police officers go door to door looking for Gus. Gus manages to contact Murray, who is at local bar, and orders him to steal them a boat. Soon, Jesse comes home and discovers his parents tied up, and is himself tied up. After breaking loose of his own restraints, he makes a failed attempt at making Gus release his parents.
Lloyd’s family, consisting of Lloyd’s brother Gary (Adam LeFevre
), his wife Connie (Christine Baranski
), their two children Mary and John (Ellie Raab and Phillip Nicoll), and Lloyd’s mother Rose (Glynis Johns
), are introduced into the story. Rose is extremely wealthy and is a cold, callous, and arrogant woman. Gus, seeing no other option, decides to pretend to be Lloyd’s and Caroline’s marriage counselor as he cannot hold everyone hostage. Jesse, however, is tied up and gagged upstairs in his parents' closet.
Things come to head when Caroline and Lloyd are unable to stop fighting. Gus's pointed comments goad the family on to many realizations, leading Lloyd to finally get up the guts to stand up to his wife and his mother. Everyone finds out who Gus really is after the doorbell rings and Rose attempts to go upstairs; Gus stops her by pointing a gun at her head and ordering everyone to the den. The man at the door is Jesse’s commander from military school, whom Jesse has been blackmailing, as he explains to Lloyd and Caroline.
Jesse has managed to untie himself and is discovered with his hidden money; when the doorbell rings again, Caroline tells him to stay put. When Lloyd, Caroline, and Gus get back downstairs, the neighbor from earlier has entered their house and is very drunk and lunges at Gus, who knocks him out.
The state police arrive, and Lloyd tells Jesse to take Gus to the docks using the path through the woods. Gus steals the Santa suit and makes it safely to the docks and escapes. Back at home the couple have managed to get the police out of their home with their bickering and then, having worked through all of their differences throughout the evening with Gus's assistance, they make up and decide to stay together.
co-wrote the film with his sister-in-law Marie Weiss. The script was inspired by their families. For example, the film's dinner scene: "Both Marie and I are Italian Catholics who married into Jewish families, so we do have those big holiday dinners", LaGravenese said. Weiss began writing the script in 1989 after she and her husband moved from New York to California. Inspiration came from an argument she had with him and she thought, "wouldn't it be great if there were a third party to step in and referee?" She wrote several drafts and consulted with LaGravenese in 1991 and they took it to Disney. The studio approved the project within 20 minutes. LaGravenese spent a year rewriting the script until he finally got "tired of doing rewrites for executives".
After Ted Demme
directed comedian Denis Leary
in No Cure for Cancer
, a stand-up comedy special for Showtime, they got the script for The Ref and decided to do it. The studio cast Leary based on the sarcastic funny man persona he cultivated in MTV
spots that Demme directed. Their involvement motivated LaGravenese to come back to the project. The film produced by Don Simpson
and Jerry Bruckheimer
, known mostly for their big budget action films during the 1980s. Simpson described the overall tone of The Ref as "biting and sarcastic. Just my nature".
After test audiences responded poorly to the film's original ending - where Gus turns himself in - a new ending was shot in January 1994.
Roger Ebert
gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "material like this is only as good as the acting and writing. The Ref is skillful in both areas". Rolling Stone
magazine's Peter Travers
praised the performances of Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis: "They are combustibly funny, finding nuance even in nonsense. The script is crass; the actors never". In her review for The New York Times
, Caryn James praised Leary's performance: "For the first time he displays his appeal and potential as an actor instead of a comic with a sneering persona". However, Entertainment Weekly
gave the film a "C-" rating and Owen Gleiberman
wrote, "The Ref is crushingly blunt-witted and monotonous in its celebration of domestic sadism". In his review for the Washington Post, Hal Hinson criticized Leary's performance: "A stand-up comic trying to translate his impatient, hipster editorializing to the big screen, he doesn't have the modulation of a trained actor, only one speed (fast) and one mode of attack (loud)".
The film received a 76% "fresh" rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
, with the consensus: "Undeniably uneven and too dark for some, The Ref nonetheless boasts strong turns from Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey, as well as a sharply funny script."
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
directed by Ted Demme
Ted Demme
Edward K. "Ted" Demme was an American film director and producer.- Early life and career :Born in New York City, Demme grew up in Rockville Centre on Long Island, New York and attended South Side Senior High School. He graduated from SUNY-Cortland in 1985. His media career likely began with a...
and starring Denis Leary
Denis Leary
Denis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
, Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Judy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
, and Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
.
Plot
The film opens with Lloyd and Caroline Chasseur (Kevin SpaceyKevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
and Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Judy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
) in marriage counseling on Christmas Eve; the session does not go well and their problems become evident. Caroline has had an affair, and Lloyd is miserable and blames the problems with their son, Jesse (Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr.), on his wife. The marriage counselor tries to get the two of them to talk to each other, but, behaving professionally, he himself refuses to intercede on either side.
The film cuts to a criminal named Gus (Denis Leary
Denis Leary
Denis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
) in the midst of stealing jewelry from a safe in a home he has broken into; however, he accidentally sets off the alarm, a trap door opens, and he lands in the basement. Only after he is bitten on the leg by a guard dog is Gus able to escape the house, but his getaway car, driven by his bumbling, alcoholic, partner Murray (Richard Bright
Richard Bright (actor)
Richard James Bright was an American actor best known for his role as Al Neri in the The Godfather films.-Early life & work:...
), is no longer there.
While Caroline is in the market, Gus spots her and, holding a gun to her back, orders her to take him to her car. He then proceeds to order both her and Lloyd to take him to their house. Along the way the couple continues to argue, with Gus beginning to act as a referee to make them shut up, all the while regretting his decision to kidnap the two.
Back at the house things continue to get worse as the police have set up roadblocks and there is a reward out for Gus. Lloyd and Caroline continue to argue, their neighbor dressed as Santa stops by, and two police officers go door to door looking for Gus. Gus manages to contact Murray, who is at local bar, and orders him to steal them a boat. Soon, Jesse comes home and discovers his parents tied up, and is himself tied up. After breaking loose of his own restraints, he makes a failed attempt at making Gus release his parents.
Lloyd’s family, consisting of Lloyd’s brother Gary (Adam LeFevre
Adam LeFevre
Adam LeFevre is an American character actor, poet and playwright who works in cinema, television, theater and commercials....
), his wife Connie (Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
), their two children Mary and John (Ellie Raab and Phillip Nicoll), and Lloyd’s mother Rose (Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
), are introduced into the story. Rose is extremely wealthy and is a cold, callous, and arrogant woman. Gus, seeing no other option, decides to pretend to be Lloyd’s and Caroline’s marriage counselor as he cannot hold everyone hostage. Jesse, however, is tied up and gagged upstairs in his parents' closet.
Things come to head when Caroline and Lloyd are unable to stop fighting. Gus's pointed comments goad the family on to many realizations, leading Lloyd to finally get up the guts to stand up to his wife and his mother. Everyone finds out who Gus really is after the doorbell rings and Rose attempts to go upstairs; Gus stops her by pointing a gun at her head and ordering everyone to the den. The man at the door is Jesse’s commander from military school, whom Jesse has been blackmailing, as he explains to Lloyd and Caroline.
Jesse has managed to untie himself and is discovered with his hidden money; when the doorbell rings again, Caroline tells him to stay put. When Lloyd, Caroline, and Gus get back downstairs, the neighbor from earlier has entered their house and is very drunk and lunges at Gus, who knocks him out.
The state police arrive, and Lloyd tells Jesse to take Gus to the docks using the path through the woods. Gus steals the Santa suit and makes it safely to the docks and escapes. Back at home the couple have managed to get the police out of their home with their bickering and then, having worked through all of their differences throughout the evening with Gus's assistance, they make up and decide to stay together.
Cast
- Denis LearyDenis LearyDenis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
- Gus - Judy DavisJudy DavisJudy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
- Caroline Chasseur - Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
- Lloyd Chasseur - Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr. - Jesse Chasseur
- Glynis JohnsGlynis JohnsGlynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
- Rose Chasseur - Raymond J. BarryRaymond J. BarryRaymond John Barry is an American film, television and stage actor.-Personal life:Raymond John Barry was born in Hempstead, New York . His father, Raymond Barry, worked in sales. His mother, Barbara Barry , was also an actor, known professionally as B. Constance Barry...
- Lt. Huff - Richard BrightRichard Bright (actor)Richard James Bright was an American actor best known for his role as Al Neri in the The Godfather films.-Early life & work:...
- Murray, Gus' Driver - Christine BaranskiChristine BaranskiChristine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
- Connie Chasseur - Adam LeFevreAdam LeFevreAdam LeFevre is an American character actor, poet and playwright who works in cinema, television, theater and commercials....
- Gary Chasseur - Phillip Nicoll - John Chasseur
- Ellie Raab - Mary Chasseur
- Bill RaymondBill RaymondBill Raymond is an actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre since the 1960s.-Life and career:He featured in the second and fifth seasons of the HBO drama The Wire as "The Greek", the mysterious head of an international criminal organization. Other TV appearances include Miami Vice,...
- George - John ScurtiJohn ScurtiJohn Martin Scurti is an American actor.Scurti attended Fordham University, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. One of his early major film roles was The Ref in 1993, alongside Denis Leary...
- Lt. Steve Milford - Jim TurnerJim Turner (comedian)Jim Turner is an American actor and comedian, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His father, George Turner, was in the Air Force and moved his family around often during Jim's youth to places including Quebec, Arizona, and Iowa. Turner married Lynn Freer in 1992 and they have a son, Otto...
- Phil - Ron Gabriel - Limo Driver
- Edward SaxonEdward Saxon-Early life:Saxon was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and educated at Kirkwood High School from 1972 to 1976, and McGill University from 1976 to 1980. He then studied at The Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC School of Cinema-Television. While at McGill, he founded the Tuesday Night Cafe...
- TV Reporter Mike Michaels - Kenneth UttKenneth UttKenneth Utt , was an American film producer and production designer, notable for producing The Silence of the Lambs, which he won an Oscar for Best Picture.- Career :...
- Jeremiah Willard - Robert RidgelyRobert RidgelyRobert Ridgely was an American actor and vocal artist, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work.-Career:...
- Bob Burley - J.K. Simmons - Siskel
Production
Screenwriter Richard LaGraveneseRichard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese is an American screenwriter and occasional film director. He is best known as the writer of The Fisher King.-Personal life:...
co-wrote the film with his sister-in-law Marie Weiss. The script was inspired by their families. For example, the film's dinner scene: "Both Marie and I are Italian Catholics who married into Jewish families, so we do have those big holiday dinners", LaGravenese said. Weiss began writing the script in 1989 after she and her husband moved from New York to California. Inspiration came from an argument she had with him and she thought, "wouldn't it be great if there were a third party to step in and referee?" She wrote several drafts and consulted with LaGravenese in 1991 and they took it to Disney. The studio approved the project within 20 minutes. LaGravenese spent a year rewriting the script until he finally got "tired of doing rewrites for executives".
After Ted Demme
Ted Demme
Edward K. "Ted" Demme was an American film director and producer.- Early life and career :Born in New York City, Demme grew up in Rockville Centre on Long Island, New York and attended South Side Senior High School. He graduated from SUNY-Cortland in 1985. His media career likely began with a...
directed comedian Denis Leary
Denis Leary
Denis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
in No Cure for Cancer
No Cure for Cancer
No Cure for Cancer is one of Denis Leary's standup routines from the early 1990s. It was made into a television special, a book, and a compact disc, all with the same title...
, a stand-up comedy special for Showtime, they got the script for The Ref and decided to do it. The studio cast Leary based on the sarcastic funny man persona he cultivated in MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
spots that Demme directed. Their involvement motivated LaGravenese to come back to the project. The film produced by Don Simpson
Don Simpson
Donald Clarence "Don" Simpson was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is known for producing such hits as Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun and The Rock...
and Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
, known mostly for their big budget action films during the 1980s. Simpson described the overall tone of The Ref as "biting and sarcastic. Just my nature".
After test audiences responded poorly to the film's original ending - where Gus turns himself in - a new ending was shot in January 1994.
Reception
The Ref did not perform as well at the box office as Leary would have liked and he blamed the studio's method of marketing the film: "They did me like the MTV guy. And they shortchanged what the movie was all about". The film grossed only $11,439,193 in the domestic box office.Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "material like this is only as good as the acting and writing. The Ref is skillful in both areas". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
praised the performances of Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis: "They are combustibly funny, finding nuance even in nonsense. The script is crass; the actors never". In her review for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Caryn James praised Leary's performance: "For the first time he displays his appeal and potential as an actor instead of a comic with a sneering persona". However, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the film a "C-" rating and Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
wrote, "The Ref is crushingly blunt-witted and monotonous in its celebration of domestic sadism". In his review for the Washington Post, Hal Hinson criticized Leary's performance: "A stand-up comic trying to translate his impatient, hipster editorializing to the big screen, he doesn't have the modulation of a trained actor, only one speed (fast) and one mode of attack (loud)".
The film received a 76% "fresh" rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with the consensus: "Undeniably uneven and too dark for some, The Ref nonetheless boasts strong turns from Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey, as well as a sharply funny script."