BY ADAM QUANDT | The Statesman Director: Ted Demme
Genre: Comedy
Length: 96 minutes
Netflix rating: 3.5/5
My rating: 1/5
Despite the fact that it’s a movie from ’94, I assumed that with bigger-name actors such as Kevin Spacey and Denis Leary, “The Ref” would be a great start to my holiday movie season.
I was definitely wrong. “The Ref” was an extremely disappointing start to my holiday movie season.
Netflix labeled “The Ref” as a “holiday favorite.” I’m not really sure if whoever gave it that title watched the same film as me, but I would definitely put this movie in the “holiday skip list” rather than calling it a holiday favorite.
“The Ref” tells the story of troubled married couple, Lloyd, played by Kevin Spacey and Caroline, played by Judy Davis and their run in with a burglar named Gus, played by Denis Leary.
The couple meets Gus as he is on the run from the police after pulling off a robbery, which leads to Gus holding them hostage in their home while he plans his escape.
However, a series of events keep throwing a wrench in Gus’s escape plan, the largest being Lloyd’s family coming for dinner. In order to keep everything cool, Gus is required to play the role of the couple’s marriage counselor throughout the family affair.
Aside from being listed as a holiday favorite, Netflix also lists “The Ref” as a comedy. Maybe it just wasn’t my sense of humor, but I think I laughed maybe once during the movie and that’s because I received a funny text from a friend.
Unless you’re looking for that “feel good” moment that you find in most holiday movies and have 96 minutes to waste on a rather boring, non-funny film, then I highly suggest skipping “The Ref” during your holiday movie binge-watching.