Christmas Movies: The Ref

Image via WikipediaThe last 20 years have brought more adult-oriented Christmas movies to the theaters than ever before. The Ref is part of that wave and is one of the better ones, in my humble opinion.

How could a movie go wrong with a cast like this: Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis play a warring couple, Glynis Johns is Spacey's character's witch of a mother, Christine Baranski is his nasty sister and Denis Leary is their Christmas Eve captor. When all these people get together under the umbrella of a great script, the results are hilarious. I especially liked the way the underbelly of the story -- the disastrous relationship between the unhappy couple held captive by a criminal -- is played against a picture-perfect New England Christmas tableau. In the end, no one is who he or she seems.

Be forewarned, however, if you don't like Denis Leary's brand of comedy, you probably won't like this movie. But if you can take his high energy/anger level, I think you'll enjoy the fresh perspective The Ref brings to the genre.

Here are two scenes from The Ref (foul language alert)