# The Ref
**The Ref** (also released as *Ref, The*) is a 1994 American black comedy directed by [Ted Demme](https://www.edgepedia.org/ted-demme), in which an inept cat burglar takes a constantly quarreling married couple hostage in their [Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/connecticut) home on [Christmas Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/christmas-eve) and is forced to referee their family disputes.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF) • [2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/) It stars Denis Leary as the burglar Gus, Judy Davis as Caroline Chasseur, and Kevin Spacey as Lloyd Chasseur.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Limited opening in Los Angeles and New York on March 9, 1994; general release March 11, 1994[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/) |
| Director / writers | Ted Demme; screenplay by Richard LaGravenese and Marie Weiss[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF) |
| Principal cast | Denis Leary (Gus), Judy Davis (Caroline), Kevin Spacey (Lloyd), Glynis Johns (Rose), Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. (Jesse)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF) |
| Production / distribution | Touchstone Pictures; distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF) |
| Rating and runtime | MPAA R (for language); 97 minutes by most listings, 95 minutes in the AFI Catalog[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF) |
| Box office | Domestic gross $11,439,193 on an estimated $11,000,000 budget, per Box Office Mojo and IMDb; The Numbers reports $6,390,224 domestic and $7,390,224 worldwide[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0110955/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ref-The) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 59 (mixed or average, 27 reviews); Tomatometer 73% from 56 reviews[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-ref/critic-reviews/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ref) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Gus, a jewel thief, sets off a booby-trapped alarm system in an affluent Connecticut house and, in his haste to escape, abducts Lloyd and Caroline Chasseur at gunpoint, intending to hide out for a few hours until his accomplice secures a boat.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/) • [8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/ref-the/?form=save-a-life) The couple, who live in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, have been fighting for years and are in marriage counseling; their teenage son Jesse has been sent to military school, where he makes money blackmailing a teacher.[8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/ref-the/?form=save-a-life)
Instead of a quiet hideout, Gus gets the family from hell: Lloyd's money-pinching mother Rose and a coterie of contemptuous relatives arrive for Christmas Eve dinner, a drunken neighbor shows up in a Santa suit, and police on a manhunt visit the house.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/) • [8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/ref-the/?form=save-a-life) To survive, Gus poses as the couple's marriage counselor and is drawn into moderating their disputes, and the film ends with the family's suppressed grievances aired and the marriage intact while Gus avoids capture.[9](https://mrqe.com/movie/the-ref-m100027477/) • [8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/ref-the/?form=save-a-life)
Roger Ebert, the longtime film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, described the premise as a flip-flopped, updated version of [O. Henry](https://www.edgepedia.org/o-henry)'s *The Ransom of Red Chief*, in which a kidnapper naps more than he was counting on.[10](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-ref-1994)
## Production
The film was produced by [Touchstone Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/touchstone-pictures), with Ron Bozman, Richard LaGravenese, and [Jeff Weiss](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-weiss) as producers, and was photographed by Adam Kimmel, edited by Jeffrey Wolf, and scored by David A. Stewart of the [Eurythmics](https://www.edgepedia.org/eurythmics).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF) Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer served as executive producers.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ref/cast-and-crew)
Although the story takes place on Christmas Eve, the film was shot in and around Toronto in July, so the crew manufactured winter: over 400 feet of snowbanks built from chicken wire and burlap sprayed with insulation foam, plus 3,200 pounds of dry, bleached wood pulp for flocking, with the snowbanks moved from location to location.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/) [Glynis Johns](https://www.edgepedia.org/glynis-johns), who plays the matriarch Rose, had made her first film for Disney, *The Sword and the Rose*, four decades earlier.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/) The supporting cast includes [Raymond J. Barry](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-j-barry) as Lt. Huff, [Christine Baranski](https://www.edgepedia.org/christine-baranski) as Connie Chasseur, B.D. Wong as the marriage counselor, and J.K. Simmons as Commandant Siskel.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ref-The) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ref/cast-and-crew)
## Release and box office
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution gave the film a limited Los Angeles and New York opening on March 9, 1994, followed by general release on March 11; the copyright claimant registered the film on March 21, 1994.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF) The Numbers characterizes the strategy as "Christmas in November," placing a holiday film in the spring release calendar.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ref-The)
The two main box-office databases disagree on the totals. [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) and IMDb report a domestic gross of $11,439,193, with an opening weekend of $3,044,097, against an estimated $11,000,000 budget.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0110955/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/) The Numbers reports $6,390,224 domestic and $1,000,000 international, for $7,390,224 worldwide, with the opening weekend of $3,044,097 amounting to 47.6 percent of its domestic total; it lists 701 opening theaters and a maximum of 797.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ref-The) Both databases agree on the opening figure, and both indicate a film that earned back roughly its production budget in theaters.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0110955/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ref-The) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/)
## Critical reception
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews. Its Metascore of 59 reflects 17 positive, 7 mixed, and 3 negative reviews among 27 counted.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-ref/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes, 73 percent of 56 critics gave it a positive review, and the site's critics consensus calls it "undeniably uneven and too dark for some" while crediting the performances of Leary, Davis, and Spacey and a "sharply funny script."[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ref)
Ebert gave the film a positive review on March 11, 1994, writing that material of this kind is only as good as its acting and writing and that the film is skillful in both; he noted that Leary, who as a standup comic had a tendency toward shouting and overkill, here creates an entertaining character.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-ref/critic-reviews/) [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly)'s Glenn Kenny scored it 91, calling the performances uniformly excellent and the film a "nasty romp" with enough honest laughs to reward a second viewing the same night.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-ref/critic-reviews/) Kenneth Turan of the *Los Angeles Times*, scoring it 70, judged that the film does not hold its edge to the end, saying "that darn Disney influence finally proves too strong," while still finding its comic venom refreshing.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-ref/critic-reviews/) Caryn James of *The New York Times* warned readers not to be misled by commercials that make the film look like slapstick silliness, calling it a grown-up film that delights in undermining Christmas cliches.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-ref/critic-reviews/)
## Afterlife as a holiday film
Despite its spring release, The Ref has become a recurring Christmas-season viewing choice, and it is frequently discussed among alternative holiday films. A CinemaBlend feature argues that it stands out among dark Christmas comedies because it is "dark with a capital D" all the way through, without the gross-out elements of films like *Bad Santa* or *Violent Night*, and credits the chemistry between Spacey's feckless husband and Davis's exhausted wife.[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/features/rewatch-the-ref-every-year-christmas-why-more-people-need-to-have-it-on-their-holiday-watch-list) Reviewers have placed it in the tradition of holiday films that contrast the idealized expectations of Christmas with everyday family failings, alongside *A Christmas Story* and *Bad Santa*.[13](https://soundsofcinema.com/review-archive/review-the-ref-1994/) The film began streaming on digital platforms in 2016 and is available with a subscription on Prime Video.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ref)
## References
1. [The Ref (1994), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60206-THE-REF)
2. [Ref, The (film), D23 (Disney A to Z)](https://d23.com/a-to-z/ref-the-film/)
3. [The Ref (1994), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/)
4. [The Ref (1994), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0110955/)
5. [The Ref (1994), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ref-The)
6. [The Ref critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-ref/critic-reviews/)
7. [The Ref, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ref)
8. [Ref, The (1994), American Humane Society production report](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/ref-the/?form=save-a-life)
9. [The Ref (1994), MRQE](https://mrqe.com/movie/the-ref-m100027477/)
10. [The Ref, review by Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-ref-1994)
11. [The Ref: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ref/cast-and-crew)
12. [I Rewatch The Ref Every Year For Christmas, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/features/rewatch-the-ref-every-year-christmas-why-more-people-need-to-have-it-on-their-holiday-watch-list)
13. [Review: The Ref (1994), Sounds of Cinema](https://soundsofcinema.com/review-archive/review-the-ref-1994/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Black comedy and satire films › Released 1939 to 1997*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license