An unfortunate cat burglar becomes trapped in a fate worse than jail when he takes a bickering couple and their annoying relatives hostage. Before long, they're driving him nuts, and the line between who is whose hostage begins to blur. It's okay I guess. It's a dark comedy that leaves the comedy mostly behind. I find it more irritating than funny for the most parts. There are some pretty good performances in here and the premise is pretty clever but it's not well-written enough to sustain this premise for the length of the film and it keeps adding pointless side plots instead.

Dennis Leary’s monolouge at the end is worth watching this for that alone.

A thief kidnaps the wrong family.

This is a fun Christmas season watch. I’ve seen it a handful of times over the years and have enjoyed it each time. Probably Denis Learys most memorable role for me.

The Ref is a hilarious holiday film that delivers some good laughs but it has trouble finding the right tone. When a burglar takes a married couple hostage on Christmas Eve he gets more than he bargained for as the couple’s dysfunctional family comes to visit. Denis Leary leads the cast, and is joined by Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey. Unfortunately the comedy is uneven, as the film doesn’t quite know how dark or silly to take the humor. And as a result, the performances suffer and the story becomes unfocused. But even with its problems, The Ref is entertaining and has some fun moments.