The Ref

A burglar named Gus is fleeing the police on Christmas Eve when he takes a well-off Connecticut couple hostage in their home. He soon finds that Caroline and Lloyd Chasseur are so consumed by constant arguing that they barely register his presence, and their extended family, including Lloyd's mother and the couple's son, only adds to the chaos. Gus ends up trying to mediate between them, since calming the household is the only way he can hope to get out of the situation and escape the authorities.

Ted Demme directed the film, his second feature after Who's the Man? (1993) and before Beautiful Girls (1996), Life (1999) and Blow (2001). Richard LaGravenese and Marie Weiss wrote the screenplay, and LaGravenese produced alongside Ronald M. Bozman and Jeffrey Weiss. Denis Leary plays Gus, with Judy Davis as Caroline, Kevin Spacey as Lloyd, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. as Jesse, Glynis Johns as Rose and Raymond J. Barry as Lt. Huff. The production had a budget of 11 million dollars and took in roughly the same amount worldwide.

On IMDb the film holds a 6.9 rating from about 29,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6 from 388 votes. A critics' rating of 6.7 from 56 reviews places it close to the audience scores on both sites, suggesting a broadly consistent reception rather than a sharp divide between reviewers and viewers.