Review – The Ref

Trouble on the domestic front? Is your relationship with your spouse falling apart? Do your kids, in-laws, etc. hate your guts? Is it mutual? Well, apparently all you need is for a would-be burglar to come and take the whole crew hostage on Christmas Eve, and the wacky antics that ensue will have everything right as rain in no time. Okay, I know this sounds hokey as heck, and the thought of sitting through a mess of Denis Leary’s break-neck delivery doesn’t make it much more enticing. But oddly enough, this is actually a pretty good film. The dialogue is biting and sarcastic enough to keep it from getting too sappy (well, at least until right near the end).And amazingly enough, everybody learns a little bit about kindness without wallowing in a lot of Dickensian Yuletide-spirit nonsense. Mildly amusing