The ref - 1994

70 % fun, 10% boring, 20% drama. I liked it. Well, it has Kevin Spacey in it, and I love him and he was great here too. We can feel the atmosphere right from the start, when we see Caroline and Lloyd talking to marriage counsellor Wong (BD Wong :-D nice ) and they constantly quarrel, it appears they are always bickering and just can't stop. On their way home they stop to buy something, and a robber on the run gets her to force them to drive him away, and not knowing where to go he goes to their house. At first they are alone, but soon their son arrives. He comes from a military academy where he blackmails his superior with some compromising pictures.
Gus thought he would just gain some time to get his accomplice to find a way for him to escape, but he couldn't imagine a house like this. After the son other people arrive: two cops visiting (and they answer the phone when the accomplice calls), a drunk man dressed as Santa Claus, and their relatives here to spend Christmas Eve together.
It turns out that Lloyd's mother Rose has been trying to control their lives: Lloyd lives in her house and has to pay her rent, plus she gave them money to open a restaurant (that they closed after a terrible review) and he has to pay it back with 18% interests. Caroline blames him for it and for everything that goes wrong in their lives and says he wants a divorce but the fault is actually more hers than his: she never made a single decision, leaving everything on his shoulders. They moved because she was not happy in their little apartment in New York, he didn't want to accept his mother's money but she was not sure that was wise, and it was always like that for everything.
To go through the evening more easily Gus pretends to be doctor Wong to the family's eyes, leaving the son tied up upstairs to ensure their collaboration. One more surprise comes from the son's superior Siskel who comes home to reveal everything to the parents; he wants this thing to stop.
Drunk George also comes to their house to mess things up even more, then the police starts searching every house, so the family decides to help Gus escaping. In a way he helped them get it all out and sort of make peace, so they have him dress with George's Santa costume and the son leads him away while they lie to the police. It works, when someone sees Gus they think he's George and let him go: it's a little Connecticut town and they all know him.
Husband and wife of course make peace, and everything seems to be well again :-)



Gus the robber - Denis Leary
Caroline - Judy Davis
Lloyd - Kevin Spacey
Rose the mother - Glynis Johns
Connie - Christine Baranski
Siskel - J.K. Simmons

ITA c'eravamo tanto odiati