The Ref (1994)

This week, the dads continue their Dadvent Calendar with The Ref (1994), a pitch-black Christmas comedy where a cat burglar named Gus hijacks the wrong couple and spends his Christmas Eve playing unwilling marriage counselor to a pair of wealthy Connecticut WASPs who simply will not stop fighting. Steve brought this pick to the table as a movie he's loved since college, one he watches nearly every holiday season. Nic came in cold, his Dennis Leary fandom from the "No Cure for Cancer" days somehow never steering him toward this one until now.

The dads dig into the film's hostile charm: the Scandinavian nightmare dinner with lit candle wreaths and Middle Earth cuisine, the volunteer cops who accidentally record It's a Wonderful Life over their only evidence, and the blackmailing military school kid who might be the most competent person in the whole movie. They marvel at Judy Davis absolutely dominating every scene she's in, holding the screen like a stage actress while delivering ice-cold lines about garnish and corpses. Steve calls out Kevin Spacey's presence with the requisite asterisk, but acknowledges the man is undeniably good here, especially in the present-opening scene where he finally tells his mother to shut the fuck up and offers to buy her a cross she can nail herself to. Nic notes his frustration with the wacky escalation format and wishes for more Leary ranting, but appreciates the Christmas bones of the thing.

The dads align on Judy Davis as the MVP, debate the ethics of therapists attending family dinners, and bond over the universal experience of stopping for food before arriving at a relative's house because you know the situation will be weird.

A holiday hostage comedy where the gunman is somehow the most reasonable person at the table.