- Actors: Denis Leary, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., Glynis Johns
- Directors: Ted Demme
- Writers: Richard LaGravenese, Marie Weiss
- Producers: Don Simpson, Jeffrey Weiss, Jerry Bruckheimer, Richard LaGravenese, Ronald M. Bozman
- Format: Closed-captioned, PAL, Colour, Full Screen
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Vci
- VHS Release Date: 6 Mar 2000
- Run Time: 93 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004I9N6
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,125 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Caustic wit gets a full-body workout in this 1994 comedy (known as The Ref in the US), in which a cat burglar (Denis Leary) gets trapped in an affluent Connecticut neighbourhood and is forced to hold a bickering couple hostage on Christmas Eve, only to discover that their Yuletide spirit is anything but cheerful. Caroline (Judy Davis) and her husband, Lloyd (Kevin Spacey), have been at each other's throats for so long that they've developed domestic arguments into an art form, and the would-be kidnapper turns into a reluctant mediator, even after he's got the battling couple wound up in bungee cords. The situation grows even more complicated when the couple's smart-aleck son comes home from military school, but it's not the plot here that's a top priority. Instead it's the sheer pleasure of witnessing a three-way verbal jousting match, written with razor-sharp skill and delivered by actors who are perfect for their roles. The movie's got a dark edge, but it never gets too dark--you know that it's not going to slide into more seriously damaging territory, so you can sit back and enjoy the volleys of scathing insults and sarcasm the way you would a Bill Hicks performance. If that sounds like your idea of entertainment, Hostile Hostages will serve it up with style. --Jeff Shannon
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I've only known this as Hostile Hostages and rented it years ago and I was hooked. All the acting is fantastic, it is incredibly well scripted. Dennis Leary is just phenomenaly funny as are Judy and Kevin in their role as a quarrelling couple. I can't recomend this enough!! It is my favourite film of all time... believe me its absolutely fantastic!!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"The Ref" or "Hostile Hostages" as it is sometimes know by its other title, is one of theose hidden gems of a film that by far outshines some of the more successful and well known films, and yet in many senses is by far much much better than these.
The plot idea is relatively simple, Denis Leary plays Gus a professional burglar who after a foiled robbery seeks to make good his escape by taking married couple Lloyd and Caroline Chasseur hostage. Lloyd (played by Kevin Spacey) and Caroline (played by Judy Davis) are however going through something of a marriage crisis and poor old Gus ends up as a real piggy in the middle between the two warring factions of this married couple. Add in a delinquent son, a mother-in-law of humongous bitchy proportions and a drunk Santa Claus and let the mayhem begin!
The interplay between Learn, Spacey and Davis is simply fantastic with the machinegun like dialogue whizzing back and forth between them. Likewise the stingingly cruel comments from the mother-in-law from hell are a real hoot, as is the bumbling capers of the town's less than competent police force.
What makes the film work on another level though is that the arguments and disagreements that have the family at each other's throats are not contrived or unbelievable. Both husband and wife put forward extremely credible points of view that I'm sure have cropped up in the minds of most viewers. This gives the film a lovely poignancy and all that more enjoyable.
Don't let this brilliant little film pass you by!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
We got this film out cos we love Kevin Spacey! What a great film - fast, sassy and slick. Great storyline which forty somethings and teens enjoyed together so makes a good family film if you've got older "children". Hilarious! Enjoy! :o)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliantly funny!
I had this film on Video and I have been looking for it on DVD for years - and I found it on Amazon! It is one of my favourite comedies of all time. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Sue J
The Ref (AKA Hostile Hostages) Review
Although this film is undeniably mean spirited and one of the most unusual festive films you'll ever see, the too dark for some plotline enthralls and engrosses throughout. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Legendary Matt
Black Christmas
I caught the end of this film on television one Christmas and found myself enjoying a darkly comic treat at the end of a cheese and cracker filled viewing schedule. Read more
Published 17 months ago by N. J. Toner
The Ref aka Hostile Hostages
You will not be disappointed with this film. Denis Leary is superb - as are Kevin Spacey and Julie Davis. If you like your humour very dry, then this film is for you. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2009 by S. J. Robinson
A very funny movie
Barely escaping from his botched burglary of a fancy house, Gus (played by Denis Leary) quickly finds a place to hideout from the police. Read more
Published on 13 July 2005 by Kurt A. Johnson
Verbal jousting, smelly criminals, Xmas, it's all here!!
With every actors performance is in this, no-one goes over and above what each Charactor is worth, and the film is better for it. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2004 by G. Roberts
The Film that Made Kevin Spacey
This movie is not for everyone but if you like Denis Leary & Kevin Spacey & you like a movie that has depth & some rib breaking scenes, this is a classic comedy of its time.
Published on 23 Jan 2004 by "star_fury"
So you never thought you'd feel sorry for a criminal
Family squabbles getting you down? Feeling down on your luck? You're in great shape compared to this lot! This underrated movie is crammed with laughs. Read more
Published on 2 April 2000 by B. Smith
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