In the first of two special holiday episodes, we’re looking back to 1994, the year we covered in our debut season, to talk about Christmas cult classic The Ref. Directed by Ted Demme from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese and Marie Weiss and starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis and Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., The Ref was a box-office failure but has since become a holiday favorite.

The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-ref-1994), Caryn James in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/09/movies/reviews-film-the-ref-a-christmas-that-upends-christmas.html), and Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly (https://ew.com/article/2007/07/25/ref-2/).

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All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com

Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in next time for our second special holiday episode, featuring a look ahead to our 1989 season with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.