Movies Like The Ref (1994)

The Ref is a 1994 comedy, crime, drama film from Ted Demme with a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Santa Clause.

Comedy Crime Drama

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2000

The Grinch decides to rob Whoville of Christmas - but a dash of kindness from little Cindy Lou Who and her family may be enough to melt his heart...

6.8

MagicScore

The Santa Clause

1994

On Christmas Eve, divorced dad Scott Calvin and his son discover Santa Claus has fallen off their roof. When Scott takes the reins of the magical sleigh, he finds he is now the new Santa, and must convince a world of disbelievers, including himself.

6.5

MagicScore

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

2002

A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.

6.5

MagicScore

Jingle All the Way

1996

Howard Langston, a salesman for a mattress company, is constantly kept busy at his job, disappointing his son. After he misses his son's karate exposition, Howard vows to make it up to him by buying an action figure of his son's favorite television hero for Christmas. Unfortunately for Howard, it is Christmas Eve, and every store is sold out of Turbo Man. Now, Howard must travel all over town and compete with everybody else to find a Turbo Man action figure.

6.1

MagicScore

The Santa Clause 2

2002

Better watch out! The big guy in red is coming to town once again. This time, Scott Calvin -- also known as Santa Claus -- finds out there's an obscure clause in his contract requiring him to take on a wife. He has to leave the North Pole to fulfill his obligations, or else he'll be forced to give up his Yuletide gig.

6.0

MagicScore

Gone Baby Gone

2007

When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.

7.3

MagicScore

No Good Deed

2002

While doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery.

5.4

MagicScore

Fatman

2020

A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.

5.6

MagicScore

Miracle on 34th Street

1947

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

7.4

MagicScore

#10

Entrapment

1999

Two thieves, who travel in elegant circles, try to outsmart each other and, in the process, end up falling in love.

6.2

MagicScore

#11

Long Lost

2019

When Seth receives a mysterious letter inviting him to spend the weekend at a secluded mansion in the country, he soon realizes the people inside the house may know him better than he knows himself.

4.9

MagicScore

#12

Family Switch

2023

When the Walker family members switch bodies with each other during a rare planetary alignment, their hilarious journey to find their way back to normal will bring them closer together than they ever thought possible.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

A Christmas Tale

2008

When their regal matriarch falls ill, the troubled Vuillard family come together for a hesitant Christmastime reunion. Among them is rebellious ne'er-do-well Henri and the uptight Elizabeth. Together under the same roof for the first time in many years, their intricate, long denied resentments and yearnings emerge again.

6.8

MagicScore

#14

Sleepless in Seattle

1993

After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up on a date. Talking about his father’s loneliness soon leads to a meeting with a young female journalist, who has flown to Seattle to write a story about the boy and his father.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

Mini's First Time

2006

Desperate to be free from her drunken, unloving mother Diane, the beautiful, scheming young Mini seduces her stepfather Martin and soon convinces him to join her in a sadistic scheme to have Diane declared insane. But their conspiracy soon escalates to murder and when John Garson, a young detective starts investigating, Martin and Mini begin to turn on each other.

5.5

MagicScore

#16

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

2017

Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his wife and two children. Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin, a fatherless teen who insinuates himself into the doctor's life in gradually unsettling ways.

7.0

MagicScore

#17

Bad Santa

2003

You'd better watch out - Santa Claus Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Wille's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

6.5

MagicScore

#18

The Thin Man

1934

A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.

7.5

MagicScore

#19

Holiday Inn

1942

Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gives him the brush. Jim's supper club, Holiday Inn, is the setting for the chase by Hanover and his manager.

7.0

MagicScore

#20

The Family Stone

2005

An uptight, conservative businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Ref?

The top films similar to The Ref by MovieMagicScore are How the Grinch Stole Christmas (6.8), The Santa Clause (6.5), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (6.5). Each shares comedy/crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Ref worth watching?

The Ref holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10 from 358 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Ref?

The Ref (1994) is a comedy, crime, drama film directed by Ted Demme, starring Denis Leary, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Ref?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like How the Grinch Stole Christmas Movies like The Santa Clause Movies like My Big Fat Greek Wedding Movies like Jingle All the Way Movies like The Santa Clause 2 Movies like Gone Baby Gone

About movies like The Ref

This ranked list pairs The Ref (1994), a comedy and crime and drama film from Ted Demme, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Denis Leary take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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