Best movies like The Ref

Similar in 81%

Bad Christmas (2021)

Plot Summary:

A peaceful Christmas Eve is interrupted when a thief breaks into a villa. When the family’s little daughter mistakes him for Santa Claus and asks him to fulfill her Christmas wish, he will be forced to perform a miracle that will redeem secrets from the past.

Similar in 76%

Poor White Trash (2000)

Plot Summary:

Mike and Lenny are two buddies who dream of getting out of the trailer park. Out of desperation they resort to burglary as a means of financing Mike's college education. Their dream is jeopardized one summer day when their ploy to shoplift Near Beer begins a crime spree and a series of mishaps during which they are threatened with jail.

Similar in 78%

Faithful (1996)

Plot Summary:

A depressed housewife whose husband is having an affair contemplates suicide, but changes her mind when she faces death by a killer hired to do her in.

Similar in 84%

Bad Santa 2 (2016)

Plot Summary:

Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie Soke teams up with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is chubby and cheery Thurman Merman, a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie's sliver of humanity. Issues arise when the pair are joined by Willie's horror story of a mother, who raises the bar for the gang's ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior.

Similar in 86%

The Survivors (1983)

Plot Summary:

Having both lost their jobs, two strangers become unlikely friends after a run in with a would be robber, who is actually a hitman with a grudge against the two.

Similar in 86%

Ruthless People (1986)

Plot Summary:

A couple, cheated by a vile businessman, kidnap his wife in retaliation, without knowing that their enemy is delighted they did.

Similar in 86%

Enid Is Sleeping (1990)

Plot Summary:

Enid only looks like she's sleeping. In fact, she's dead. Shortly after Enid caught her husband Harry in bed with her sister June, a row ensued, whereupon June accidently killed Enid. June's problem now is to hide the truth from the authorities, including her police-officer husband Floyd. Then she decides to reveal Enid's demise, albeit rearranging the damning evidence to make the whole thing look like the accident it really was.

Similar in 85%

Swimming with Sharks (1994)

Plot Summary:

A young, naive Hollywood studio assistant finally turns the tables on his incredibly abusive producer boss.

Similar in 82%

Double Whammy (2001)

Plot Summary:

Ray Pluto has many problems. He is satirized in the tabloids as the "loser cop." His partner is starting to seem suspiciously attracted to him. A pair of screenwriters across the hall keep bugging him for help. The superintendent of his building is stabbed by hoodlums hired by his own rebellious daughter. To top it off, a sexually aggressive chiropractor may just be Ray's undoing.

Similar in 80%

Trapped in Paradise (1994)

Plot Summary:

The Firpo Brothers can get away with anything. They just can't get away!.

Similar in 86%

Bandits (2001)

Plot Summary:

Two bank robbers fall in love with the girl they've kidnapped.

Similar in 77%

Something for Everyone (1970)

Plot Summary:

An opportunistic young man working as a servant to a European countess uses his sexual talents to better his station in life.

Similar in 89%

The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988)

Plot Summary:

There's nothing wrong with the Marshetta family that a little felony can't cure. Rupert doesn't want to follow in his father's blue-collar footsteps, so he and his quirky friend kidnap his father for ransom, only nobody wants him back.

Similar in 89%

A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014)

Plot Summary:

Boyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.

Similar in 81%

The New Age (1994)

Plot Summary:

Peter and Katherine Witner are Southern California super-yuppies with great jobs but no center to their lives. When they both lose their jobs and begin marital infidelities, their solution is to start their own business together. In order to find meaning to their empty lives, they follow various New Age gurus and other such groups. Eventually, they hit rock bottom and have to make some hard decisions.

Similar in 90%

Bad Santa (2003)

Plot Summary:

A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid, and the security boss discovers the plot.

Similar in 75%

Raising Arizona (1987)

Plot Summary:

The Coen Brothers tell the story of a absurd yet likable family with an unproductive couple as the focal point. The couple has gotten themselves into some trouble while kidnapping a baby and give Hollywood one of the most memorable chase scenes to date.

Similar in 90%

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Plot Summary:

A diamond advocate is attempting to steal a collection of diamonds, yet troubles arise when he realizes that he is not the only one after the diamonds.

Similar in 87%

Bottle Rocket (1996)

Plot Summary:

Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hair-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.

Similar in 81%

The Big White (2005)

Plot Summary:

To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.

Similar in 88%

The Ice Harvest (2005)

Plot Summary:

A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.

Similar in 78%

Suicide Kings (1997)

Plot Summary:

Christopher Walken shines in this cult-favorite dark comedy as Charlie, a former mobster who is abducted by five privileged young men (Sean Patrick Flanery, Johnny Galecki, Jay Mohr, Jeremy Sisto, Henry Thomas) desperate to raise a $2 million ransom to save the sister of a friend. As Charlie plays mind games, however, his captors splinter -- each wondering whether one of their own had a hand in the crime.

Similar in 85%

Home for the Holidays (1995)

Plot Summary:

After losing her job, making out with her soon to be ex-boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson has to face spending the holiday with her family. She wonders if she can survive their crazy antics.

Similar in 89%

Mixed Nuts (1994)

Plot Summary:

The events focus around a crisis hotline business on one crazy night during the Christmas holidays.

Similar in 81%

Death at a Funeral (2010)

Plot Summary:

Aaron's father's funeral is today at the family home, and everything goes wrong: the funeral home delivers the wrong body, his cousin accidentally drugs her fiancé, and Aaron's successful younger brother, Ryan, flies in from New York, broke but arrogant. To top it all off, a mysterious stranger wants a word with Aaron.

Similar in 75%

Surviving Christmas (2004)

Plot Summary:

Drew Latham is an executive leading an empty, shallow life with only wealth on his side. Facing another lonely Christmas ahead, he revisit his old childhood home in the hope of reliving some old holiday memories – but he finds that the house in which he was raised is no longer the home in which he grew up.

Similar in 86%

Four Christmases (2008)

Plot Summary:

Brad and Kate have made something of an art form out of avoiding their families during the holidays, but this year their foolproof plan is about go bust -- big time. Stuck at the city airport after all departing flights are canceled, the couple is embarrassed to see their ruse exposed to the world by an overzealous television reporter. Now, Brad and Kate are left with precious little choice other than to swallow their pride and suffer the rounds.

Similar in 83%

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Plot Summary:

A man must struggle to travel home for Thanksgiving, with an obnoxious slob of a shower ring salesman his only companion.

Similar in 87%

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Plot Summary:

It's Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.

Similar in 76%

The Santa Clause (1994)

Plot Summary:

Scott Calvin is an ordinary man, who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve and is knocked unconscious. When he and his young son finish Santa's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole, where Scott learns he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed, Father Christmas.