Riveting River Entertainment

Synopsis

She’s all in.

In the waning seconds of a close college basketball game in Las Vegas, Black referee Violet Mayhew calls a controversial, but correct blocking foul. Players and coaches scream at her as thousands of fans chant, “Ref, you SUCK”—but the stoic Violet maintains her composure.

After the game, Violet’s boss, Jonathan Chambers, compliments her cool head and quick whistle, then hints that she may be up for some high-profile games during March Madness—much to the chagrin of Violet’s older, white male colleagues, who believe she’s advancing more for diversity than competence.

Adding to Violet’s workplace dilemmas is her home life. Following the sudden death of Violet’s sister, her mother, Pearl, has begun to lose her marbles, suffering from a mysterious blend of ailments resembling fibromyalgia, OCD and dementia. Taking inadequate care of her is Violet’s Italian-American brother-in-law, Billy D’Amico, a degenerate gambler who owes the mafia $57,000 due to poorly placed bets and a meat store that went bankrupt. When Violet returns home for a chaotic Thanksgiving dinner, Billy masks his money troubles by asking Violet to help pay for Pearl’s prescriptions. Reluctantly, Violet hands over nearly $1,000 in dollar coins she won at a slot machine while waiting for her flight home from the Las Vegas airport.

The next day, Billy runs into violent loan shark, Chico Gambini, and his deaf henchman, Harlow. Billy tries to pay off a fraction of his debt with Violet’s bag of coins, but gets slugged in the gut for the perceived disrespect of repaying a bookie “in change.” Desperate to save his skin, Billy passes along some insider information about an upcoming game given to him by Violet, telling Chico that St. John’s will keep things close against a heavily favored Georgetown. Intrigued, but tired of Billy’s delays, Chico makes his final offer: he’ll use his own money to bet on the game, but if he loses, then Billy and Pearl are dead. Seeing his life is already on the line, Billy agrees, then uses a sports betting app to gamble the $1,000 Violet gave him on St. John’s to cover the spread.

Meanwhile, Violet prepares for her upcoming game in the hotel room of her pseudo-boyfriend, Len Kirkland—a prominent head referee. Worried about being caught in an inappropriate workplace relationship, the couple keep things under wraps, but it’s clear the older Len feels stronger about Violet than she does about him.

Just before the game starts, Billy begs Violet to help St. John’s cover the spread. Enraged, Violet refuses, but then Billy lists all he’s done for Violet over the years: paying for her referee camps, buying her sister a house and wiping her mother’s ass for the last few months. She owes him.

In the final moments of the game, Violet blows her whistle, calling a questionable charging foul that lets St. John’s cover the spread. Deliriously happy, Billy thanks Violet, but she warns him—never again. Billy agrees. Relieved, Violet returns home to her apartment, only to find herself on the business end of Chico’s handgun.

Chico and Harlow collect Violet and Billy and take them to see Donna Gambini, Chico’s mom and the head of a waning crime family. Chico proposes a simple scheme: he will place the bets, Violet will fix the games and Billy will act as the go-between. Flanked by her two burly daughters Sofia and Chiara, Donna originally dismisses Chico’s scheme, but reconsiders after Violet takes control of the meeting—laying out how she can alter outcomes and the potential bonanza that could be reaped from this arrangement.

In exchange for the lion’s share of the profits, Donna agrees to Violet’s conditions: she’ll eat the gambling losses, cover in-home-care for Pearl and allow Billy more time to pay off his debt. Still, she’s curious as to why Violet, a rule-enforcer, suddenly wants to go crooked. In response, Violet repeats a mantra given to her by her father years ago: “Basketball is just a game. Family is everything.”

Funny, suspenseful and full of relatable family drama, The Ref gives audiences a behind-the-scenes look at referees, college basketball, organized crime and (somewhat) legal gambling.