When I was planning out this particular week, there were three movies opening I was interested in. I’d only be able to see one that weekend, one would wait til Tuesday, and the third til the following weekend. On paper, The Kitchen should have been the priority: three badass ladies I love running the mob in Hell’s Kitchen. But the other thing on paper was that this film starring A-list high caliber actresses was being released in August. That did not bode well. I gave it the second slot.
Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Moss, and Tiffany Haddish are married to the mob in 1970’s NYC. Their husbands are sent to jail for a few years, leaving the women to fend for themselves and their families. When their husbands’ associates aren’t stepping up to provide for them, they realize that the boys aren’t even running things right. The ladies take it upon themselves to take over and own the neighborhood.
This sounds like it should be pretty good, yeah? Who doesn’t wanna see McCarthy, Moss, and Haddish run the world? So why the dump in the dog days of summer? The writing. Ugh, it was terrible. Specifically the storytelling, not necessarily the dialog. The whole thing was really lazy and cliche with the occasional “shocking twist” that was neither shocking nor twisty nor followed up on properly. The story could have been something powerful (maybe even awards worthy with that cast) and it didn’t even try.
However, our leading ladies were doing more than trying. They were acting as hard as they could and made the most with what they were given. Melissa commanded that screen, and it made me long for the movie that this could have been. Elizabeth was relegated to an accent that hypnotized me. Tiffany was dragged down by the script. Still, I enjoyed watching them. A lesser cast would have made this film unwatchable, but they made it worth my time (with a subscription ticket, not worth paying admission for).
Oh I guess the other thing that made it worth it was Domhnall Gleeson was really hot.
The Kitchen – \m/ \m/ \m/