The Kitchen: A Review by Don Manigly

What do you get when you take a first time director, 3 of Hollywood’s hottest leading ladies, the DC Comics Vertigo label and a whole lot of predictability? Simply put… you get the hard-edged but ultimately mediocre cinematic experience known as The Kitchen. 

The film is set in the late 1970s and explores the trials and tribulations of a trio of Irish mob wives played by Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Moss and Tiffany Haddish. After their stock tough guy husbands are jailed following a botched robbery attempt in Hells Kitchen, the ladies take it upon themselves to clean up the neighborhood by any means necessary. Along the way, a bloody trail of bodies is left as McCarthy, Moss and Haddish become the latest sensation of the criminal underworld. But, while the premise sounds intriguing enough, the story never amounts to anything of real interest. 

Make no mistake, the three leads are committed to their roles. Each of them are strong-willed yet vulnerable and makes the audience want to cheer them on. Elizabeth Moss, in particular, stands out while Domnhall Gleeson brings a likable charm to the role of her character’s love interest. Unfortunately, the fun stops here. Every other character in the story from Tiffany Haddish’s mother in law to the Italian Mafia Don is nothing but a caricature. Motivations are paper thin and the film jumps rapidly from scene to scene while simultaneously lacking any true emotional stakes.

Do yourself a favor and skip this movie! It tries to be a film highlighting female empowerment but instead serves as a reminder that female empowerment has to feel authentic and earned in a quality motion picture.