Review: The Kitchen

Set in the 1970’s, a group of mobsters wives find themselves in dire straits when their husband are sent away to prison. With little help and minimal options, they set to make a business for themselves. Unfortunately, the times and the culture are not rooting for their success.

Melissa McCarthy stars as Kathy, a mother of two and usually a full-time housewife. Tiffany Haddish plays Ruby, a woman that married into a family out of necessity, only to be looked down upon because of race. Rounding out the group is Elizabeth Moss and her character Claire, a beaten down woman with fear and anger in her heart.

Without their husbands, the world they knew quickly disappears, the love and respect they once had as family quickly evaporates. After receiving little or no help, they go to create opportunities for themselves. Only for family and supposed friends to take offense. Creating a business is never easy, but they soon find out it will take much more grit and perseverance as sweat, tears and a lot of blood are required.

This film, unfortunately, is one of those “the trailer looked so amazing” type of films. It’s not that the story isn’t great, or that the actors didn’t deliver amazing performances. The fault in this movie is the direction and editing. Which saddens me, because viewing the film, you can see all the pieces of something amazing are there. Elizabeth Moss, Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish all play complete and interesting characters that have shining moments. These moments though, fall flat at times as we move through the story. Plot jumping past integral moments and choices to focus on moments that are less important to the characters mindset or development. I had higher hopes for this film as it was based on a great comic-book series by Vertigo, but the panels and pages didn’t get translated well to the screen.

Grade: C
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 1h 42m