Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»3515. The Kitchen (2019)

    3515. The Kitchen (2019)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on October 15, 2021 100-109 mins, 2019, 6 - 7.9, Crime, Drama, Movies Of 2021, Oct 21, Review, United States
    6.2 Underwhelming
    • Acting 6.6
    • Directing 6.1
    • Story 5.8
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss, Tiffany Haddish

    Director: Andrea Berloff

    Running Time: 103 mins


    The Kitchen is an American film about the wives of three New York mobsters who, after their husbands are sent to prison, take the reigns over the neighbourhood of Hell’s Kitchen, running the area with a stronger grip than anyone before.

    A largely underwhelming mob movie, The Kitchen really struggles to captivate the imagination as either an original take on the classic mafia tale, a modern comic book adaptation, or an uplifting feminist tale.

    While the movie does a nice job with its set and costume design, landing you comfortably in late 1970s New York City, there’s little else that really makes The Kitchen stand out as a fresh vision of the mob movie, with a story that feels frustratingly similar to the modern thriller Widows.

    Unlike Widows, which had a lot of emotional depth to it, however, The Kitchen doesn’t have much to say beyond its central premise. After the three women see their husbands sent down, they rather easily get control of the local mafia, and start to run the area with an iron fist.

    That’s about it for at least an hour, and while a little bit of action and deceit in the final act brings a degree of intrigue and stakes to the table, it’s almost too little, too late, with The Kitchen having done little to stake its claim as a genuinely original mob movie.

    The lead performances are some of the film’s better points, with Elisabeth Moss in particular really impressing as the most unstable of the three women, and whose new lease on life as a mob boss completely transforms her character from frustrated housewife to a confident, almost psychotic woman.

    Alongside Moss, Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish are both fine, although neither is as entertaining or charismatic as in their best comedy performances.

    And that’s another thing that proves a little disappointing about The Kitchen – a lack of humour. Simply having comedic actresses in the lead roles doesn’t mean the movie has to be wall-to-wall jokes, but even the grittiest of mob movies have funny, dark humour throughout.

    The screenplay here, however, doesn’t have the spark or the charisma to even try for any genuinely funny jokes, with a few moments of good dark humour overshadowed by what is otherwise a rather low-energy story.

    So, despite its attempts to offer something fresh to a tried and tested genre, The Kitchen proves a frustrating and underwhelming watch throughout, failing to use its talented leads to its advantage, and struggling to really keep you enthralled from the start. And that’s why I’m giving it a 6.2 overall.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.1
    Review
    August 23, 20160

    1461. Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

    9.5
    Review
    March 23, 20140

    500. Fight Club (1999)

    8.5
    Review
    September 25, 20210

    3490. A Few Good Men (1992)

    8.0
    Review
    October 4, 20210

    3501. Sunshine (2007)

    8.1
    Review
    February 14, 20170

    1660. A Man Called Ove (2016)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.