Creativity in Kitchen goes cold by the finish
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss, Domhnall Gleeson. Does not make use of all utensils A DECIDEDLY unorthodox crime drama, The Kitchen certainly hits the ground running, only to suddenly slow to a jog, before literally falling across the finish line in a state of exhaustion.
Early on, the shapes thrown are most promising, when it looks as if we might have a female-powered equivalent of the gritty gangster classic GoodFellas on our hands.
Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss star as three Hell’s Kitchen housewives hitched to three crooked brothers. Not one of them is enjoying what might be politely described as a textbook marriage.
Claire (Moss) is a doormat for her abusive husband, one of those terrifying brand of men whose rage increases the more mild their spouse becomes in their presence.
Ruby (Haddish) is prepared to stand up to her man to a certain degree, but is careful not to cross the line. An interracial union like theirs draws a lot of unnecessary heat her way. One wrong move and everything could go up in flames.
Kathy (McCarthy) might be the dominant partner in her household, but she still must bow to the say-so of her mother-in-law (Margo Martindale), a tough-as-boots matriarch who is, err, “known to the authorities”.
The first act of The Kitchen maps out the battle lines inside this warring extended family with real purpose and swift efficiency, seemingly setting everything up for better things to come. Unfortunately, as it turns out, the movie peaks a bit too early for anyone’s good.
When their brutish better halves are thrown in jail for a botched armed robbery, the ladies are left to fend for themselves.
This being New York City at the dawn of the 1980s, the hard-boiled heroines know all too well that desperate times demand desperate measures.
So they set up their own protection racket — first using hired muscle, then their own rapidly-evolving intimidation techniques — to become the only mobsters that matter in their neighbourhood.
Each of the women is changed by the experience of warranting respect (and provoking fear) for the first time in their lives.
It is how the movie goes about depicting these changes that will disenchant (and possibly even divide) many viewers. In particular, Claire’s transformation from punching bag to psychopath (there’s a chilling scene where she is taught how to dispose of a body after a murder) is far from convincing.
While the three leads are impressive enough, the screenplay (based on an obscure comic book series) is too sketchy and what should have been a fiery finale fails to combust.