The Kitchen (2019)

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1. 

   yukononun

   If this was 103 minutes of Claire and Gabriel shooting up gangsters and building their empire, then I would have loved it. Except it wasn't.
   It was far more boring and long-winded.
   
   Honestly, I don't quite know what the message of this film is supposed to be. Ruby is a feminist and an activist. Kathy is also a feminist. Both of them declare that it's time for women to shine, yet they both use men to do all of their dirty work. They brudgingly admit that they need men, but...do they? When they're both at the top, they still have men as their muscle. Why not women? Because dirty work is only suited for men?
   Seriously, it makes no sense.
   I didn't mind Kathy (McCarthy), but the only characters I really felt for were Claire (Moss) and Gabriel (Gleeson). They were...brutal, sure, but I liked their backstory. It was nice to see Claire becoming confident and facing her demons, and to see her and Gabriel falling in love.

   By the time the two of them were sharing their dreams, it was becoming pretty clear that one of them was going to die. This was obvious because the spotlight was constantly on Kathy and (especially) Ruby, not Claire. Sure enough, one of them did, but in a really bizarre way.
   
   The plot was convoluted, but here's the short version of Claire's backstory and the moments leading to a certain death:
   1. Claire's husband (Rob) beats her mercilessly, even threatening her if she so much as puts ice on her bruises
   2. After he goes to jail, Claire volunteers at a shelter and shows compassion to a homeless man by giving him food after he's turned away.
   3. The man returns her generosity by somehow sneaking into the shelter's office and attempts to steal their valuables
   4. Claire catches him in the act, and he attacks her
   5. Claire is sent the hospital. She vows to never let a man hit her again.
   6. A man then tries to rape her. (I'm not making this up)
   7. An ex-mobster named Gabriel saves her, and he takes her under his wing. They soon become lovers, and move into a new home together.
   8. Claire's wife-beating husband is released from prison and soon breaks into their home, before doing what he does best (beating his wife)
   9. She kills him and finally realises that she's free. Her and Gabriel talk about their dreams and of getting out of the city and the gangster life.
   10. Kevin (Ruby's husband) puts a hit out on the three women because they have too much power
   11. Ruby asks the Italian mafia to kill every single backstabber, including their three husbands
   12. Kathy demands that her husband and a kid named Colin be spared
   13. The Italian hit goes through, and everyone is killed...except for Kathy's husband and Colin
   14. Colin is angry that everyone was killed, and so he goes after...Claire? Not Ruby, the one who put the hit out?
   15. Colin (a rookie kid, remember) quietly sneaks in to Claire's home, and slips into her bedroom at night completely undetected
   16. Claire (not Gabriel, who is a hardcore veteran) wakes up, sees someone standing there, and shoots them
   17. Colin slumps over, "presumably" dead
   18. Gabriel wakes up as Claire looks at the body
   19. Colin is actually still alive, and is also apparently a crackshot as he quickly and quietly shoots Claire right in her neck
   20. Claire dies in Gabriel's arms.
   21. Funeral.
   
   Yep.
   So what was happening to Kathy and Ruby while Claire was suffering so much abuse?
   Basically nothing. A bit of threats here and there that were only enacted on Claire.
   Neither of them were targeted for anything, except right at the end when Ruby attempted to have Kathy killed. What happened to Ruby after that? Oh, she became frienemies with Kathy and they resumed their partnership.
   
   What was the moral? That if you're being abused you should just take it, otherwise you'll be killed? That no matter what you do you'll always be a punching bag?
   Seriously, what was the point of her character if she was cut down like that? Why go to all those lengths to show her growth if it didn't mean anything in the end? She barely even started to live her life out of her husband's shadow. Was her whole existence just to hopefully get the audience to shed a tear after her death?

   
   
   It's strange because this is obviously a feminist film, yet it constantly contradicts itself. Ruby and Kathy rely completely on men. Ruby is a

   backstabbing bitch that uses Kathy and is rewarded by Kathy for it. Claire does the dirty work herself, but is barely acknowledged for it. Claire has a long history of abuse, yet is murdered right before she and her love can start a new life together.

   So again, I ask: what exactly is the point? I don't get it. I don't know if I want to get it.
   
   Long story short: It was annoying. Melissa, Elisabeth and Domnhall were entertaining as ever, but they weren't worth nearly two hours of a convoluted plot and boring "twists". 3 years 11 months ago
2. 

   dippygirl78

   It was okay, kept thinking Melissa was going to start being funny. Couldn't see her as the head of an mob like empire funnily enough and the only one with a convincing New York accent was the Brit. Go Figure. 2 years 5 months ago
3. 

   Siskoid

   The Kitchen's opening sequence apes the style of blaxploitation films of the 70s (and is set in the later part of the decade), but unfortunately, doesn't push that enough in the main body of the film. It certainly could have. It has the grimy New York of the era down, and it's about three women who go on a rampage, taking over their husbands' protection racket when they're sent to prison, with plenty of revenges on destructive douchebags. But The Kitchen is undercooked at almost every level, not just the style. The protagonists' decisions are often ill-motivated or badly foregrounded. Conflicts tend to resolve in anti-climax. The black comedy works better in the trailer than the way it's edited in long form. There's a twist towards the end that comes out of nowhere. What works in comics needs beefing up in drama, and that wasn't done here. As for the three actresses on which this story hangs, they're all people I enjoy. Tiffany Haddish has the look, but I found her unconvincing, while Melissa McCarthy and Elisabeth Moss were at their usual strong level. In the end, though The Kitchen could have benefited from another pass, if you enjoy the cast, you'll find the movie at least watchable. 2 years 7 months ago

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