The Kitchen

Name: The Kitchen
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Crime
Released: August 9, 2019
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 35
Cast: Alicia Coppola, Annabella Sciorra, Bill Camp, Brian d'Arcy James, Common

2019

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 56 Ratings

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4.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 56 Ratings

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The Kitchen

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: August 9, 2019 | R

Starring: Alicia Coppola, Annabella Sciorra, Bill Camp, Brian d'Arcy James, Common, Domhnall Gleeson, Elisabeth Moss, Ethan Dubin, Gabriel Rush, James Badge Dale, Jeremy Bobb, Margo Martindale, Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Wayne Duvall

Movie Facts:

Based on the Vertigo comic book series from DC Entertainment.

Summary: Three 1978 Hell’s Kitchen housewives' mobster husbands are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia’s matters into their own hands—proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition.

Director: Andrea Berloff

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Comedy, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 102 min

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Awards & Rankings

43	#43 Most Shared Movie of 2019

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Mick LaSalle

Aug 7, 2019

Speaking of female gangsters, no review of The Kitchen should overlook Margo Martindale, who steals every scene she’s in as a mob matriarch — a gravelly voiced monster with a gutter mouth and a big photo of John F. Kennedy on her wall. Martindale gets to be evil and has as much fun onscreen as she can without smiling. Read full review

Jim Vejvoda

Aug 8, 2019

The Kitchen has a good cast and strong premise, but it never quite finds its footing and falls into gangster cliches. Read full review

Barbara VanDenburgh

Aug 7, 2019

The Kitchen requires Scorsese levels of charisma to work, and only McCarthy comes close out of sheer professionalism. Read full review

James White

Sep 16, 2019

The Kitchen flits through scenes, coming across as its own trailer rather than a full movie. And it makes disappointing use of its great components, wasting three chewy, thoughtful core performances. Read full review

Jocelyn Noveck

Aug 13, 2019

Once the plot is set in motion, things begin to go haywire. Despite compelling work from the leads and excellent supporting work from character actors like Margo Martindale and Bill Camp, it all starts to feel choppy and forced and then just tonally off — way off. Read full review

Oliver Jones

Aug 9, 2019

The truth is, the film represents a troubling trend in films today, where production and marketing types think they can get by providing shallow examples of things that are popular in the social justice zeitgeist — women being tough-as-nails lead characters, for example — and act like that’s enough. It’s not. Give us real characters; give us good writing; give us a compelling story. Otherwise, don’t bother. Read full review

Johnny Oleksinski

Aug 8, 2019

This humorless, sadistically violent wreck has not a single satisfying second. It does, however, have more than 50 F-bombs. Read full review

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User Reviews

Caeselva

Aug 10, 2019

I really don't know why peoples gave a bad review to this movie. It's honestly really good

1 of 10 users found this helpful19

W5anth

Aug 21, 2019

You really need to understand two things before you see this movie:

1. It’s not a comedy. It is not listed as a comedy. Nevermind who is in the cast. 2. The major theme of the movie is the mafia. Think about the mafia. What do they do? If you are able to process these two things, you won’tYou really need to understand two things before you see this movie:

1. It’s not a comedy. It is not listed as a comedy. Nevermind who is in the cast. 2. The major theme of the movie is the mafia. Think about the mafia. What do they do?

If you are able to process these two things, you won’t walk out saying “It wasn’t what I expected” like I heard after my screening.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

TVJerry

Aug 16, 2019

Since Melissa McCarthy & Tiffany Haddish are known for their comedy, you might expect a fun look at gangster life. You'd be mistaken. This is a serious story about 3 women who start running their Hell's Kitchen branch of the Irish mob after their husbands are jailed. All of the actors areSince Melissa McCarthy & Tiffany Haddish are known for their comedy, you might expect a fun look at gangster life. You'd be mistaken. This is a serious story about 3 women who start running their Hell's Kitchen branch of the Irish mob after their husbands are jailed. All of the actors are strong, but it's actually, the 3rd star (Elisabeth Moss) who turns in the most compelling performance (along with the always wonderful Margo Martindale in a supporting role). The story follows typical gangster guidelines, but the machinations seem too simplified for such a complex situation. While it's never boring, the bland direction by first timer Andrea Berloff renders the it rather tame (even with a few acts of mild violence). A bit of humor would have made the dramatic moments more effective. See it for the women in the leads, but don’t expect a memorable mobster drama.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MarshallCavalli

Aug 15, 2019

Wow. Wow... This is bad. Really bad.

The writing is bland, characters make ridiculous choices and editing is incoherent. Elisabeth Moss is the highlight of the film while both Mellisa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish are struggling to make an impact in a film. The pacing is sloppy, when itWow. Wow... This is bad. Really bad.

The writing is bland, characters make ridiculous choices and editing is incoherent. Elisabeth Moss is the highlight of the film while both Mellisa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish are struggling to make an impact in a film. The pacing is sloppy, when it should be precise. There is a twist so silly it couldn't convince me that this was good. This also commits the crime that it makes me not want to read the comic that this film is based off of.

Overall, The Kitchen is a milktoast, uneventful and disappointing adaptation largely undone by a lack of subtlety. It's other elements try to convey something other than bad, but can't bring themselves up to the task.

Just don't watch it.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

The3AcademySins

Sep 13, 2019

The Kitchen is a jumbled mess that is an absolute chore to sit through. It's not enjoyable. It's overly long. It's horribly paced. The editing is incoherent. It's underwhelming. If you really like the leads, whos talents are sadly wasted in this movie, then you might find some small enjoyment.

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

bfoore90

Apr 13, 2020

Performances aside, "The Kitchen" is not quite a disaster but its still pretty bad

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

mattbee1

Aug 17, 2019

Unmitigated disaster...bad writing, and terrible character development, this movie is hard to sit through

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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