The Kitchen is an American 2019 crime film directed by Andrea Berloff, starring Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss that has three women struggling to survive after their husbands are arrested by the FBI and turn to crime to stay afloat.
It is based on the DC/Vertigo series of the same name.
The movie also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Common, and Bill Camp, among others.
It was released on August 9, 2019.
Tropes for the film:
- The '70s: In 1978 in Hell's Kitchen, when New York was really crime ridden and controlled by the mob.
- Bringing in the Expert: Gabriel is a Vietnam veteran and a stone cold killer who Kathy brings in when she realizes that they need serious muscle to deal with their enemies.
- The Dog Bites Back:
- Ruby puts up with her mother-in-law's verbal abuse throughout the movie, so she takes glee in tricking the bitch into thinking she was being taken out for dinner, only to be pushed down a flight of stairs when she realized she had been tricked.
- Claire verbally fights back against her abusive husband when he is released from prison early, not stopping when he assaults her. She then proceeds to shoot him in cold blood and dispose of his body into the ocean in the next scene.
- Domestic Abuse:
- Claire is regulary abused by her husband at the beginning of the movie. We later find out she miscarried after one such beating. She is extremely happy to see her husband go to prison and does not mind the financial hardship that brings.
- Kevin and his mother are emotionally abusive to Ruby, blaming her for things that are not her fault and calling her lazy and useless.
- Jimmy seems to be the nicest and reasonable of the three husbands but in the end his ego can't handle her becoming successful and he starts to sabotage her.
- End of an Era: New York is changing and so is Hell's Kitchen. As the area diversifies, The Irish Mob is losing power and other criminals are trying to move in.
- Evil Power Vacuum: After Kevin goes to prison, Little Jackie Quinn takes over the rackets in Hell's Kitchen but he quickly loses support from the locals. Kathy, Ruby and Claire are well known and liked and step in to fill in the developing power vaccuum.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Ruby kills Helen by pushing her down some stairs and making look like the victim tripped.
- Police Are Useless: The NYPD don't do much policing in Hell's Kitchen and are paid of by the gangsters. The FBI is much more effective but do not have the resources to monitor Hell's Kitchen regularly.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Don Coretti does not think much of a man who would betray his own wife and reveals the betrayal to Kathy.
- Stay in the Kitchen: A major theme of the movie. The male gangsters do not want their wives working and find the idea of the protagonists running their own rackets to be ridiculous. Don Coretti is the major exception and has no problem partnering up with Kathy
if it will make him money.
