Honestly, walking into a theater for a movie starring Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss usually feels like a guarantee for a laugh riot. But The Kitchen movie 2019 was a total curveball. It wasn't a comedy. Not even close. It was this gritty, 1970s period piece set in Hell's Kitchen, and it tried to do something very specific that most people—and critics—weren't quite ready for at the time.
It bombed. Hard.
With a budget of roughly $38 million, it barely scraped together $16 million globally. That hurts. But if you look at how it’s trending on streaming platforms lately, you’ll see there’s a second life happening here. People are finally catching on to the fact that this isn't just a "female-led Goodfellas" knockoff. It’s a messy, violent, and surprisingly deep look at power dynamics in a world that refuses to give women a seat at the table.
The Brutal Reality of Hell’s Kitchen
The story kicks off when three Irish mobsters get hauled off to prison by the FBI. Their wives—Kathy, Ruby, and Claire—are left with basically nothing. The mob "family" offers them pittance, a literal insult of a check that won't even cover the rent. So, they take over the business. They start collecting protection money, but they actually provide the protection the guys were too lazy to manage.
It’s a fascinating premise.
Andrea Berloff, who directed this and also co-wrote Straight Outta Compton, clearly wanted to lean into the grime. You can smell the stale beer and garbage in every frame. New York in the late 70s was a nightmare, and the movie doesn't shy away from that. While the comic book source material (by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle) was even darker, the film keeps enough of that edge to make you feel uncomfortable.
A Cast That Refused to Play it Safe
Melissa McCarthy is the heart here. If you only know her from Bridesmaids, her performance as Kathy will shock you. She isn't playing for gags. She’s playing a mother who realizes that being "good" is exactly what kept her poor and vulnerable. Watching her transition from a timid housewife to a woman who can negotiate with the Italian mafia is the movie's strongest thread.
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Then you have Tiffany Haddish. She plays Ruby, an outsider within the Irish community because she’s Black. Her motivation is different from the others. She isn’t just looking for survival; she’s looking for a total takeover because she knows the system was never built for her anyway. It’s a cold, calculated performance that proved she has dramatic chops, even if the script sometimes let her down.
And Elisabeth Moss? As Claire, she goes through the most radical transformation. She starts as a victim of domestic abuse and ends up becoming the group’s primary muscle, falling for a hitman played by Domhnall Gleeson. Their weird, murderous chemistry is arguably the best part of the whole two-hour runtime.
Why Critics Hated It (And Why They Might Be Wrong)
The primary complaint back in 2019 was the pacing. Critics felt like the transition from "desperate wives" to "ruthless crime bosses" happened too fast. One minute they’re cleaning up blood, the next they’re running the neighborhood. It’s a fair point. Life doesn’t usually move that quickly, even in the movies.
But here’s the thing. The Kitchen movie 2019 isn't trying to be a slow-burn character study like The Irishman. It’s a pulpy, high-stakes thriller. It moves with a frantic energy because these women are in a race against time before their husbands get out of jail. If they don't consolidate power now, they’re dead later. When you view it through that lens, the speed makes a lot more sense.
The tonal shifts are jarring, sure. It jumps from family drama to graphic dismemberment in a heartbeat. But isn’t that just the nature of the crime genre? We didn't complain when Joe Pesci went from joking around to stabbing a guy with a pen in Goodfellas. There’s a bit of a double standard at play when we talk about how these female characters "should" behave in a mob movie.
Breaking Down the Style and Sound
The fashion is incredible. Period. Costume designer Sarah Edwards deserves more credit for the leather coats, the flared pants, and the sheer 70s swagger that drips off the screen. It’s a visual feast for anyone who loves that era of aesthetics.
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The soundtrack is another heavy hitter. You've got tracks like "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac playing over pivotal scenes. It’s a bit on the nose, but it works. The music bridges the gap between the internal emotions of the characters and the external violence of their new careers.
The Complicated Legacy of the 2019 Adaptation
One of the biggest hurdles this movie faced was being compared to Widows, which came out just a year earlier. Both movies featured women taking over their husbands' criminal enterprises. But where Widows was a sleek, high-end heist film directed by Steve McQueen, The Kitchen is a gritty, street-level power struggle.
They are fundamentally different movies.
The Kitchen is much more interested in the "middle management" of crime. It’s about the guys on the corner, the construction sites, and the local unions. It feels smaller and more intimate, which paradoxically makes the violence feel more personal. When Claire learns how to dispose of a body from Gabriel (Gleeson), it’s a bizarrely romantic scene. It shouldn't work, but their shared trauma binds them together in this twisted way that you just don't see in standard Hollywood fare.
Realism vs. Stylization
Is it realistic? Not really. The way they handle the FBI and the rival gangs feels very much like a comic book. But that’s what it is! It’s an adaptation of a Vertigo graphic novel. Expecting it to be a documentary-style look at the Irish mob is like expecting 300 to be a 1:1 historical account of the Battle of Thermopylae.
The movie explores themes of:
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- Betrayal within the family unit.
- The racial tensions of 1970s New York.
- The psychological cost of choosing violence.
- The fragility of power when it's built on fear.
Ruby’s storyline, in particular, highlights the intersectionality of the era. She isn't just fighting the men; she's fighting a neighborhood that views her as an interloper. Her ruthlessness isn't just a personality trait; it’s a survival mechanism. She has to be twice as mean just to get half the respect.
What You Should Take Away From The Kitchen
If you’re going to watch The Kitchen movie 2019 today, go in with fresh eyes. Forget the Rotten Tomatoes score. Forget the box office numbers. Look at it as a genre experiment.
It’s a movie about the cost of independence. By the end, the three women aren't exactly "friends" in the traditional sense. They are business partners who have realized that in their world, loyalty is a luxury they can't afford. The ending is cynical, dark, and perfectly fitting for a story set in the bowels of Hell's Kitchen.
Actionable Insights for Movie Buffs:
- Watch for the subtext: Pay attention to the background characters in the neighborhood scenes. The movie does a great job of showing how the community reacts to the shift in leadership from the men to the women.
- Compare to the source material: If you find the movie’s plot jumps too big, track down the DC/Vertigo graphic novel. It provides a lot more context for Ruby’s background and Claire’s descent into darkness.
- Contextualize the "Flop": Understand that this movie was released during a period where mid-budget dramas were dying at the box office in favor of superhero tentpoles. Its failure wasn't necessarily a reflection of quality, but of a shifting market.
- Appreciate the supporting cast: Don't sleep on Bill Camp and James Badge Dale. They turn in solid, menacing performances that ground the more heightened elements of the plot.
The Kitchen isn't a perfect movie, but it is an interesting one. It’s a rare example of a studio taking a massive risk on a R-rated, female-led crime drama with no capes or superpowers. In an era of endless sequels, that alone makes it worth a re-evaluation. Check it out on your favorite streaming service and decide for yourself if it’s a misunderstood gem or a missed opportunity.