"The Kitchen" is a Gritty Female-Driven Crime Story

Tiffany Haddish, Melissa McCarthy and Elizabeth Moss team up in "The Kitchen", namely referring to Hell's Kitchen in New York City.

The story takes place in 1978 and follows three housewives who find themselves taking matters into their own hands after their husbands get locked up. It reminded me a lot of Steve McQueen's "Widows" in many ways.

"The Kitchen" is a mafioso crime movie like a female-version of "Good Fellas" but instead of being about the relationship dynamics between male mob members, it places a magnifying glass on women's issues in America through these three women.

What's remarkable about this film is how it doesn't exploit women or women's sexuality, which it could have easily done.

Instead, the questions that seem to hover over women everywhere are addressed in a meaningful way--questions about fear, domestic abuse, dominance, and a woman's place in the world.

While the plot fell apart at various points, the central message was the same--women are powerful leaders and when put to the test, have as much grit or more than their male counterparts.

Rating: B