“The Kitchen” is an exceptionally formulaic but not unenjoyable crime drama with Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss as the wives of Irish mobsters in 1978 New York who take over — and improve upon — their husbands’ business when the boys go to prison. Don’t be fooled by the cast: Written and directed by Andrea Berloff (and based on a comic book miniseries), this rough-edged film is not a comedy, though it’s not without light moments. It loses some of its power when the women move past “we need to take care of ourselves and our kids” territory into the arena of “it turns out we really enjoy crime,” and the ultra-lean screenplay has no chitchat, no color, no personality. But the actors have plenty of charisma and magnetism of their own, which makes the movie passable grown-up entertainment.
B- (1 hr., 42 min.; )
