The Kitchen

First Hit: At the beginning, this film had promise, but this promise fell away to mediocrity in the end.

The idea of three housewives taking over their husband’s gang-related activities because the husbands were jailed had intrigue and promise.

Kathy Brennan (Melissa McCarthy) is married with two children. Her husband, Jimmy (Brian d’Arcy James) is part of the local Hell’s Kitchen crime group that fleeces businesses for protection. He’s probably the least aggressive of the three men.

Ruby O’Carroll (Tiffany Haddish) is married to Kevin (James Badge Dale) who is currently the leader of this local crime group. His mother Helen (Margo Martindale) provides her son with direction about the band of thieves he runs. Her husband started the group, and therefore, she still holds some power over the neighborhood.

Claire Walsh (Elizabeth Moss) is married to Rob (Jeremy Bobb) who is a brutish bully of a man, and he regularly beats Claire and is a primary thug in this Hell’s Kitchen enforcement group.

The three men get caught by the FBI while robbing a local business and are sent away. The new temporary leader of the enforcement group said they will continue to financially provide for the wives while their husbands are doing time. However, the stipend is not enough. So the girls get together and decide they can become an enforcement group, thereby overriding their husbands' protection club.

Upon hearing that Rob, Claire’s husband, is in jail, Gabriel O’Malley (Domhnall Gleeson) comes back to the neighborhood and announces his return by shooting and killing a man who is attempting to rape Claire.

Teaching the three women how to efficiently cut up and get rid of the body, he becomes their primary enforcer. However, Claire wanting to never be bullied again, learns to kill and is exceptionally competent at this and cutting up bodies - she's a natural.

As the three women build their protection business, the old group comes after them. But are stymied because as the women take over another neighborhood, the local mafia head Alfonso Coretti (Bill Camp) calls for a meeting, and a deal is created between his group and the girls. Together they neutralize the original Hell’s Kitchen group and gain support by providing protection and labor jobs for the community.

There’s a side story that is hinted at and finally brought to life that Ruby is having an affair with one of the FBI investigators Gary Silvers (Common). This, to me, creates an unnecessary distraction and side story and is not required to advance, what could have been, a good story.

Ruby slowly tries to take over the group that Melissa, Ruby, and Claire started together, and the writer used this FBI link as a significant part of the reason for the takeover by Ruby.

When the women’s husbands get out of jail early, there is trouble as expected, and the conflict doesn’t end well for the husbands.

This story is about women taking charge and with Ruby’s link to a male FBI agent seemingly having some influence, took away the power and guts of this story.

Additionally, I thought the movie was too long by taking too much time to prove points. Also, I didn’t believe the FBI piece of the story needed to be even part of the film. There easily other ways to create motivation for Ruby.

Another part of the film which didn’t quite work was that the director, Andrea Berloff, didn’t ensure each scene was correctly set in the 1970s. For comparison to this sort of attention to detail watch Quentin Tarantino’s latest film and this one – the aspect isn’t there in this film.

McCarthy is strong as the Irish woman who, loves her children, works at creating a good home life, but when push comes to shove, she is tired of playing second fiddle. Haddish is equally strong in this role; however, the whole FBI relationship back story just wasn’t needed. There were other ways she could claim her race, sex, and power. Moss was outstanding as the pushed around wife who wasn’t going to take it any longer. Having been a punching bag for her husband, she commits to protecting herself and does this in spades. But it was her eyes and facial expressions that sold both sides of her really well. Camp was great as the honorable mafia head that kept his integrity in tack by honoring his agreements. Gleeson was excellent as the guy who finally got to have a relationship with Claire that he always wanted. Martindale was instrumental as the once-powerful wife and mother to her family’s mob protection group. She gets her comeuppance. Berloff wrote and directed this film, and as I’ve previously stated, the story lost its effectiveness by adding the unnecessary Ruby and Gary Silvers relationship. The film also ran out of steam and probably needed pruning.

Overall: This film had potential, showed it at times, but ultimately failed to deliver.

Nobody's Fool

First Hit: Although a few funny bits, it was overdone, too long, and way too predictable.

You’d think with a good cast including Tika Sumpter (as Danica), Tiffany Haddish (as Tanya), and Whoopi Goldberg (as Lola) there would be a funny redeeming story with meaningful exchanges but this fails at both ends.

Here Danica is a advertising executive trying to get promoted. One of her team members Kalli (Amber Riley) is appropriately loyal, however her boss Lauren Meadows (Missi Pyle) is so far-fetched it makes the agency they work for seem fake and foolish. It was either a huge mistake to cast Pyle in this role or to make this role look foolish. The meetings with Meadows teams vying for the opportunity to create the ad program for a new fragrance were stupid.

Danica is a very controlled person who has done everything she can to put her life together, work hard, and create a nice life for herself. Tanya is her sister, who spends a fair amount of her time in jail for drugs or prostitution. As the film begins Danica gets a call from their mom, Lola, telling her that Tanya is getting out of jail and that Danica has to pick her sister up and also provide a home for her. Reason is that the last time Tanya stated with her mom, she ripped out all the copper wire and plumbing to sell for dollars. It cost Lola $35,000 to fix the home.

Danica was also dumped by her fiancé one week before their wedding and for the last year has been emailing, texting and having phone calls with Charlie (Mehcad Brooks) who is an engineer on an oil derrick. She’s never met him, seen him, skyped him (he says bad Wi-Fi connections), but is in love with him. She claims that he’s the perfect man, meets everything on her list and cannot wait to meet him.

Adding to this story Danica is being actively pursued by the owner of a local coffee store. The owner Frank (Omari Hardwick) gives Danica her daily coffee for free and it always comes with a single red rose. But despite his pursuit Danica doesn’t pay him any mind because he doesn’t meet the items on her list.

The hilarity sections ensue when Danica picks up Tanya from prison and takes her back to her apartment. Tanya is so overboard you cannot help but laugh at some of the dialogue. Because Tanya needs a job and needs to attend AA meetings, Danica escorts her to her office to help her get started. On the way they stop by the coffee store and Frank offers Tanya a job because she fixed and served coffee at the prison. Then Tanya and Danica discover that Frank hosts AA meetings in the store after hours because he also has a prison record and wants to make his life right.

Tanya also believes that her sister Danica is being “Catfished” by this unknown entity named “Charlie.” This is because there’s never been any real face to face contact between him and Danica.

With these setups there is bound to be some hilarity and funny scenes, and there are. But the ending is obvious, it takes too long to get there, and the office scenes are unfathomable.

Sumpter is OK as Danica. Her character is too smart to fall in love with a phone voice and the story's handling of the office she worked in was poorly done. Sumpter had to walk a fine line in this film to make it work, and unfortunately, she didn’t get much help from the script or director. Haddish’s role is over the top and for the most part doesn’t work. There are a few hilarious scenes but they rely on a gross pushiness of her character. Goldberg’s role as their mom was minor and mostly useless. She had a few good lines but overall, I’m not clear why the role was needed. Hardwick was excellent and the best part of this film. His consistently honest character, a person working to make his life right, was wonderfully portrayed. Pyle’s role was horrible. I do not believe that anyone acting like this would actually be in a position of leadership in any advertising agency. This was an issue with Pyle, the script, the director or all three. Brooks was OK. I thought his caricature of a suave man on the internet and when he first meets Danica, then turning into an obnoxious self-focused jerk at dinner was to far a stretch of the character. Riley as Danica’s team member was OK. She seemed to be acting the role versus being the role, and that’s not a good thing. Tyler Perry wrote and directed this mess. It is unfortunate he overdid all his characters and made this film seem cartoonish. The film ended up not being un-funny and not dramatic.

Overall: Unclear idea and overdone execution made me wonder how this film got made.

The Oath

First Hit: Compelling and oddly interesting story about what happens to a family when they disagree about a restrictive mandate by the government.

I do think the idea around this film was interesting and one that would spark a host of anger and division in our country. The program, as defined here, was to have everyone in the country sign a loyalty oath to the United States and the current President. The government attempts to make clear that there will be no retaliation to any individual if they don’t sign it, but if you do sign you will be rewarded, including tax breaks. Because this is such an important issue, the President allows people nearly a year to make their decision by giving them until the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, to sign The Oath.

Chris (Ike Barinholtz) and his wife Kai (Tiffany Haddish) are adamantly opposed to such government intrusion in their lives and join campaigns designed to reject The Oath. Time passes, and Chris’ support and engagement continues to grow. He’s always looking at the news and getting upset as government troops tamp down protests against The Oath. Kai, supports her husband’s actions of support, but is less engaged to make a big deal of the oppression.

As Thanksgiving approaches and Mason and Kai are expecting all of Mason’s family to join them, tensions  and anticipation rise. After the parents arrive. Dad is hard of hearing and is technologically challenged, and when Chris asks him to turn down the television, hilarity ensues.

Then his sister Eleanor (Nora Dunn) arrives with her husband (Jay Duplass) and children. The husband is sick and is in bed through the entire film, until the end. Eleanor has many of the same beliefs as Chris. Family animosity arrives when Chris’ brother Pat (Jon Barinholtz) and his girlfriend Abbie (Meredith Hagner) come to the door. The arguments begin when Chris calls Abbie “Katie” because that was the name of Pat’s previous girlfriend.

Both Abbie and Pat have signed the Patriot Oath and are ultra conservative. The characters are made to have the look and feel of conservative Trump surrogates. This causes the dinner conversation to be both hilarious and pointedly filled with anger. All during the erupting fights Kai is attempting to calm Chris down so that they can make it through Thanksgiving. All the while, watching the news, Chris learns people are getting killed during protests against The Oath.

Then on Black Friday, agents from the CPU (a government investigative agency) come to the door to ask Chris why he’s not signed The Oath. Because everyone else in the house has signed the paper, he’s adamant he’s got a right to not sign it and without a warrant order’s them out of the house.

The agents Mason (Billy Magnussen) and Peter (John Cho) are sort of a good cop bad cop team. Peter tries to keep the situation calm while Mason is highly jacked up on conservative right-wing righteousness. When Mason’s aggression really elevates to a high level, all hell breaks loose in the home and the story and film gets very dark.

Ike Barinholtz comes off as acting his role, versus being the role. Starting with the initial scene, the tone of this pressing of this role starts and stays all the way through. He seemed to overact the part. I think another actor would have made this role and film more compelling. Haddish, on the other hand, was excellent. I loved her dance through her maniac husband's issues with the government and his family, with her love for their daughter. Magnussen was excellent as the very right-wing conservative maniac. His intensity created most all the film’s tension. Cho was excellent as the mediator CPU agent. Jon Barinholtz was very good as the conservative brother that supported and protected his brother in the end. Dunn was excellent as the sister who mediates the brothers differences while being a calming voice through the film. Hagner was wonderful as Pat’s conservative girlfriend. Ike Barinholtz is a better writer than actor and his direction of everyone except himself was strong.

Overall: In this highly charged political environment and with a President who likes loyalty, this film is very poignant.

Night School

First Hit: A few funny moments in a supposed humorous feelgood film that also attempted to make a point.

Right from the beginning, the failures of this film are present. Kevin Hart playing Teddy Walker, is shown being in high school. To make Kevin look younger and in a different time, they gave him a cornrow hairstyle. It didn’t work, Kevin looked way too old to support the premise.

Although this error could have been alleviated by using another actor, they compounded this error a couple more times in the film. This filming and directional error stayed with me through out.

Present day, Teddy is a high-school dropout but a super salesman selling barbeques. He sells more than anyone else at the company where he works. He spends all the money he makes and his closest friend Marvin (Ben Schwartz), who is a runs a Wall Street company, keeps telling him to save and quit spending.

Teddy is dating and living with a very successful woman named Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke) who everyone says is out of his league. When Teddy proposes to Lisa he accidently blows up his place of work. Being a high-school dropout, with no prospects for work, he starts working at a fast food joint as a promotional chicken. When Marvin says he can work for him if he gets he GED, he tells Lisa he’s already working for Marvin.

Enrolling into a Night School class taught by Carrie (Tiffany Haddish) he’s now grouped with other people who are struggling to make their life better. The interaction with them is, at times, funny.

As the film dances between Teddy’s untruthful relationship with Lisa, his high-school days, and his GED classroom antics, the film came across as chopped up.

Hart was Hart. There really wasn’t a character named Teddy. It is Hart as a person named Teddy. Haddish as the night school teacher who cares, was very funny. Echikunowoke, in a limited role, was strong as Lisa. Schwartz was good as Teddy’s friend. Ron Riggle was funny as McKenzie, one of Teddy’s GED classmates. Taran Killam was OK as the school principal and former nerdy high-school classmate of Teddy’s. Romany Malco as Jaylen, one of Teddy’s GED classmates, was strong. Mary Lynn Rajsku, as Theresa, was hilarious as one of Teddy’s GED classmates. Anne Winters was good as Mila, one of the GED classmates. Al Madrigal, as Luis, was funny as one of Teddy’s GED classmates. Kevin Hart and Harry Ratchford wrote a sophomoric kind of script. Malcolm D. Lee did an OK job of directing this film.

Overall: I left the theater uninspired by this comedic attempt.

Girls Trip

First Hit:  Some very funny scenes, a few overly gross scenes, all in a satisfying but too long film.

I don’t mind grossness in a film. However, when more than one person pisses on a crowd from a zip line and the amount of piss and the way it sprays around is totally un-real, it is a turnoff, adds no value and is not funny. This and other stupid scenes when juxtaposed against some very fine and really, out-loud, funny scenes, could keep this film from being a classic hit, years from now.

Strong friendships between four black women is the basis for this strong film as they reconnect and re-find their deep love and respect for each other. Many of us have friendships that have lasted through the years. I’ve got two friends, whom I’ve known for over 50 years. Although we may not speak with each other very often, but when we do we find the place where trust and having each other’s backs rises to the top.

This film explores all this and more because, Ryan (Regina Hall) is in a farce of a marriage, promotes her life as having it all, and subjugates herself for money, her husband’s infidelity and fame. Then there is Sasha (Queen Latifah), who is financially struggling because, her once strong communication skills are being wasted on her TMZ type website that has no viewers. She found herself in this position because Ryan quit their business partnership. Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) has become a protective stay at home divorced mom. The fun, strong, smart girl has been both emotionally and sexually suppressed. Dina (Tiffany Haddish) is the wild girl, the fun girl and the bold girl. She’s the one in the group that pushes the edge of experience for all of them through her boldness.

They get together in New Orleans because Ryan gets an all-expenses paid trip to promote herself and husband Stewart (Mike Colter) to a possible television production company while at a conference. Although the unraveling of their back stories’ is predictable, the humor used is, at times, sparkling and strong. One example was the demonstration of using a grapefruit in sex, very funny. All of these women were perfect and well chosen for the character they represented and it showed that they became friends during the filming.

Hall was perfectly reserved, suppressed, and wanting to live her truth of having it all. She showed the rediscovery of her true self well. Latifah was wonderful and didn’t dominate the film as she has in other films. She fit effortlessly and was perfect as the woman who had Ryan’s back no matter what. Smith’s character evolved the most during the film. The opening scenes where she acts repressed were on the edge of being pressed, but her clothing made it all work. Then as she evolves you can see how she fit into the group years ago. Haddish was like having a wild animal loose in a positive way. She brought spark, edginess and bold fun to this role. She was the spark plug. Colter was strong as Ryan’s philandering husband. His voice is so soft and smooth which he uses as an asset for convincing Ryan to buy into the hype. Erica Rivinoja and Kenya Barris wrote a wonderful story that embodied some real insights to friendship. Malcolm D. Lee did a good job of directing this film. My criticisms are that he needed to remove 30 minutes of film, it was way too long, and that the overdoing of some scenes took it from being a strong film and moved it toward being silly.

Overall:  It needed some tightening up, but otherwise it was a very funny and strong film.