I’m going to tell you, straight up, that this is the best worst movie I have seen in ages. The Kitchen was a box-office bomb and the had the worst opening weekend of both Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish’s careers. But it’s still so good!

The screenplay, written by Andrea Berloff, was based on a limited DC/Vertigo comic series by the same name that follows three low-level Irish mob wives as they make their own way following their husbands’ arrests. The three women team up to take on the male dominated streets in their neighborhood, Hell’s Kitchen, to earn their piece of the pie. As they reach extends beyond their husbands’ original territory the women attract enemies and allies that throw them into the middle of the contentious organized crime scene of New York in the 1970s.

Fans of the comedy powerhouse, Melissa McCarthy, may have missed the mark if they, like me, were waiting for the laughs. McCarthy plays against type in this decidedly unfunny mob drama. She is strong and savvy and caught in the middle of a personal crisis as she struggles to protect her family and maintain control of the accidental empire she built. Once you wrap your head around the fact that this movie is about grit and not laughs it is easy to see the genius of the performances.

Aside for McCarthy’s impressive performance, Haddish also strides across screen with confidence and determination. She gives a steel backbone to a character that could have easily fallen into one-dimensional stereotypes. As does Elizabeth Moss. Her portrayal of a formerly abused wife coming into her own and regaining her own power is stunning. She has moments onscreen that are simultaneously brutal and beautiful.

Like I said, unfortunately audiences did not see the brilliance of this film. The storyline is a bit clunky and, at times, convoluted. Perhaps that’s a byproduct of jamming a whole comic series into a one and a half hour movie format. Or perhaps it was a short-coming in the marketing. Whatever it was that kept audiences from coming out and connecting with this film it is surely not the fault of the three leading actors.

McCarthy, Haddish and Moss each owned their own characters brilliantly and gave voice the the struggles and determinations of the group in a memorable way. They deserve more recognition than they received for this film and I hope they will each continue to stretch their dramatic muscles for they are a talented and versatile trio of actors.

The Kitchen is streaming on Netflix now. Settle in, give it a go and see some incredibly talented women work their craft.