'The Kitchen' stars reveal why it's time for women to take over mob movies

Behind every great cinematic mobster, there’s an equally great female character just waiting for her turn in the spotlight. Enter The Kitchen, a mob movie that puts those women front and center — where they belong. Set in ‘70s-era Manhattan, the film stars Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss as a trio of mob-affiliated wives who start their own protection racket after their husbands are locked up. “I always think the women in mob projects are the most interesting characters,” Moss tells Yahoo Entertainment. “Whether you’re Diane Keaton in The Godfather or Edie Falco in The Sopranos, that role is sometimes the most interesting. So to see three of them in one movie — I’ve never seen that before.” (Watch our video interview above.)

Writer/director Andrea Berloff believes that the film’s novelty is one of its chief selling points. “This is a reason to go to the theaters,” she says. “You have never seen these specific women, who you love, do anything like this before. The whole point of the movie is women taking charge. They can also take charge with what their family is going to see this weekend! I think all of that was really the idea: Making this an exciting event for people to turn out and see.”

For her part, McCarthy is happy to be part of a film that offers a different point of view on a familiar genre. “We have to have our stories told by different people,” the Ghostbusters star explains. “The more we branch out, the better off we all are.” And Haddish is ready for women to walk out of the theater looking to put the movie’s message into practice. “It shows three women from three different walks of life united together to take over. Which I think we need to start thinking about, ladies!”

The Kitchen opens in theaters on Aug. 9. Visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.

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