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:: hell's kitchen (1998) :: 
click on the poster for a larger version. Cast and crew Plot Summary Review Links Add/view comments on this film :: Cast and crew :: (Internet Movie Database profiles open in a new window) Angelina Jolie [ IMDB ] as Gloria McNeary Mekhi Phifer [ IMDB ] as Johnny Miller Rosanna Arquette [ IMDB ] as Liz McNeary William Forsythe [ IMDB ] as Lou Johnny Whitworth [ IMDB ] as Patty Directed and written by: Tony Cinciripini [ IMDB ] Producers: Tony Cinciripini, Valarie Bienas, Randy Gardner. Executive producer: Constantine Baris Rated: R Running time: 100 mins Alternate title: Hell's Kitchen NYC Back to top :: Summary :: Angelina Jolie plays Gloria, the girlfriend of a gang member killed in a robbery that goes horrifically wrong, who has waited 5 years for Johnny (Mehki Phifer) to be released from prison so she can get revenge by having him killed. Unfortunately, her new boyfriend, Patty (Johnny Whitworth), is less than willing to carry a revenge attack out because he knows it wasn't Johnny's fault and, anyway, he's too busy in bed with Gloria's mother (Rosanna Arquette). Johnny, meanwhile, is looking to set his life straight through boxing, which he has taken up in prison, and seeks out former contender, Lou, to train him. Back to top :: Review :: Sub-standard "heist goes wrong" film which explores well-worn cliches - revenge, redemption through taking up boxing, good men stuck in bad situations, poverty stinks, gangs are bad - in the most pedestrian and simplistic way possible. No different from any other "anycity, USA" ghetto-tale, this is an unnecessary addition to an overcrowded genre. Jolie and Phifer are appealling as the two main protagonists, but they get no help from the script or the others around them. Rosanna Arquette in particular is awful, plumbing new depths as the drug-addicted mother who thinks that sleeping with her daughter's boyfriend only proves what a creep he is. Totally avoidable. 0 out of 5. Back to top :: Links :: IMDB: film summary Mr Showbiz: Review which gives this film a mere 4 out of 100 Hell's Kitchen Online: read about the real NY borough Young Hollywood: Mehki Phifer pages Johnny Whitworth fan site Back to top |
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