Modesty has its place in film, as much as Hollywood studio filmmaking would like to wallpaper over that fact, with noise and computer-generated effects. Case in point: The Kitchen, an amiable little low-budget, Los Angeles-set comedy that takes its name from the self-restricted party setting of its chatty young adult angst.



Neither groundbreaking nor overly pretentious in its aims, The Kitchen simply cycles through the talky, sometimes inebriated fallout from emotional waffling and various bad decisions, but does so with enough charm and aplomb to win over viewers. Penned by Jim Beggarly and directed by Ishai Setton, the film centers around a 30th birthday party for Jennifer (That ’70s Show‘s Laura Prepon), who’s on the precipice of much change with a new job and an oven-fresh split from her philandering boyfriend Paul (Bryan Greenberg). While various casual acquaintances drift in and out, Jennifer’s cynical sister Penny (Dreama Walker) makes folks uncomfortable with an inappropriate announcement, and Kenny (Tate Ellington) and nervous party-planner Stan (Matt Bush), respectively, nurse unrequited crushes on Penny and Jennifer.

Even as a douchebag, Paul is problematically written, and Greenberg’s smarmy, one-track performance doesn’t do the material a lot of favors. Still, the vast majority of the acting here is playful and engaging (in addition to the aforementioned players, Jillian Clare makes a solid impression as a ditzy dropped-off girlfriend, while Amber Stevens and Pepper Binkley grapple with guilt, or the lack thereof), and a good fit with the material, which is of the psychologically wheels-spinning variety. If it doesn’t achieve the high-bar pleasures of Whit Stillman, neither does The Kitchen embarass itself. It’s simple, fun and appealing, in its own little self-contained way, and sometimes that’s enough.

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, The Kitchen comes to DVD presented in 16×9 widescreen aspect ratio, with 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 stereo audio tracks that more than adequately handle the movie’s rather meager and straightforward sound design. Five deleted scenes run about five-and-a-half minutes, and there are trailers for The Scenesters and three other films. The meatier supplemental features, however, arrive by way of an amusing five-minute bit in which cinematographer Josh Sileen basically cuckolds director Ishai Setton, resulting in a Christian Bale reference. There’s also a two-minute mock cooking show gag with Setton and Bush, and a seven-minute-plus making-of featurette, the latter of which includes cast interviews which spotlight the many animals (dog, turtle, parrot) on set. To purchase the DVD via Half, click here; if Amazon is your thing, meanwhile, click here. Or go brick-and-mortar retail — seriously, I won’t mock you or tell anyone. B (Movie) B (Disc)