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I have watched the film "Father of the Bride" 2022.

There is 1 scene in which a woman is cooking in her kitchen. The counter of the kitchen is already full. Then her friend comes into the kitchen and put some of her stuff on the kitchen counter.

Then the woman, who is cooking, says

I'm warning you, do not take over my kitchen today, please.

Take over sounds like "to gain control of a country, business, etc"

Is it correct or at least natural to say "do not take over my kitchen today, please"?

Is it humorous to say that?

Also, can we apply it in other situation?

For example, this chair belongs to me and someone came and sat on the chair.

In that situation, can I say "don't take over my chair"?

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It is common for a person to be "in control" of the kitchen in a way that is different to other rooms in the house. In the kitchen, one person is the "chef" and is preparing food, other people may be assisting, but there is one person who is the boss.

That is unlike other rooms. The kitchen is the main room for working in the home, other rooms are for relaxing.

So it is natural enough to speak of someone "taking over the kitchen". But a chair doesn't have a boss. The person sitting in the chair is not "in charge". So it would be odd to say "take over the chair".

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Take over is a commonly used idiom that means to take control or to take charge of something.

In this context, it would be perfectly natural for the cook to say,

Please don't take over my kitchen today.

Whether it's comical or said in jest all depends on the context.

A takeover might be contentious, for example:

They're attempting a hostile takeover of their competitor.

Or it can be benign, for example:

Why don't you take over for me while I get some lunch.

He hopes to take over the family business when his father retires.

I forgot to address the second part of your question.

If someone takes your chair, that's not a use of the idiom "take over." The idiom "take over" means to take charge of something. When someone takes your chair, they are simply taking a chair. They are not taking charge of anything, and the idiom is not appropriate.

If "chair" means the chairperson who is in charge of a committee, for example, then it would be appropriate. For example:

I'm taking over as the chair of this group.

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  • But in some other situations, some native speakers don't say that. For example, This chair belongs to me and someone came and sat on the chair. In that situation, can I say "don't take over my chair". Some native speakers don't say that.
    – Tom
    Commented Jul 16, 2022 at 4:32
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    Taking over usually implies a situation more complicated than where someone was sitting. You would be more likely to say "Hey, that's my seat!" "I was sitting there!" or, more politely "Excuse me, but you have taken my seat."
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jul 16, 2022 at 7:21
  • I added an answer to the second part of your question above.
    – swmcdonnell
    Commented Jul 16, 2022 at 19:36
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"I'm warning you, do not take over my kitchen today, please."
Take over sounds like "to gain control of a country, business, etc"

Yes, you are correct that this phrase sounds similar to (or evocative of):

"I'm warning you, do not invade my kitchen today, please."

but that alone isn't necessarily what makes the exchange funny.

(I personally cannot say one way or another... since I have not seen the movie.)

What specifically makes this conversation funny might depend upon any number of things.

  • The cook is overly serious. - Perhaps the person cooking is often too uptight - in which case "Do not invade my kitchen!" sounds funny because it is an absurd overreaction to a seemingly small disturbance.
  • The cook is a doormat. - Perhaps the person cooking is a wimp and often gets pushed around throughout the story; in that case, "Do not invade my kitchen!" might be "funny" because it is another example of this pushover character being further bullied. (This kind of 'funny' is becoming less and less common as more and more people find bullying to be 'unfunny' than it used to be in movies/TV - though sometimes it may still pop up if it furthers a plot.)
  • The cook is busy today! - Maybe the funny part of the exchange isn't the "invade" part so much as the "today" part; perhaps the cook is generally perfectly able to weather any storm that is thrown at them... except that today is a particularly bad/impossible timeframe for them to work their usual magic.

Similarly, "Don't take over my chair!" may or may not be funny depending upon further context, but by itself, and without any further context, it probably isn't funny.

If it were uttered "out of the blue" it would just sound like you are suddenly a very grumpy person - rather than a person trying to make a joke.

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