Vince Vaughn loves his grandmother. That’s basically the tagline for this Netflix delight. Nonnas is one of those movies that’s impossible to hate. Unless you hate grandmas, Italian food, incredible actors, and love of family and friends. In which case, please call Better Help.
Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn) is scared and purposeless after burying his mother (Niamh Lennon) whom he had taken care of for a long time. Desperate to feel her presence in any way, he tries to recreate her gravy for Sunday dinners with his best friend Bruno (Joe Manganiello) and Bruno’s wife Stella (Drea de Matteo). He can’t figure it out…but the cooking inspires him to open a restaurant. But most importantly, that restaurant would be run by Italian grandmothers, like Roberta (Lorraine Bracco) from Bologna, Antonella (Brenda Vaccaro) from Sicily, retired Nun Teresa (Talia Shire), and pastry maker extraordinaire Gia (Susan Sarandon).
I can’t believe how overqualified everyone is working on Nonnas. All these people were clearly sent to nirvana through an incredible Italian meal, and give their prodigious talents to the movie so they can relive those joys. There’s one scene where Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, and Lorraine Bracco are just drinking limoncello and shooting the sh*t. That scene contains very little, and watching it, you realize Steven Chbosky (the overqualified director) probably gave the 4 some basic points to hit and just let them cook literally and figuratively. The ladies turn that into one of the sweetest scenes of a movie filled with them, making the schmaltz feel real and honest. Those 4 happily assist Vince Vaughn, who turns that motormouthiness into a pouring of his heart into this dream he has, letting the jokes effortlessly come as needed. Joe Manganiello is the secret winner here though, finding the “broey Italian sidekick” he was born to play in a movie; the scene where Bruno and Joe have to air out their grievances is a highlight capturing how two Italian guys would amusingly navigate that conversation. And if that wasn’t enough, Linda Cardellini and her infectious charisma is there to make Vince Vaughn and the audience’s heart melt.
Because plot is not the point of Nonnas. The movie at its best isn’t really a film: it’s a memory with better actors playing your family. I could practically smell the exquisite dishes and feel every ounce of love the nonnas all pour into them. I’ve been to Italian restaurants like the one Joe hopes to build: you walk in alone or with a friend, and you walk out with some sort of new family. Places and food like that have a way of creating lasting relationships, old and new, healing old wounds and creating lasting sensations that bury themselves deep inside of you.
I lost my own Nana almost a year ago now. I can firmly say that Nonnas captures exactly what a woman like that is like, and how she should be seen and respected by everyone around her. Like Vince, we also created a cookbook of her favorite recipes in her memory, which I would be happy to pass on to anyone looking to find someone’s heart through their stomach. Mangiamo!