‘Nonnas’: Vince Vaughn Teams up With Veteran Actresses To Cook up a Feel-Good Comedy
Sandra Miska
Food is love for Italian-American Brooklynite Joe Scarvella (Vince Vaughn) and his community in Netflix’s feel-good comedy “Nonnas.” Based on the true story behind Staten Island restaurant Enoteca Maria, this film follows the journey of Joe, a MTA employee, as he attempts a second act following the death of his mother. Inspired by the homemade Italian dishes prepared with love by his mom and nonna, he sets out to open his own restaurant, an endeavor that really does take a village, one that includes a foursome of of talented grandma gals (Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro).
The film opens with a flashback from Joe’s childhood, as he eagerly awaits a Sunday dinner lovingly prepared by his mom and nonna. The latter’s specialty is a tasty gravy, the secret ingredient of which eludes her grandson for decades. The fruits of the women’s labor is served family style to their guests, and the viewer cannot help but build an appetite as these mouth-watering visuals evoke their senses of taste and smell, a phenomenon that occurs throughout the movie.
Fourty years later, Joe’s mother has just died, and he is left with a gaping hole. He has a support system in his lifelong best friend Bruno (Joe Manganiello) and Bruno’s wife Stella (Dream de Matteo), and Stella encourages him to use his inheritance to invest in himself. However, the couple are not prepared for the announcement that Joe has impulsively purchased a restaurant he stumbled upon during a jaunt to Staten Island. They are convinced to help him prepare the building, but Joe still has a lot stacked against him, including resistance from those in the community who are loyal to the old owner and see Joe as an outsider.
“Nonnas” does not hold back when it comes to the pitfalls and risks that come with opening a new business, but Joe is a man with a plan, and he is determined to hire not professional cooks, but nonnas to work in his kitchen. While the four mature women he comes to employ are not all actual grandmothers, each one has her own unique life experiences and culinary gifts that she brings to the table. First, there’s the cantankerous Robert (Bracco), Joe’s mom’s best friend whose kids have left her to rot in assisted living. Another figure from his childhood is Gia (Sarandon), a gifted baker who owns a hair salon. Retired nun Teresa (Shire) answers an ad he puts on Craigslist, and lonely widow Antonella (Vaccaro) is encouraged to work for Joe by her neighbor Olivia (Linda Cardellini), a former classmate of Joe’s whom he did dirty on prom night.
The four ladies are the heart of the film, and they come to make magic in the kitchen, even though things get a little overheated at times. The best scenes are the ones in which they are just sitting around bonding, and it truly is a treat to see these iconic actresses cook up some chemistry on screen together. Meanwhile, Joe enjoys his own slow simmer of a romance with Olivia, a mature law student. “Nonnas” is rife with second chances, but the harsh reality is that Joe really only has one shot to make the restaurant a success in the competitive NYC dining scene.
Vaughn, best known for playing more comedic characters who love to hurl zingers, shows a different side of himself as the more earnest Joe. While this is an overall light film, it does a commendable job of exploring different stages of grief and ways to process these feelings. We also see here how cooking and serving food is an act of love, and recipes handwritten on note cards can be some of the most valuable heirlooms.
“Nonnas” begins streaming May 9 on Netflix.