Susan Sarandon as Gia, Brenda Vaccaro as Antonella, Lorraine Bracco as Roberta and Talia Shire as Teresa in 'Nonnas'.
Image: Jeong Park/Netflix © 2025.
Through a lens of love, nostalgia, and self-discovery, "Nonnas" is a heart-warming Netflix film that explores grief with tantalising recipes as a backdrop.
It’s the kind of offering that you want to watch with the family, especially for its life lesson on the importance of bonds, whether it’s by blood or choice.
Directed by Stephen Chbosky, the biographical comedy drama boasts a heavyweight cast of Vince Vaughn, Joe Manganiello, Drea de Matteo, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Cardellini and Susan Sarandon.
The film opens with a flashback to Joe Scaravella's (Vaughn) childhood in 1980s Brooklyn, where his mother and nonna (grandmother) would whip up the most tantalising meals for their get-togethers with family and friends.
In particular, the taste and aroma of his grandmother's sauce remain vivid in his memory.
The nostalgia is triggered by the passing of his mother.
His way of coping with the grief is by cooking up his favourite dishes. Pressured by his supportive best friend Bruno (Manganiello) and Bruno's wife Stella (De Matteo) to utilise his late mother's life insurance for his own benefit, Joe grapples with this suggestion.
A chance encounter with his high school crush, Olivia (Cardellini), accompanied by her elderly neighbour Antonella (Vaccaro), at a food market in Staten Island, sets in motion a chain of events that includes him buying a rundown closed restaurant.
His spontaneous decision doesn’t still well with his friends, but Bruno, who works in construction, agrees to help fix the place.
Vince Vaughn as Joe Scaravella in 'Nonnas'.
Image: Netflix
Joe’s vision is to employ Italian grandmothers to cook their favourite dishes. To this end, he ropes in Antonella, his mother's close friend Roberta (Bracco), her previous hairstylist Gia (Sarandon), and a spontaneous applicant named Teresa (Shire).
Given the strong personalities between the nonnas, especially Roberta and Antonella, he acts as a mediator while juggling his blue-collar job and getting the right permits for the restaurant opening.
However, his dream is fraught with challenges posed by a disgruntled local and corrupt permit officials.
The cast is exceptional in their respective roles. They play their dynamic characters with commendable gravitas.
Food serves as a significant motif in the film, and its depiction in various scenes effectively stirs heartfelt family emotions.
"Nonnas" is a soul-stirring underdog story that explores the powerful bonds of family, love, and grief.
Rating: 3/5 *** solid and enjoyable, though not groundbreaking.