Ivan Radford | On 21, May 2025

Director: Stephen Chbosky
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco, Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Cardellini, Joe Manganiello
Certificate: 12

“You make food, people eat food, you make people happy.” That’s the business plan that Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn) has in mind for his new restaurant – and you don’t need to have seen The Bear to know that he hasn’t thought it through in much depth. The fact his story is a true one – and that Enoteca Maria opened its doors in 2007 – gives us a clue that there’s a happy ending on the menu, but Netflix’s Nonnas serves up a refreshingly serious and moving main dish.

Vince Vaughn plays Joe in this sugary sweet retelling of real-life events, which begins with the loss of Joe’s mother, Jody. Vaughn has always been a deceptively vulnerable screen presence and he once again displays a knack for letting his guard down as the grieving, lonely middle-aged man. Without hiding behind fast-talking humour, he gently unravels Joe with a relatable, everyman charm – and then harnesses that charm to turn him into underdog businessman who remains firmly likeable, even when he’s in under his head because of his own lack of planning.

The secret to Nonnas’ success, though, is Vaughn’s generous willingness not to take centre-stage. He turns what could have been a one-man show into an ensemble platter of colourful characters, when he strikes upon the concept behind his restaurant: a quartet of authentic nonnas (Italian grandmothers, with a penchant for cooking) to make their individual specialities in the kitchen. And so we’re introduced to Roberta (Lorraine Bracco), his mother’s BFF, Gia (Susan Sarandon), a local hairdresser who also knew his mum, former nun Teresa (Talia Shire) and the sharp-tongued Antonella (Brenda Vaccaro), who just so happens to be the grandmother of his high school sweetheart, Olivia (Linda Cardellini).

The script, by Liz Maccie, gives each of the nonnas a chance to shine and develop their own notes and harmonies, whether it’s Teresa finding a newfound confidence or Gia encouraging the others to think of beauty as more than skin-deep. But Joe’s mother also looms large, as the secret to the gravy she used to make during Joe’s childhood continues to elude all of them.

There’s some tension to the financial struggles of getting a business off the ground – and Joe’s best friend, a builder called Bruno (Joe Manganiello) who invests in the idea, adds stakes to the venture’s success. But Nonnas’ heart lies in the way that it understands the magic that food can work in people’s lives – it’s not just a form of creative expression or a method of nourishment, but also a vehicle for love and affection and often a container of nostalgia. As each of the nonnas whip up their own delicacies, and Joe explores his own past and future, they wear their identities and hearts on their sleeves (or plates) – whether that’s a regional sense of pride or deepened connection with one’s family. The film understands that when one person serves a personal dish to someone else, a bond is made – and it treats that bond as seriously as it does the chemistry between the cast.

The result is a thoughtful and surprisingly heartfelt exploration of grief, love, mother-son relationships and the place food holds in our hearts. It’s the kind of unabashedly sentimental but honestly made film that your family might have wolfed down in the 1990s – we watch people make food and other people eat food and we feel happy. If you want to have a weep over a plate of pasta, this is for you. if you want to see Lorraine Bracco having a food fight while wielding a baguette, this should also be on your table.

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