Rapid Review: Nonnas (2025)
Sometimes all you need is a feel good, Saturday morning, bring-the-family-together type of film. These are of a particular brand - low stakes, often telling romantic or feel-good stories. You may not need a lot of investment in, but hell it's Saturday morning and something like The Deer Hunter would be way too intense anyways. Netflix's newest original feature Nonnas may be just that type of movie.
The film stars Vince Vaughn as Joe Scaravella an Italian man who, after his mother dies, decides to purchase and open an Italian restaurant in her honor. However, this isn't just any bog standard italian joint. No, Joe is dead set on staffing this new restaurant with Nonnas, italian grandmothers from his local area.
Now given the story and a cast that includes Vaughn and other iconic folks like Susan Sarandon and Linda Cardellini, you'd expect Nonnas to be played as a comedy. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Instead, the film plays more as a heartfelt drama a la Jon Favreau's Chef with comedic bits sprinkled throughout. Sarandon and the other older Italian ladies, played by Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro, do most of the comedic heavy lifting. The film works with the four of them on screen together, riffing off of each other in mildly stereotypical Italian fashion.
Vaughn does some great dramatic work here, especially in two separate scenes at the end of the film. However, I did feel at times like he was falling into his signature fast-talking manner only to leave without a punchline, which felt unsatisfying. But regardless of that, the low stakes of the story allow for a very fun and fulfilling time even without a true comedic backbone.
But the place where the movie succeeds the most is in the kitchen. This is a movie about food, and specifically the love we share for family cooking. I gotta say, they nailed the photography of the food in Nonnas. Everything looked incredible, cooking shots were gorgeous and having the grandmas in the kitchen felt familiar in a sort of way that touches the heart. I loved seeing the cast cook here and fortunately there is plenty of it available.
Final Thoughts
Nonnas is a really fun time. It's laid back, not too serious, and quite nostalgic if you come from a family where food was a symbol of togetherness. For a Netflix streaming original, I'm impressed with the quality of the film and can imagine it being a feel-good staple in family households.