Nonnas Movie Review (2025)

A cute film about an Italian man who has a dream of sharing authentic Italian food by hiring Italian grandmas to cook at his restaurant, Nonnas does a great job of making you hungry.

One of the things that you learn from the time that you are a small child in the US, is that too many cooks in the kitchen is never a good thing. It can lead to fighting or delays, and when it comes to someone who actually prepares recipes, it is a singular person’s territory. You don’t mess with that hallowed ground.

Nonnas is about Joe Scaravella, an Italian man living in Brooklyn, NY, who grew up lovingly watching his grandma and mother cook in the kitchen. With a natural curiosity, they taught him about ingredients, how to choose the perfect tomato, and how to balance the flavors by feel rather than just a recipe. After the death of his mother, Joe is inspired to open a restaurant that shares the authenticity and love from real Italian dishes, so he sets out to hire actual nonnas (Italian grandmas) to do the cooking of their favorite foods.

This dramedy begins and ends with the idea that “food is love,” and it carries well through the film. There are some very funny moments and some heart-wrenching ones, but it is generally just an enjoyable time with great looking food.

The cast is incredibly fun with Vince Vaughn as the lead and a supporting ensemble of Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Joe Manganiello, Linda Cardellini, and Susan Sarandon. Every new face feels like a warm welcome because, while these are all people you know, you don’t see most of them as often as you might like to anymore.

The message of this movie is really about family and appreciation, which is handled in a different way from most films. These nonnas are aging and have had lots of joys and struggles in their past, but the idea of contributing the one thing they feel in their bones is really great. All of the players in this film are looking for somewhere they belong, another place to call home, so it’s a lovely coming together of personalities.

I am not from an Italian family, so most of what I know about the cultural intricacies come from movies, tv shows, or stories from my friends. But watching these women – hardheaded, passionate, loyal women – argue about their parts of Italy being the best or the way that you must cook something is comical. You can see just a hint of a mob movie coming through and it’s hilarious.

The best part about Nonnas is finding out that it is based on a true story. There is a real Joe Scaravella and he and the nonnas run a real restaurant called Enoteca Maria. You know that what you are watching in the movie is fictionalized, but what a beautiful thing that all of these people – on screen and in real life – have come together to share their love through food. That’s really great.

Runtime: 111 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: PG

Languages Spoken In The Film: English and Italian with English subtitles

Should You Watch It? Yes

Did I Cry? I got choked up twice

My Rating: 3.25/5 Stars

Available: Free on Netflix