Nonnas

''Nonnas'' is a 2025 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Chbosky, written by Liz Maccie, and starring Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro with Linda Cardellini and Susan Sarandon. The film is based on the life of Joe Scaravella, the owner of Staten Island (New York City) restaurant Enoteca Maria, who risks everything to honor his recently deceased, beloved mother by opening an Italian restaurant with actual grandmothers as chefs.

A co-production of Fifth Season, 1Community, Madison Wells, and Matador Content, the film was released on Netflix on May 9, 2025, and received mostly positive reviews. As the film was released during Mother's Day weekend in the United States, the film hit No. 1 in the country.

Plot

As he grieves the passing of his mother, Joe Scaravella reminisces about his childhood in 1970s Brooklyn when his mother Maria (Kate Eastman) and nonna (Karen Giordano), would be in the kitchen cooking for friends and family. He remembers what they taught him and recreates all of the dishes they used to make, though he cannot seem to pin down his nonna's Sunday gravy.

Joe's best friend Bruno and his wife Stella express concern for him over dinner and encourage him to use his mother’s life insurance money to do something good for himself. Joe visits an open air market on Staten Island that he used to go to with his mother and nonna. There he runs into Olivia, his high school crush, and Antonella, her older neighbor whom she’s shopping with. After seeing a closed restaurant, he decides that he wants to open a restaurant there, call it Enoteca Maria after his mother, and the key feature will be that the kitchen is staffed by nonnas, so that the food reminds people of their childhood.

Despite resistance from Staten Island locals, Joe proceeds with his plan. He enlists Bruno’s help as a contractor and restores the space to a classic Italian restaurant. Meanwhile, he hires Antonella, his mother’s best friend Roberta, her former hairdresser Gia, and a walk-in applicant named Teresa. The nonnas clash at first being from slightly different backgrounds, but after Gia invites them to a private pampering session at her salon, the women bond and become friends.

While the nonnas are developing the menu, Roberta makes capuzzelle, accidentally starting a fire in the kitchen just before the inspector shows up. The inspector fails the restaurant due to the fire damage and tells Joe it could be a year before he can line up another inspection, leading to a fight between Joe and Bruno that ends with Joe kicking Bruno out of the restaurant.

Joe later goes to apologize and learns that Bruno had covered his own costs by selling his prized car that he inherited from his father. Touched by his friend's gesture, Joe and Bruno reconcile. Olivia, a lawyer, tracks down the inspector, learns he has a history of unethical practices, and compels him to conduct another inspection immediately. The restaurant passes, and they prepare to open.

On opening night, a major thunderstorm hits the area and nobody shows up to the restaurant besides Bruno and Stella. Antonella later finds out one of the main vendors at the market has been speaking out against the restaurant, contributing to its poor business. Joe attempts to stir up business by inviting food critic Edward Durant to review the restaurant, but he declines because he only covers fancy Manhattan restaurants.

After weeks of no business, Joe reluctantly decides he must close the restaurant. As a last hurrah, he hosts a dinner party for friends, co-workers, and the like; the restaurant impresses all of the guests. He finally decides to open an envelope left to him by his mother that he had been avoiding since her passing and finds inside the recipes for all of her and his nonna’s dishes, including the elusive Sunday gravy. Joe goes back to his old life, but a few days later Bruno visits him with a newspaper article about the restaurant where one attendee of the final dinner party was a critic sent incognito by Durant. The critic writes a glowing review, which leads to a surge in business. The restaurant ends up being a success, allowing Joe to buy back Bruno’s car. Olivia and Joe start a relationship.

During the credits, scenes from the real-life Enoteca Maria are shown, noting that the restaurant has been open for 15 years and is now staffed by nonnas from all over the world.

Cast

* Vince Vaughn as Joe Scaravella
* Susan Sarandon as Gia, Joe's mother's hairdresser
* Lorraine Bracco as Roberta, Joe's mother's best friend
* Talia Shire as Teresa, an applicant for nonna chef job
* Linda Cardellini as Olivia, Joe's high school crush
* Brenda Vaccaro as Antonella, Olivia's neighbor
* Joe Manganiello as Bruno, Joe's best friend
* Drea de Matteo as Stella, Bruno's wife
* Michael Rispoli as Al, the street food vendor
* Campbell Scott as Edward Durant, a newspaper food critic
* Richie Moriarty as Dan McClane, Joe's boss at his old job
* Tammy Pescatelli as Cousin Tammy

The real-life Joe Scaravella has a cameo appearance in an uncredited role as a guest at Enoteca Maria. He's seated next to Cousin Tammy.

Production

''Nonnas'' is based on the life of Joe Scaravella, the owner of Staten Island restaurant Enoteca Maria, where grandmothers ('' nonnas'') are invited to work as chefs. Production companies Madison Wells and Matador Content purchased Scaravella's life rights and developed the project with screenwriter Liz Maccie.

Filming took place from May to June 2023 in various locations in New Jersey, including Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, Paterson, Linden, Elizabeth, and Edison.

Release

In September 2024, Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film in an auction for over $20 million, planning to release it sometime in 2025. The film was released on May 9, 2025.

Reception

In a largely positive review ''The Guardian'' awarded the film three stars, saying it fell short of "recent cookery classic '' The Taste of Things''" but praised its "straightforward sincerity that makes it go down easily." ''RogerEbert.com'' gave the film three stars out of four saying: "It isn't a prestige film; it's the kind of story that reminds us we can heal through connections to the past and each other."

References

External links

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{{Stephen Chbosky

2025 films
2025 biographical drama films
2025 comedy-drama films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
American biographical drama films
American comedy-drama films
Comedy-drama films based on actual events
Cooking films
English-language biographical drama films
English-language comedy-drama films
Films about Italian-American culture
Films directed by Stephen Chbosky
Films scored by Marcelo Zarvos
Films set in Brooklyn
Films set in restaurants
Films set in Staten Island
Films shot in New Jersey
Netflix original films