Nonnas

After losing his mother and his grandmother, Joe does not know what to do with what is left to him: a handful of recipes passed down through generations. With his mother's insurance money he opens a restaurant on Staten Island and puts four grandmothers from different Italian cities in the kitchen instead of chefs. Each cooks the food of her own region, which is why the kitchen is in permanent conflict. Stephen Chbosky directed from a screenplay by Liz Maccie. Vince Vaughn plays Joe, with Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro as the grandmothers. Joe Manganiello plays Bruno, Joe's closest friend. The story is true. Jody Scaravella opened Enoteca Maria on Staten Island in 2007 in memory of his mother Maria and his grandmother Domenica; the restaurant is named for his mother and grandmothers really do cook there. Bruno, the part Manganiello plays, is a real person and a friend of Scaravella's. There is a small oddity: although the real Enoteca Maria is still open, the restaurant scenes were not shot there. They were filmed at Spirito's, a now-closed restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It went out on Netflix on 9 May 2025. Who it is for: viewers who like food films and sentimental family stories. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a surprise. The film takes every turn of the genre in order and none of its conflicts carries real risk.