by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I swear I didn’t plan it this way, but by the time I sat down to watch Nonnas, I was probably in the best possible headspace to enjoy it.
I was starting my second glass of an Italian red, fat and happy off a plate piled high with pasta drenched in olive oil, pan fried Italian sausage, and Romano cheese, and I’m not going to say with confidence it didn’t have anything to do with where I landed on the movie.
Nonnas follows Joe (Vince Vaughn), who channels his grief after losing his mother. After being told to do something for himself, he opens a restaurant staffed exclusively by, you guessed it, nonnas. The film was directed by Stephen Chbosky, writer/director of Perks of Being a Wallflower, and written by Liz Maccie (Chbosky’s wife) based off the life story of Jody Scaravella. From a true story aspect, a restaurant seeking to capture the feeling of gathering around for a family dinner is undoubtedly a worth telling. When it comes to the actual script, the fascinating real-life story feels much more clichéd. If given the brief synopsis of the plot and asked to outline what happens, the trials and tribulations to get this restaurant open and taken seriously, you would probably be able to predict most of it. If you don’t know this is based on a true story (which would be hard given the credits, but that doesn’t necessarily help as you’re going through it) it feels very boilerplate.
That’s not the only place where the movie’s playing the hits. The soundtrack feels like “Now That’s What I Call Italian Music!” and there’s nothing that’s done with the visuals that really give any sort of panache, though it is competent.
On the other side of this tug of war is the cast. Aside from Vaughn, the nonnas are all certified legends (Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Susan Sarandon), Linda Cardellini is charming as ever as the love interest from Joe’s past, and Joe Manganiello plays his role capably as Joe’s best friend. While they’re not given an actor’s dream to work with in terms of the script, they make you feel like a part of this community of found family as Joe gives others a chance as he chases this dream. If this movie was made with an “insert actor here” cast, it would fall so flat, so fast. It’s only by the pure, charismatic charm of our all-star cast that this works as much as it does, and whether that wins the tug-of-war at the heart of this movie will vary by audience member.
But I’ll be damned if the pull at the heartstrings at the end didn’t work for me. So it gets a passing grade overall… and I don’t think it’s totally the second glass of wine… or maybe it is… eh, I don’t care either way.
Rating: Liked It
Nonnas is currently streaming on Netflix
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