Nonnas

Last night I watched Nonnas, the Netflix feel-good movie about a man who recruits a handful of Italian grandmothers to cook at his newly launched restaurant. 

The focus of the film is the owner of this nascent establishment, played deftly by Vince Vaughn. He is grieving the recent deaths of both his mother and grandmother and believes this culinary homage will assuage his sadness. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, as the old adage goes.

The movie is schmaltzy, and playful, and laden with every pasta dish you can imagine. Oh, and there are a good number of verbal retorts flung between characters, all of which are spat out in Italian. Perfezione.

Seasoned actresses Lorraine Bracco, Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire, and Brenda Vaccaro play the ricotta-slinging nonnas. Each revel in making their family's favorite recipes, even the capuzelle, a dish that requires a stronger stomach than mine.

That said, there is something quite endearing about the brash and exuberant tone of the film's characters. They remind me of my own circle of Italian friends, who have hugged and teased and fed my emotional reticence into submission.

I never had a nonna. But now, I sure wish I did.....

"Mangia!" - uttered by Italian grandmothers everywhere