NONNAS

Name: NONNAS
Item: NONNAS
Author: Review

"Serving Family"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

NONNAS is a heartwarming comedy streaming on Netflix. It tells the story of a man named Joe who opens an Italian restaurant with grandmothers (Nonnas) as chefs in honor of his late mother. Inspired by the real-life story of Jody Scaravella and the restaurant Enoteca Maria, located in Staten Island, New York, the movie is a celebration of family and food. The touching storyline is made even sweeter by the fact that Joe and his Nonnas actually serve love to the customers on a daily basis.

NONNAS is high quality with a fun soundtrack and excellent performances from the main cast. The movie has a biblical and Christian worldview as characters support one another, pray with scripture, and forgive each other. NONNAS emphasizes the importance of family, community, and generational relationships. It does contain a light Romantic worldview as characters talk about having a feeling in their gut and beauty being a feeling. Due to light language, some suggestive material, LGBTQ+ content, and characters consistently drinking alcohol, MOVIEGUIDE® suggests caution for older children.

Content:

(BB, C, Ro, Fe, Ho, PC, L AA, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Biblical and Christian worldview about family, community, and friends supporting others through grief. There is mention of baptism, communion, miracles, and a character wears a cross necklace. Contains Catholic elements including a statue of Mary, mention of the rosary, and a character prays to St. Pedro Pio but closes the prayer in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. A light Romantic worldview as characters talk about having a feeling in their gut, loving their work, and beauty being a feeling. Light feminist worldview as women discuss not being invisible as they age and celebrating their beauty. LGBTQ+ content as a woman confesses she loved a woman and left the convent because it was a sin. Light PC content as the nun claims “It’s not easy to live in a world who rejects who you are”;

Foul Language:

Some foul language including one “d*amn” one “GD”, three “D*mnit”, six “h*ll”, two ‘omg”, one “G*d”, and some crude or rude comments;

Violence:

Light violence with an elderly woman throwing dried pasta at cook, a woman smacks her husband's hand when he reaches for food, two women spit at each other, two elderly women get in a food fight, and an elderly woman hits a man with her purse twice;

Sex:

No implied or depicted sex but a woman grabs another woman’s hand to touch her covered breast and grabs her own breast when discussing breast implants, people greet each other with kisses on the cheek and an unmarried couple share a kiss;

Nudity:

No nudity but female characters wear low-cut shirts that show cleavage. One female character stirs food while the camera focuses on her breasts;

Alcohol Use:

Alcohol use prominent as characters often drink wine, toast with alcohol, and offer bottles of alcohol as gifts. A young boy’s hand is shown reaching for a glass of red wine, but an adult’s hand smacks it away. Elderly women drink shots of Limoncello. One character gets drunk and talks about not being hungover because she drank water. A character talks about sneaking out of prom to buy booze and pours liquor into a bowl of punch from a flask. A bar shows bottles of wine on the wall and and an elderly woman grabs a bottle while sipping red wine from a glass, customers drink wine and liquor throughout;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

None; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A married couple bicker and call each other names. Two elderly women argue but it’s lighthearted. Co-workers mislead and lie to the manager to cover up for one character being late to work. A health inspector bribes people to pass inspection but is rebuked. One woman talks negatively about marriage. A character admits to being estranged from her family but calls her daughter in the end. A woman admits that she left a convent for being in love with a woman but is shown returning to the church.

More Detail:

NONNAS is a heartwarming comedy streaming on Netflix. It tells the story of a man named Joe who opens an Italian restaurant with grandmothers (Nonnas) as chefs in honor of his late mother. Inspired by the real-life story of Jody Scaravella and the restaurant Enoteca Maria, located in Staten Island, New York, the movie celebrates family and food. The touching storyline is made even sweeter by the fact that Joe and his Nonnas actually serve love to their customers on a daily basis.

NONNAS opens with a flashback to Brooklyn when Joe is a young boy spending time in the kitchen with his mom and Nonna as they prepare food for a neighborhood gathering. These opening scenes shine as they set the stage for a delightful film about family and the joy of sharing love through cooking. Fast-forward and Joe is an adult attending his mother’s funeral. Feeling lost and unhappy at his job, his friends convince him to use his mom’s insurance settlement in a way that would honor her.

Joe purchases a space and decides to open an Italian restaurant that employs grandmas as chefs so people can feel the love from the memories of their own Nonnas’s cooking. After inviting his mom’s closet friend and hairdresser into the fold, he places an ad on Craigslist and assembles his team of elderly chefs who rotate cooking their beloved family recipes. Joe and the Nonnas must overcome the challenges of opening a new restaurant, all while learning the importance of family and community along the way.

The movie does contain suggestive moments, some foul language, and characters drinking alcohol on several occasions. One character admits to being a nun who left the convent after falling in love with a woman, although she’s shown returning to the church. Despite these moral issues, NONNAS is a charming movie with a lot of heart. Older children and sensitive adults should use caution.