By Michaela Gordoni
Vince Vaughn’s new comedy, NONNAS, was the most-watched title on Netflix from May 5 to 11.
Translated into 170 languages, the movie had 15.3 million views in its first three days of release, Variety reported May 13.
THE FOUR SEASONS took the No. 1 TV title of the week at 12.5 million views. YOU fell in second, and FOREVER, a show based on a Judy Bloom book, took third. RAW: 2025 came in fifth, and MS. RACHEL came in sixth. UNSEEN took seventh place.
NONNAS is a true story about a man who opens an Italian restaurant with his two grandmothers (nonnas). It shows how food, family and love make for the best kind of recipe.
Movieguide® interviewed NONNAS director Stephen Chbosky and screenwriter Liz Maccie, who talked about what they brought to the movie.
“It was amazing…also because of what the story is about, the fact that we’re family, and this is about family,” Maccie told Movieguide®. “Everything became infused with…this extra tinge of love and magic.”
Chbosky, who’s married to Maccie, an Italian, wanted to make sure that Italian culture was represented well.
“I tried to capture that and honor that and what I love about what my wife stands for in her life, but also in her writing…the reverence and the respect that she has for everybody,” Chbosky said.
Related: New Vince Vaughn Movie Serves Up Laughs and Heartfelt Moments
The man who the movie is about, Joe Scaravella, still operates his restaurant, Enoteca Maria, in Staten Island, New York.
NONNAS drew a humongous crowd of Staten Island supporters. When the St. George Theatre hosted a community viewing on Tuesday, 1,600 people showed up. Attendees got to meet Scaravella, his nonnas, Chbosky, Maccie, star Brenda Vaccaro and producer Jack Turner.
At the event, Maccie shared what she thought was the most emotional and impactful part of the movie: “When he (Joe) opens the letter and discovers that it’s the recipe, I get choked up even thinking about it. I’ve seen this movie through editorial and shooting everything else probably 1,000 times, but it doesn’t matter at that moment. There’s just something about knowing that he has it forever.”
Part of Movieguide®’s review of the movie reads, “NONNAS is a high-quality, charming movie with lots of heart. It has a fun soundtrack and amazing performances from the cast. The movie has a strong Christian, biblical, moral worldview with very strong pro-capitalist elements.”
However, there was some romanticism, profanity, brief drunkenness and a lesbian character. So Movieguide® advises caution for older children.
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +2