'Nonnas' review: Warmhearted Vince Vaughn drama is cinematic comfort food

WHAT IT'S ABOUT "Nonnas" tells the story of the Staten Island restaurant Enoteca Maria, which features grandmothers from across cultures cooking their food for patrons on a revolving schedule.

This weekend, for example, features grandmothers from Poland, China and Ukraine. Next weekend, the restaurant's calendar has a grandmother from Argentina and one cooking traditional Jewish food.

The movie, directed by Stephen Chbosky ("Dear Evan Hansen"), stars Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, the Lake Success-raised Talia Shire, the Hicksville-raised Lorraine Bracco, Brenda Vaccaro and other luminaries.

MY SAY There's a great documentary to be made about how this place came into being as the brainchild of Joe Scaravella, a Brooklynite with exactly zero previous restaurant experience.

"Nonnas" is obviously not that movie.

But if you're going to give this story the Hollywood treatment, you might as well sport a cast of heavy hitters and give them the chance to cook and banter and serve up some of the best-looking food in any movie, anywhere, this side of "Big Night."

Chbosky and screenwriter Liz Maccie paint the story in broad, sentimental strokes, and without any surprises. We know exactly where everything's going from the outset. 

There's not a lot of drama here. The picture pays heed to the challenges in opening a restaurant, famously one of the most difficult and demanding of ventures. Joe (Vaughn) works hard to get it off the ground, taking out loans and dealing with onerous inspections. But as depicted in "Nonnas," it never seems particularly difficult. The obstacles are easily surmounted.

The nonnas all get along swimmingly, except for a little bit of bickering between Antonella (Vaccaro) and Roberta (Bracco). A kitchen fire wreaks some havoc. Joe feels bad about the way he treated Olivia (Linda Cardellini) at prom decades earlier, but she forgives him. Olivia has returned to Joe's life because she's Antonella's neighbor. Romance is in the cards. Italian jokes abound. Billy Joel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" makes its obligatory appearance.

But "Nonnas" has a strong emotional core. The heart of the story finds a man honoring his late mother and keeping her alive through her cooking. He assembles a team of nonnas committed to the mission, ready to see it through and unwilling to simply resign themselves to spending their golden years riding into the proverbial sunset.

This is more than enough to carry a movie.

That's especially true when the actors have totally bought into it. Vaughn shoves aside his usual deadpan, cynical affect for something warmer. This is as likable as he's been in a movie. Sarandon, Shire, Vaccaro and Bracco have plenty of strong, personality-driven moments and draw out something compelling in each of their characters. Their backstories are rich and complicated; they're not just stereotypes.

It's cinematic comfort food. It's the movie version of a big dish of penne alla vodka, with a side of freshly cooked bread dipped in warm olive oil. You've had it a thousand times. You know exactly what you're eating. But you wouldn't miss it for the world.

BOTTOM LINE You're not going to be planted at the edge of your seat here, but "Nonnas" has ample pleasures.