“We’ve hit an all-time peak of overthinking”: Here’s what Nonnas star Vince Vaughn had to say about the movie’s success

Recently, Vince Vaughn was seen playing Joe Scaravella in the Netflix film Nonnas. He almost went broke until a last-minute miracle saved his restaurant from closing down. If we look at the streaming charts, it’s still on top after its release on May 9, 2025. Add an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and that makes it one of the must-watch movies of the year.

Vince Vaughn was talking to The Hollywood Reporter recently, and when discussing films being led by “women of a certain age,” he first explained a bit about Joe’s role in the film and then said:

"That’s something that all human beings go through. We’ve exhausted ourselves with these [focus] groups and IPs. It’s almost like what happened to the car industry, where everything is so quarterly and broken down and just following these ideas. It feels like we’ve hit an all-time peak of overthinking and using rules to the point where you step back and see something like this."

In the film, Joe hires these Nonnas for his restaurant to serve people meals that feel like home. We saw a similar concept briefly in La Dolce Villa, where these “women of a certain age” eventually become a part of Eric's cooking school.

Joe's restaurant is on the verge of closing down in the film

Joe is trying to bring this unique concept to life with the Nonnas helping him out, but things aren’t working out initially. His hires aren’t really in sync, but they eventually start functioning as a team. Just when it seems like things might be turning around, new problems emerge.

Roberta (Lorraine Bracco), in one scene, is making capuzzelle and accidentally starts a fire. Of course, that wasn’t intentional. However, a food inspector arrives just in time, and the restaurant fails inspection on the spot. Now they all have to wait at least a year for another inspection.

When nothing seems to be going right—especially after Joe fails to get a review for his restaurant—he decides to throw a party before calling it quits. But then, the food critic who had previously denied a review, Edward Durant (Campbell Scott), sends one of his associates. Little does Joe know that this goodbye party is about to become the inauguration party for his revived business.

Vince Vaughn's character in Nonnas is based on a real life person

Joe Scaravella isn’t a fictional character in Nonnas—he’s the real-life owner of a restaurant in Staten Island. Vince Vaughn met him in person and shared the following in a recent interview with ScreenRant:

"I had the pleasure of going down and meeting him. I was really impressed with him. He is a real artist. He loved creating the experience. He was focused on the idea of it."

The original owner also has a cookbook called Nonna’s House. In it, as the name suggests, all the Nonnas who have been part of the restaurant are featured.

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Also Read: Nonnas cast and character guide: Who plays whom in the Netflix film?

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