My Grandma Died Nearly A Decade Ago, But Watching Nonnas Made It Feel Like She Was Right Here

Myrtle Faye Ulmer (née Welch), better known as “Nana” (Nah-na) around my house, was my dearly beloved grandmother and a figure in my life who helped shape me into the person I am today. She died in November 2016, and her passing left a hole in my soul that has never really been filled in. Watching Nonnas, the 2025 movie that is honestly one of the most joyous experiences of the year, didn’t bring her back or ease that pain; it made me feel like she was right here beside me.

This new Netflix original movie starring Vince Vaughn as a New Yorker who channels his grief following his mom’s death into an Italian restaurant where the cooks are all grandmas, “Nonnas” as they’re called multiple times (it means "grandmother" in Italian), made me laugh, cry, and feel my grandma’s presence like never before. What an incredible, emotional, and cathartic experience this was. Let me explain…

Nana Was More Than A Grandma To My Brothers And Me, And I Still Miss Her

I’m going to try not to get too emotional, but Nana was so much more than a grandma to my brothers and me. Yeah, she did all the great stuff that grandmothers do, but she also pretty much raised us while my parents were working (a stroke took the vision in her right eye and so she essentially became our nanny after school and during summer break), meaning we got to spend way more time with my grandma than pretty much all of my friends.

Like Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn) and other characters, taking what they learned from their grandmothers and aunts and moms to make all that scrumptious food in Nonnas, Nana taught the three of us so many life lessons. How to sneak candy into a movie, how to sort the laundry (still failing at that), how to find the bright side even on the darkest of days, and most of all… how to fall in love with cooking. I miss those days, but I miss Nana more.

I Saw My Nana In The Various 'Nonnas' With Their Humor And Resiliency

My grandma, one of the strongest, toughest, and most loving salt-of-the-earth type of person I ever met, was also outrageously funny and resilient. Over the course of a year-and-a-half, she lost her twin sister, her mom, suffered a broken leg that would plague her the rest of her life, and the death of her son. Though the pain and suffering of so many tragedies in a short amount of time would be enough to break most, Nana kept pushing and continued to look on the bright side of life.

Watching Nonnas, a movie that seems to be loved by everyone, I kept seeing Nana in the resilient, funny, and tough-as-nails elderly women who sacrificed everything to make Enoteca Maria a success. The laughing, the arguing, the mishaps in the kitchen, and the second chance at life, they all reminded me of my grandma. The outbursts of tears, the fits of laughter, the insanely good dishes (southern cooking in place of Italian cuisine in my case), those were all things she would do, both in the kitchen and in life.

This Sounds Crazy, But I Could Feel My Grandma With Me While I Watched The Movie

Similar to a colleague watching and connecting with Thelma, I felt a deep connection with Nonnas, and it honestly made an already great movie into one of my favorites of the year. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that I could feel Nana sitting beside me while I watched the movie the other night. It’s like I could look over and she was there on the couch laughing and crying with me.

I could almost smell her Icy-Hot, feel the warmth from her heating pad, and hear her deep voice talking about how much she loves Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and the rest of the cast. This created a magical, emotional, and unforgettable viewing experience, and as tough as it was to remember that my grandma has long since passed away, it was great to feel her presence after all these years.

Throughout The Movie, I Kept Thinking About Her Signature Dishes And The Joy Cooking Brought Her

Watching Nonnas on an empty stomach and resisting the urge to go raid my kitchen at 11 o’clock at night was quite a feat, considering the movie has not one but multiple delectable cooking scenes. The pizzas, the pasta, the oxtail soup, even the capuzzelle (that sheep’s head that somehow looks and sounds amazing) had me salivating. But on top of that, all the work in the kitchen made me remember my grandma’s signature dishes and the joy cooking brought her.

I cannot even count the number of days I woke up in the summer to hear the sound of my grandma prepping black-eyed peas, collard greens, this dish called “rice stuff,” or chopping up a hen for fried chicken for dinner that night. Mind you, she was singing the entire time. Gospel songs, old church hymns, “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain,” and other catchy tunes always accompanied her during these jolly culinary adventures. Don’t get me started on her fig or muscadine jelly…

Nonnas Is A Movie My Grandma Would Have Loved. I Have No Doubt About It

Nana loved cooking, she loved spending time with her family, and she LOVED watching movies. Whether it was going by the public library to pick up a VHS tape, taking my brothers and me to a matinee during a hot summer day, or, later in life, watching an old movie at her nursing home, she couldn’t get enough. I guarantee she would have loved Nonnas, I have no doubt about it.

The heart, the humor, the cooking, and the cast would have all resonated with my grandma just as they did with me. If she were alive, I know she’d be laughing, crying, and planning a big meal throughout the entire movie.

If you haven’t already, give Nonnas a watch with your Netflix subscription. And if you’re grandma, Nana, or nonna is still alive, give them a call or take some time and go visit them. You won’t regret it.