When hot cultural trends come to mind, the frumpy, feisty Italian grandmothers of my childhood aren’t usually at the top of the list. And yet "Nonnas," the breakaway Netflix film starring these very kinds of characters, has been the no. 1 film in the rankings and viewed more than 20 million times since its release, continuing to make headlines and populating social media faster than a Real Housewife's tabloid gaffe.

The heartwarming movie is about a young Italian-American man named Joe Scaravella who is mourning the recent loss of his mother, a major force in his life. Joe, played by Vince Vaughn, seems perpetually lost after his mother’s death. But when he comes across a dilapidated storefront, he has a vision and takes a leap of faith, hoping to open a restaurant that will resurrect the joys of his childhood through the cooking of his mother and grandmother.

Viewers soon learn that sumptuous dishes like caponata and “Sunday sauce” come with a heavy side of wisdom, perseverance and old-world love. These messages are delivered by the four nonnas — Italian for grandmothers — Joe hires to do the cooking. It sounds like a smart cinematic twist, but in this case it’s an example of art mirroring real life. Joe Scaravella and his Enoteca Maria on Staten Island are the basis for the film. Since 2007, the nonnas there have been cooking up pots of delectable treasures, and today the chefs include nonnas from all around the world doling out their best dishes.

Some would be quick to argue that the film is just another addition to the collection of feel-good family movies that populate our streaming services and movie theaters each spring. But "Nonnas"taps into something deeper in our cultural fabric, something that predates this current iteration and mines the longstanding trope of Southern-Europeans-teach-the-world-a-lesson about family, life and love.

That magical interaction with Italy likely dates to the 17th century establishment of the Grand Tour, a trek made by upper class Englishmen, and later Gilded Age Americans, mainly to places in Italy to experience the antiquities, art and hidden........

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