Cha Cha Real Smooth: Film Review
I heard about one film more than any other during this year’s Sundance Film Festival and that was Cha Cha Real Smooth, which won the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. It is a lovely comedy-drama but not quite as memorable as the hype suggested.
The film stars Cooper Raiff (who also writes and directs) as Andrew, who has just finished university and moved back home to live with his mum (Leslie Mann), brother David (Evan Assante) and stepdad Greg (Brad Garrett). He is directionless and needs to figure out what he wants to do in life. While accompanying David to a bar mitzvah, Andrew helps to get everyone on the dancefloor and ends up getting a regular party-starting gig for all the local bar and bat mitzvahs. At the parties, he befriends local mum Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic daughter Lola (Vanessa Burghardt) and starts to get an idea about what he wants from life.
This uplifting coming-of-age film is unconventional, sincere and very relatable. The screenplay feels keenly observed and emotionally honest and it made me laugh often (the push-up montage is amazing). Andrew and Domino are both flawed characters and there is more nuance and complexity in their messy friendship than I expected, making their scenes together more interesting and magnetic than they might have been in other hands.
I really liked Raiff. I had never seen him in anything before and I thought he was super charismatic and likeable so I will definitely seek his films out in the future. Johnson impressed me with her complicated and emotional role as the conflicted mum and fiancee who wants security but is also scared of commitment. Newcomer Burghardt will likely win over everyone’s hearts as Lola lets down her guard and welcomes Andrew into her inner circle.
I have read a ton of glowing reviews and reactions about Cha Cha Real Smooth and I wouldn’t go as far as those – I liked it but didn’t love it. I’m also sad Cha Cha Slide didn’t get as much screentime as I’d hoped!
On Apple TV+ from Friday 17th June