Cha Cha Real Smooth Review
Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022) Film Review from the 44th Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie directed by Cooper Raiff and starring Dakota Johnson, Cooper Raiff, Leslie Mann, Raul Castillo, Odeya Rush, Brad Garrett, Kelly O’Sullivan, Brenna Sherman, Corrie Danieley, Vanessa Burghardt, Tiffany Sander McKenzie, Colton Osorio, Amara Pedroso, Phil Nardozzi, Evan Assante, Alison Weisgall, Drake Tobias and Felicia Reuter.
Cha Cha Real Smooth, a highly intelligent new film written and directed by Cooper Raiff, has all the markings of becoming another Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, or Silver Linings Playbook. All three of those very original and well-acted films received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and while it’s too soon to tell if Cha Cha Real Smooth will get Oscar nominations next year, it’s a hugely entertaining and winning dramedy featuring some nuanced performances and some very fun and winning characterizations.
This film opens with a young boy around twelve-years-old named Andrew having a crush on a female party hostess (Kelly O’Sullivan). He tells his mom (the always superb Leslie Mann) that he is in love with the girl and makes his move on the young lady who is definitely older than him by about 8-10 years, give or take. She rejects him because she’s too old for him but still feels flattered. It’s quite clever that Domino (Dakota Johnson), the woman Andrew (played as a 22-year-old by Raiff for the remainder of the film) ends up pursuing for the rest of the movie has about the same 8-10 years difference in regard to age.
Andrew is first seen yearning for a girl who is leaving the country and heading to Barcelona when we meet him 10 years after he had asked the young party hostess out on a date. However, he ultimately doesn’t follow that girl. Instead, he ends up working for a fast-food chain store at the local shopping mall. That all changes when he goes to a Bar Mitzvah party with his younger brother David (Evan Assante) and meets the slightly older Domino (Johnson) and her autistic daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). Domino tells Andrew that he won’t be able to get the shy Lola on the dance floor and they end up making a $300 bet that he won’t be able to do it. Andrew, using his charm, does get her on the dance floor and he becomes the highlight of the party. Andrew is even offered a new job as a party host himself which he gleefully accepts.
Domino and Andrew have a sort of undeniable connection despite their age difference, but she is engaged to be married to a lawyer named Joseph (well played by Raul Castillo) who is usually traveling to Chicago on business. That opens up the door for them to form a true bond. Andrew soon ends up babysitting Lola for Domino and Joseph.
There are major developments throughout the plot which pose barriers to the two main characters (Andrew and Domino) getting together and they are well developed throughout the film. It’s not an easy relationship to happen due to the complexities of the plot but that doesn’t mean the audience isn’t in suspense throughout the film wondering whether or not these two characters will end up together by the film’s end. Also, the movie earns a lot of points by not turning Joseph into a complete jerk.
Leslie Mann as Andrew’s mom, who suffers from depression, has some great lines and is certainly the highlight of the supporting cast. An exchange towards the end of the film between Andrew and his mother is heartfelt and tugs at the heartstrings without feeling the slightest bit cornball which it could have felt in a lesser film. Brad Garrett serves as Andrew’s stepfather who has a lot of flaws, to say to the least. This character of the mother’s new husband is played very convincingly by the always reliable Garrett.
There are a number of compelling scenes between Raiff and Johnson which are truly moving. When Domino ends up bleeding at a party and seeks Andrew’s help, she needs him not only to help her but to assist her autistic child who is played to perfection by Burghardt. Some of the scenes towards the ending of the film offer the most believable exchanges between Raiff and Johnson’s characters. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal them in order to avoid spoilers.
Andrew, as a character, can feel a little annoying at times but that’s the point. His humanity is displayed on screen and conveyed by Raiff masterfully. He is not simply portrayed as a saint but he’s also not a total screw up either. He is realistically portrayed as someone trying to get by and find his calling in life who is doing everything that he can do to create a new, meaningful life for himself.
Dakota Johnson has never been better. She reveals many layers to her character through her delivery of well-written dialogue that could move audiences to tears at certain times. Domino is a lost soul trying to find a path to take for herself and her daughter that will lead them on the least stressful journey possible. This picture also shows how Lola gets bullied at times because of her disability. Andrew tries to help her and do what is right for his two new female friends–Domino and Lola. He genuinely cares about them and doesn’t have a hidden agenda. He just wants what they want and/or what’s best for everyone’s ultimate happiness.
Raiff has directed a winning film that is among the best we’ll see this year. Johnson truly shows her range as an actress here. She’s also building up a nice, solid resume that contains films outside of the typical Hollywood fare she came on to the scene with (See: Fifty Shades of Grey). Johnson’s recent turns in The Peanut Butter Falcon, Our Friend, The Lost Daughter, and now Cha Cha Real Smooth earn her the distinction of being a talent to contend with.
Cha Cha Real Smooth feels like it’s in the vein of Silver Linings Playbook with its realistic characters and edgy but funny performances that can also genuinely move the viewer emotionally. It’s a welcome addition to the Sundance Film Festival this year. It’s also a true standout film that will surely get some serious recognition this year.
Rating: 9.5/10
Leave your thoughts on this Cha Cha Real Smooth review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more Sundance Film Festival news can visit our Sundance Film Festival Page, our Film Festival Page, and our Film Festival Facebook Page. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Inst