Sundance 2022: Cha Cha Real Smooth Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Cooper Raiff is indisputably one of the best young talents working today both in front of and behind the camera. His fantastic debut feature, Shithouse, won a Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, and now his latest film, Cha Cha Real Smooth builds on the former as Raiff refines his talents and delivers an incredibly heartwarming dramedy that is sure to resonate with young adult audiences. Full of deep and grounded characters, the story is an emotional rollercoaster led by a career-best performance by Raiff and an always delightful Dakota Johnson. The film’s ultimate success is how easy it is to see one’s self in these characters therefore allowing for an easier connection to the characters and their respective journeys. In the end, the wholesomeness of it all makes for a sharp contrast to a lot of films in recent memory which only makes it stand out that much more.

Cha Cha Real Smooth tells the story of a young upbeat college graduate named Andrew (Raiff) who was raised on Bar Mizvah parties and was part of the Bar Mitzvah community. In a rut and at a crossroads in his life while trying to figure out his future, he found himself living at home and back to Bar Mizvah parties where he became a party host, a job where he took advantage of his talent and charisma. There, Andrew met a woman named Domino (Johnson) and her autistic daughter named Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). From that point, the three struck a blossoming relationship as he fell in love with Domino who was already set to marry her finacé Joseph (Raúl Castillo) for whom her love for was questionable. The theme of the future loomed large here as Andrew’s arguable lack of maturity meant that he still had plenty to learn about life. Domino, on the other hand, was older and had much more life experience and was ready to move on with her life and settle down but nevertheless, there was a connection there. Those respective character arcs were so compelling to watch as Andrew and Domino had some self-discovery to do which wasn’t so straightforward.

At the end of the day, the best part of Cha Cha Real Smooth was the performances of Raiff and Johnson and their stellar chemistry as Andrew and Domino. They each brought out the best of the former’s script as Raiff shines as the relatable yet flawed nice guy who is essentially thrust into growing up as most audiences his age will inevitably have to do. Meanwhile, Johnson brings plenty of charm and screen presence to the table as a still young single mother. Burghardt, who is autistic in real life, was a scene-stealer as Lola.

Overall, Cha Cha Real Smooth is a charming feature and certainly the most feel-good watch of the year so far.

*still courtesy of Sundance

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.