Cooper Raiff

Dakota Johnson

Vanessa Burghardt

Evan Assante

Leslie Mann

Raúl Castillo

Odeya Rush

Brad Garrett

Javien Mercado

Amara Pedroso

Brooklyn Ramirez

Kelly O'Sullivan

Chris Newman

John Paul Hurley

Davina Reid

Lisa Velten Smith

Corrie Danieley

Eamonn McElfresh

Mike Dennis

Alison Weisgall

Jonathan Visser

Tommy Lafitte

Jonathan Berry

Colton Osorio

Ro Donnelly

Christopher Stracey

Este Haim

Anna Zenner

Krista Montgomery

Jessica Jade Jacob

Alta Marie Bialon

Felecia Bates

Shayne Fiske

Julia Hammer

Jeff Valeri

Cédric Chabloz

Tomi Hutton

Stephanie Towell

Mandy Simpson

Beso Kacharava

Giorgi Lekishvili

George Murgulia

Alexander Sanikidze

Rob D. Strom

Jeremy Beadell

Craig Crawford

Alex Benevent

Zoe Simek

Justin Garcia

Sean Glazar

Meghan Apostoles

Katie Workinger

Jessica Switch

Erik Feig

Angela Demo

Henry Hayes

Colin Patton

Celine Diano

Thomas F. Kelly

Michelle Thompson

JoJo Myers Proud

Darcie Buterbaugh

Cristina Dunlap

Brittany Ingram

Barbie Pastorik

Chris Chae

Nick Caramela

Biko Gogaladze

Maddie Schiff

Dan Guando

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Cha Cha Real Smooth

Picturestart

TeaTime Pictures

Endeavor Content

United States of America

English

new jersey

autism

bar mitzvah

late coming of age

mother son relationship

brother brother relationship

CinemaSerf

Cooper Raiff did just about everything on this quickly paced and rather touching comedy drama. He plays the 22-year old "Andrew", whom we first meet as a young boy who has a crush on a party starter. Dejected after his inevitable rejection, we skip on a few years to when he is using his considerable social skills to get folks up and dancing at the seemingly never ending series of bar/bat mitzvah's in his town. It's at one such gathering that he meets "Domino" (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic daughter "Lola" (a strong performance from Vanessa Burghardt). The challenge is to get the shy young girl to dance and the result is a sitter job and a relationship, of sorts, with her mother - already engaged to the frequently out of town "Joseph" (Raúl Castillo). What now ensues is a gently comedic, but quite potent story that offers the young and charismatic "Andrew" (he reminded me a lot of Jack Whitehall!) with an opportunity to shine. It's about love, yes, but it's about hope and managing expectations too; with this young man, like so many of us at that age, trying to start out in life on as sure a footing as he can. It's not all a barrel of laughs - there is plenty of emotional turmoil for him, "Domino", his mother (Leslie Mann) and for his coming-of-age brother "David" (Evan Assante) and it illustrates also quite effectively just how cruel youngsters can be to each other; and how blind loyalty from their parents doesn't help (though in this film, there are quite entertaining side-effects!). There is chemistry here between the confident Raiff and both Johnson and Burghardt, the soundtrack gets your toes tapping and the conclusion offers a reality that I rather appreciated. It's good, this.

Manuel São Bento

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/cha-cha-real-smooth-spoiler-free-review

"Cha Cha Real Smooth holds incredible authenticity elevated by superb performances and an emotionally impactful story.

Cooper Raiff builds extremely relatable protagonists who need each other to learn how to overcome their intricate, uncertain stages of life. Raiff and Dakota Johnson share remarkable chemistry, humbly indulging in their flawed human characters.

Appreciating this type of film depends heavily on the life experiences of each viewer due to the genuinely real environment surrounding the entire narrative. Personally, the heartfelt approach to post-graduate life and the brilliant treatment of the autistic daughter touched my heartstrings.

Despite being quite simple and even too sweet and naive in several more serious moments, I couldn't recommend this movie more. It deserved to be seen on the big screen."

Rating: A-

Nathan

Cha Cha Real Smooth was an incredibly enjoyable film that I savored every minute of. Cooper Raiff's direction may not have been technically flawless, but his vision for the film as a whole was brilliant. The characters feel so authentic, with fantastic dialogue that is both charming and wholesome. The chemistry between Dakota Johnson and Cooper Raiff is excellent, and their dynamic throughout the movie is what truly sold it for me. Vanessa Burghardt also stands out with her portrayal of both her and her characters' struggle with autism and social settings. Her interactions with Raiff were brilliant, and their relationship was incredibly endearing.

From a storytelling perspective, many reviews have criticized Raiff's writing of his character, Andrew, and a knightly figure. However, to me, that was the point. Andrew is young and naive, with a hopeless romantic view of life that makes him believe he knows what's best for everyone, even though that couldn't be further from the truth. His naivety works well in the film, and his realization at the end of the movie brings his character arc to a full circle.

However, I did have one minor criticism, which is that the relationship between Domino and her husband felt a bit strange. On the one hand, he is portrayed as a bad person who is rude and demeaning to her, causing her depression. While on the other hand, she appreciates the security he provides her. This dynamic could have been better if the audience was able to see more of the positive aspects of his character, rather than only seeing the negatives. This would have made it clearer that the negatives were mainly on the surface, due to Andrew's already drawn conclusions about his character.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. It was a perfect example of how romantic comedies can be more than just slapstick humor but can deliver a heartfelt narrative that resonates with audiences. The film was both cute and funny, and even had some touching moments that made me feel a range of emotions. It quickly shot up my 2022 rankings, coming in at #9 on the year.

Score: 89% 🏅
Verdict: Excellent

This movie is very middle of the road blandness. It is an incredibly sanitized portrait of mental illness, neurodivergence, and depression. All these apparently flawed people seem to fill their days with well-adjusted and open discussions about their struggles. There's no nuance or dimension to any of the characters. Everyone is perfectly nice to everyone except for the stereotypical son/father bully duo who are of course huge pieces of shit. It at least follows a coherent narrative and is watchable. I'd say a good litmus test on whether to watch it or not is if the title gives you the icks. I should have known better.

In Conversation with Dakota Johnson and Cooper Raiff

Official Trailer

SXSW Red Carpet + Q&A

Cooper Raiff on "Cha Cha Real Smooth"

Cha Cha Real Smooth( 2022)

Falling in love is easy. Growing up is hard.

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A review by CinemaSerf

Written by CinemaSerf on Sat Jun 18 2022

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