‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ Review: Life-Affirming and Just Plain Funny
Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth is one of the best comedies of the year, with two impeccable performances at its core.
Yes, Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth is really that good, even if it isn’t perfect. A couple of predictable beats here and there prevent it from soaring the way it should, but the most important element of it all, substantial performances from its leads lift up the film’s sharp script to exciting heights and even manage to make some of its ragged edges feel palpable.
The plot is quite simple, Andrew (Raiff) meets Domino (Dakota Johnson) at a bat mitzvah, with our protagonist being quite the sensation as he’s able to make anyone, including Domino’s autistic daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt), dance. The two start to become friends, as Andrew watches Lola, while Domino spends time with her fiancé (Raúl Castillo). However, Andrew starts to have feelings for Domino, deeper than just a simple friendship, while Domino starts to feel the same thing too. Of course, we all know where this is going (at least we think we know where this is going), but Raiff twists things up a bit and delivers a much deeper, and more layered rom-com than anyone was ever expecting.
Without giving anything away, the story goes into more unexpected territory than I was imagining, and becomes a more complex study of two characters than a simple rom-com, where a down-on-his-luck guy will fall in love with a [soon-to-be married] woman, who is too good to be true. Of course, all of these elements are present in the movie, and Raiff’s script follows them to the point… until it starts to veer off into something more enticing and gripping after one specific moment occurs. Revealing it would be a sin, but let’s just say that it’s when Dakota Johnson is at the very best she’s ever been. And her career has been nothing short of impeccable, with few critically panned films in her resumé, and a slew of high-profile roles overshadowing some of the more egregious work she’s done.
But there’s an impeccable simplicity in how she plays Domino that makes her stand above every other character she’s played. Domino itself feels like an indecipherable mystery. She doesn’t tell much to Andrew but slowly starts to open up to him in ways she can’t do when her fiancé is around. Her simplicity gets the better of Andrew, who immediately falls in love with her because of that. And then their chemistry fires off all cylinders and becomes the center of attention in the movie. Both actors are electrifying together, and share some of the most passionate moments of [non] love you’ll see all year.
Through subtle movements, like sharing Mr. Freezes, smiling at each other, and caring for Lola, they start to become more than friends, and the audience, as a result, starts to root for them to get together and for Domino to dump his completely wooden fiancé. But once you realize that the film isn’t about that, and becomes something bigger than their relationship, the movie feels more complete as it explores Andrew’s journey of self-discovery as a twenty-two-year-old still having no idea what to do with his life, who to love, and who to spend time with. It becomes heartbreaking for the audience to go through Andrew’s emotional journey with him, but one leaves Cha Cha Real Smooth feeling immensely satisfied, encouraged to live their life to the fullest and pursue their dreams before the inevitable happens.
The movie is also surprisingly funny. Raiff shares some pretty hilarious scenes during bar mitzvahs, but its supporting cast is even funnier than him, particularly Brad Garrett, whose frustrated face adds amazing comedic timing to some of the movie’s funniest lines. He even gets his time to shine during the film’s most hilarious running gag, even if his character does feel underused during most of the runtime. So is Leslie Mann, who is great as Andrew’s mother, but has virtually nothing to do other than constantly reassuring his son that everything is going to be OK. That sounds fine and all, but Cha Cha Real Smooth lacks a deep relationship with his parents to make the film even better than it is.
But the film more than makes up for it in its charming dynamic between Andrew and Domino, who is the heart and soul of Raiff’s sophomore feature. At only 25, the filmmaker/actor has accomplished more than many of us will ever do in our lives and his second outing in filmmaking is one of the most refreshing, and life-affirming comedies of the year. It’s a shame that the Academy went back to their pre-pandemic rules on awards eligibility because the film would’ve been an acting category’s darling. One can dream that an 11th-hour miracle occurs and the movie does end up sweeping those categories early next year.