CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH – Review

Adventurous filmgoers who are looking for a bit of a break from the onslaught of Summer blockbusters may wish to take in this tale of a very different kind of cinema protagonist. And if you’ve just completed college, well then you may identify with this character. He does harken back a bit to the title hero of THE GRADUATE, though his problems aren’t quite as catastrophic. Still, he’s at a crossroads, not sure which trail to pursue. And this somewhat odd title, well it refers to one possible path. Or, to build on the dance metaphor, it’s a lucrative side “hustle”. For a fella’ that’s “flailing about”, he wishes his life was confident like the lyric CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH.

That “fella'” is Pittsburgh native Andrew who is a smitten pre-teen when we first meet him. He’s at a pal’s Bar Mitzvah with his gaze focused on the lovely twenty-something lady who’s the party director (getting the kids to dance, starting group games, etc.). As she gets into her car to leave the festivities, Andrew rushes over to “take a chance”. Luckily his ultra-supportive mother (Leslie Mann) is there to comfort her crushed boy on the long ride home. Cut to today, about a dozen years later as Andrew (Cooper Raiff) is still “partyin’ hard’ on the dance floor with his now graduated college pals. And he’s again focused on a lady (though more “age-appropriate”) who’ll soon be off to Barcelona to complete her studies. Andrew insists that he’ll soon join her…well, maybe not so soon. He spends his days as the very board “counterman’ at a mall eatery, “Meat Sticks”. But he’s saving a bit as he’s still living with his mother, though a lot has changed since the opening scene. He shares a room with his twelve-year-old brother David (Evan Assante) and Mom has a new hubby, an uptight business exec the guys call “Stepdad” Greg (Brad Garrett). When Andrew learns that David has been invited to the Bat Mitzvah of the kid sister of his high school crush Macy (Odeya Rush) he insists on being a chaperone. At the banquet hall, Andrew’s attention drifts from Macy to a young mother with her very shy daughter. While trying to liven up the dull event, he makes his way to their far-off corner table. The mother is Domino (Dakota Johnson), who’s trying to socialize her autistic daughter Lola (Vanessa Burghardt) since she’s just gone from home-schooling into the public school system. There’s a definite connection between the trio, even as some of the “mothers” corner Andrew in the parking lot. A couple of them want to hire Andrew to “help’ at upcoming Mitzvahs. He comes up with a job title, “Jig Conductor”, and sets out to promote himself via social media. Happily, Andrew crosses paths again with the mother/daughter duo. And though Domino tells him that she has a fiancee (a lawyer who’s on a case in Chicago), there could be a romantic spark. Since his long-distance college GF is posting Facebook pics with a foreign hunk, maybe…if there’s a chance…ya’ know?

So , the movies have a new triple threat in the talented Mr. Raiff, though he has created one previous feature, the bluntly titled (I’ll clean it up) S#*THOUSE. But this one can easily be placed on a marquee, so we can say this is his breakthrough project as he juggles screenwriting, directing, and acting in the lead role. And somehow he keeps ‘all the plates spinning”. His Andrew is an appealing everyman, full of charm as he encourages the underdogs, particularly his lil’ bro and Lola. But often Andrew really tests us with rash, even acts of self-sabotage, though we’re still rooting for him. Even as he navigates a complicated relationship with Domino, played with by the sultry, but very sensitive Johnson. Perhaps more than Andrew, she’s conflicted over her choices, wanting to break away from her wild youth and become “responsible” to her fiancee and create a solid home for her daughter. This isn’t her ditzy 50 SHADES persona, but rather a more fleshed-out take on her restless spouse in THE LOST DAUGHTER. Domino sees Andrew as a way back into her carefree party days and fights her need to capture his eager spirit. Both Johnson and Raiff have great chemistry with each other and the film’s most remarkable discovery, Burghardt, a real autistic actress who brings a real warmth and an engaging wit to the “on the spectrum” Lola. She draws us into her world (much as with Andrew) and touches us with her gradual acceptance of her new friend. Mann is compelling as the family matriarch who must deal with some big personal issues (a bipolar condition) while keeping her focus on her two boys. Assante grabs our hearts as that youngest son who really needs the advice of his big brother and best pal as he goes through the confusion of first love. Rush is terrific as Andrew’s former “second love” who peels away the armor of being her high school’s adored “queen”.And let’s not forget the comic kingpin Garrett who somehow makes the uptight, rigid (“We don’t use that language at the dinner table”) stepfather engaging and somewhat sweet.

That last word may best encompass the overall feel of this, I’ll say it, “feel good” film fable. Raiff directs with a real eye for performances, knowing when to linger for a reaction, and when to cut wide to take in the atmosphere. There’s the intimate glow in the homes of Andrew and Domino (actually Joseph’s parents’ old house) contrasted with the soul-sucking brightness of the “Meat Sticks” retail Hellscape, which is the opposite of the “glow-stick” glare of the “party rooms”. The weird and funny world of the Mitzvahs would make an engaging film on its own with its not really cohesive mix of religious ceremony and youthful social explosion. Here it’s a fascinating backdrop to the odd dance of Domino and Andrew. We’re invested in them as we consider if they or anyone in their intense orbit will get their hearts smashed to bits. This is a most entertaining exploration of the tenuous steps that many folks cautiously take toward adulthood. Luckily there are lots of laughs and love to make us happy to have joined the “dance-line” for CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH. Mazel Tov, Mr. Raiff on the beginnings of a hopefully long cinematic “jig”.

3 Out of 4

CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH opens in select theatres and streams exclusively on Apple TV+ beginning on Friday, June 17, 2022