Review: The tender authenticity of 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' will win you over
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Cha Cha Real Smooth
4 out of 5 Stars
Director: Cooper Raiff
Writer: Cooper Raiff
Starring: Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Vanessa Burghardt, Evan Assante
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R for language and some sexual content.
Synopsis: An uninspired man’s attempt to be a Bar Mitzvah party host leads to a friendship with a disliked mother and her autistic daughter.
Review: I always underestimate how much I enjoy Dakota Johnson as an actress. Yes, she has made a handful of films that I’m not particularly enamored with, but her willingness to take risks and star in complicated stories with flawed characters is something that should be celebrated.
I saw “Cha Cha Real Smooth” earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival (which took place in my bedroom for the second year in a row). I don’t remember why, but I was reticent about watching it. Subsequently, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the experience. Cooper Raiff’s story about Andrew (Raiff), a meandering young man who finds himself moving home and sharing a bedroom with his teenage brother (Evan Assante), who befriends Domino (Johnson), an unpopular mother who has made her share of poor decisions, and her autistic daughter Lola (Vanessa Burghardt) struck a chord. I wasn’t alone. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” was well received by critics and by festival’s end took home an Audience Award.
I’m familiar with what a bar mitzvah is. I wasn’t, however, familiar with what a modern bar mitzvah experience looks like. I am now. It’s an LDS youth dance with the addition of a party host and plenty of alcohol for the parental chaperones. Loud music, flashing lights, kids pulled from their comfort zone to fill the empty dancefloor, the occasional posturing bully or holier than. Ultimately, synchronized line dancing is terrifying regardless of the venue.
It is within this environment that Andrew discovers a new profession and meets Domino and Lola. It’s a place that we keep going back to. Why? Because Domino wants Lola to have the opportunity to interact with young people. Even if neither side is interested in interaction. It’s also the only place where Andrew’s life intersects with Domino’s.
For warmhearted Andrew things become complicated quickly. He wants to help, but more than anything he wants to play savior. He wants noble purpose.
Domino is a good mother who wants to be a good person. Her choices undermine her own efforts. She’s a hot mess and she knows it. She also senses that she won’t get away with it forever. She’s too tethered to Lola. Johnson is great in the role. Beautiful with a recklessness that can be misinterpreted as a call for help.
There’s a lot we don’t know about Domino. A lot we’ll never know as Raiff’s screenplay centers on Andrew. I’m not convinced that Andrew is entirely reliable. His version of events could be equally fantasy and truth. Nonetheless, his journey, particularly because of the flashback that serves as the film’s opening scene, makes you want to root for him. Sadly, his ability is disproportionate to his dreams.
I love Burghardt’s performance as Lola. The story isn’t told through her eyes (I’d really like to see that film) but the audience is given a sense of what life is like for her and for Domino. Burghardt is autistic, but anyone who suggests that she’s not acting has never tried to “act naturally” in front of a camera. It’s not easy.
Raiff’s script doesn’t give in to convention. Instead, it offers a more realistic story that feels honest and messy. That doesn’t mean it can’t be happy.