You know those maybe rare films that come along occassionally that you watch, and you just think to yourself "This film was just totally made for me."? Well, he's only made two films under his belt so far, but that's pretty much my gut reaction to the films of Cooper Raiff. The young filmmaker made an impressive debut in 2020 with the criminally underseen Shithouse. Now he's back with his sophomore hit Cha Cha Real Smooth. I was lucky enough to be able to catch this one at its World Premiere back in January when the Sundance Film Festival hosted its festival virtually for the second year in a row. Hardly anything was known about it yet back then, but I was just excited to see a new film from Raiff starring the always wonderful Dakota Johnson as his co-lead. I immediately fell in love with it when I first saw it back in January and that passionate love has only grown during my numerous of rewatches since the film first hit Apple TV+ a few weeks back. This is no sophomore slump for Mr. Raiff.
Much like his debut film, Raiff has the challenging task of directing, penning, and starring in the lead role of this film. And somehow, he pulls off each assignment in spectacular spades. On its surface, Raiff's screenplay may have familiarity of plenty coming of age romantic dramedy tropes, but he manages to strike such a great sense of authenticity that I really found myself emotionally resonating with this film more than almost any other film I've seen in recent memory. As a 25-year-old male who is still taking college classes and still struggling to find a clear direction in his life, there is a lot I could easily identify with through Raiff's lead character Andrew and his performance in the role. The story here may not be anything particularly groundbreaking at all, but it's how Raiff chooses to tell this story and the endearing characters he creates that struck me on such a surprising deep level. There is a lot in this that he has to say about first love and finding your soulmate. All of which could easily feel so corny and certainly not everyone is going to personally connect with what Raiff has to say the way I did, but in his hands, it just really does feel so earnest and relatable.
The casting across the board is just fabulous. Raiff turns in an endearing and immensely charming performance as Andrew. Raiff nails the pure boyish charm and comedic timing, but also the emotional heights the role requires him to go to. And it helps that Raiff just has terrific chemistry with everyone he's paired up with on screen. Vanessa Burghardt is a true standout as Daktoa Johnson's autistic daughter Lola who just lights up the screen with warmth every moment she has. The older protective brother/younger sister like dynamic between her & Andrew is just too adorable. Leslie Mann also brings so much heart as Andrew's supportive mother and there are many scenes between the two of them that just about brought a tear to my vulnerable eyes. Evan Assante is also great as Andrew's younger brother David. Other highlights include Odeya Rush as a potential love interest for Andrew, Raul Castillo, and the always funny Brad Garrett in the stepfather role. Every single performer in this is wonderful, but the MVP of the show really is Dakota Johnson as Domino. Johnson has really been building such an impressive resume in recent years and I think has already establish herself as one of the best actresses of her generation. As Domino, Johnson turns in what just might be the greatest performance of her career yet. She has such a down to earth charm and beautifully displays the emotional vulnerability of Domino as a character that it makes her such a natural screen presence. She's the emotional anchor of the film. It's easy to see why Raiff's Andrew falls so head over heels for Johnson's Domino instantly, because who wouldn't? The chemistry between Raiff & Johnson is also electric. The romance feels natural and where it ultimately goes even genuinely surprised me while also still feeling very realistic.
Cha Cha Real Smooth excels in not only its top tier casting choices, but the beautiful central relationships that from between its great cast of characters and how authentic every one of them feels. Whether it's Andrew's relationship with Domino, Lola, his mother or little brother, there is just so much to latch onto with this film that carries an undeniable heart. Even if you don't personally identify with Andrew as much, I feel there's still so much here that will bring a huge smile to your face and then have you feeling so many different emotions. Cooper Raiff's latest might not reinvent its genres, but it certainly will tug on the heartstrings, and it does just about as well as any film I've seen in recent years doing so. It's one of the absolute best films I've seen all year and I can't imagine it being knocked down from at least my Top 5 list once the year is over. If you have Apple TV+, please make sure to not miss this one.
Final Grade: A