No, we’re not talking about CODA but Cha Cha Real Smooth, a cheerful, crowd-pleasing film that won big at the Sundance Film Festival. Following the success of the former, especially at the Oscars, may Cha Cha Real Smooth become another hidden treasure on the streaming service?
Cha Cha Real Smooth debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January, where it got positive reviews, won the Audience Award in the US Dramatic category; and was nominated for the festival’s Grand Jury Prize. It is currently expected to be one of the major movies in Apple TV Plus’ 2022 original poster.
What more do you need to know about Cha Cha Real Smooth?
Cha Cha Real Smooth Reviews
We know Cha Cha Real Smooth was popular with the public at Sundance 2022, based on its awards, but what did the critics think? They enjoyed it as well.
Cha Cha Real Smooth presently has a Rotten Tomatoes (opens in new tab) score of 91 per cent “Fresh” and a Metacritic (opens in new tab) score of 76, putting it in the “Good” category.
In a review for IGN(opens in new tab), Matt Donato calls Cha Cha Real Smooth “the essence of feel-good cinema,” while Collider(opens in new tab) and The Film Stage(opens in new tab) both lauded writer/director/star Cooper Raiff as a rising talent.
What Is The Cha Cha Real Smooth Plot?
The following is the official overview of Apple TV Plus’s Cha Cha Real Smooth:
“Andrew, 22, is stranded at home in New Jersey with his family after graduating from college without a defined life plan. But if there’s one thing he should have on his nonexistent résumé; it’s how to start a party, which wins him the ideal job of motivational dancing at the bar and bat mitzvahs for his younger brother’s classmates. So when Andrew meets a local mother, Domino, and her daughter, Lola, he sees a future he desires — even if it may not be his own.”
Who Is In The Cha Cha Real Smooth-Cast?
Cooper Raiff as Andrew and Dakota Johnson as Domino, the local mom with whom he builds a relationship; is the movie’s triple threat of a writer, director, and starring man.
While Raiff is a rising star who will be discussed more below, Johnson has established himself as a Hollywood fixture. Johnson rose to prominence with parts in films such as Suspiria, Bad Times at the El Royale, The Peanut Butter Falcon, and The Lost Daughter after first breaking out as Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Johnson is also a producer for Cha Cha Real Smooth.
Leslie Mann (This Is 40, The Bubble) and Brad Garrett (Finding Nemo, Everybody Loves Raymond) play Andrew’s mother and stepfather, respectively. Raul Castillo (Army of the Dead) portrays Domino’s fiancé, Joseph, while Odeya Rush (Lady Bird) portrays Andrew’s buddy Macy.
Evan Assante portrays Andrew’s younger brother, David, and Vanessa Burghardt plays Domino’s daughter Lola, both of whom are newbies in Cha Cha Real Smooth.
Who Is The Cha Cha Real Smooth Director?
Cooper Raiff, as previously stated, is both the writer and director of the film. Raiff’s third feature film, Cha Cha Real Smooth, is set to be his largest owing to the Apple TV Plus pick-up; but he has been developing his profile on the film festival circuit, notably with his second effort, Shithouse.
Shithouse, which follows a lonely college student who forms a bond with his RA, received the Grand Jury Prize at the 2020 South by Southwest Film Festival; generating some interest for the rookie director.
Behind the camera, he is transitioning from film to television, co-writing and directing the Amazon Studios project Exciting Times; an adaptation of Naoise Dolan’s novel of the same name, which will feature Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor.
