Cha Cha Real Smooth review – a crowd-pleaser that thrives in its quieter moments

It’s often said that actresses over 40 can see their fortunes change overnight, leading lady statuses instantly relinquished as they begin to be routinely cast in thankless roles as mothers or one-dimensional love interests. At just 32-years-old, that same fate has prematurely befallen Dakota Johnson, who in Cha Cha Real Smooth plays the divorced mother of an autistic teenager, and who happens to be the quasi-love interest for the much younger male lead, played by the film's writer and director Cooper Raiff.

Raiff is the filmmaker whose debut Shithouse (sadly retitled Freshman Year for its UK release) made a Sundance storm a couple of years prior. If you’ve seen that film, you might have cause for concern with his latest; although lauded by many, there was something a bit off-putting about the director casting himself as the sensitive “nice guy” lead in his own indie romcom, positioned as the polar opposite to the party animal men in the film.

While Cha Cha Real Smooth doesn’t entirely quieten those criticisms, given that he once again casts himself in the role of uncomplicated, unproblematic male lead, it does show a major improvement as a screenwriter – in particular the way he characterises Johnson’s role as the “love interest.” As is the case with much of the film, she’s revealed to be a far richer character than it initially appears.

Just like his debut, Cha Cha Real Smooth loosely subverts the well-worn framework of a famous romantic drama; while that film shifted Before Sunrise to a college campus, this one is Four Weddings and a Funeral over the course of several bar mitzvahs. Raiff is Andrew, who has recently returned home after graduating, with no prospects other than a thankless job at the mall. When accompanying his brother to one of his friend’s bar mitzvahs, he takes it upon himself to get the party started – and with the parents impressed, goes into business as a professional party starter, ensuring no event goes ahead without everybody hitting the dance floor.

It’s a classic romcom high concept that leads him to meet Domino (Johnson) and her daughter Lola (newcomer Vanessa Burghardt, a rare but very welcome case of an autistic performer being cast as an autistic character), striking up a friendship with both after he ensures Lola is comfortable in such a crowded setting. Naturally, feelings between the two develop, but remain at arm’s length as Lola is engaged to be married to a lawyer she doesn’t seem to like, so much as she likes the idea of commitment and stability.

There’s an easygoing, crowd-pleasing charm to Raiff’s film, but it’s made more impactful because of this underlying melancholy – refusing to become the age gap romance the opening prologue teases, it becomes a far more moving tale of two people struggling in their different transitional stages in life. It’s a film that will likely be sold on the strength of its party atmosphere, but it’s the moments where the music dies down that prove most affecting.

It’s a considerable step up from his debut, although not without its flaws – Andrew, as with Raiff’s earlier protagonist, seems written to be “likeable” over being interesting. But thanks to an impeccable supporting ensemble, led by a quietly devastating Dakota Johnson, this is still a party you’ll want to be invited to.

Cha Cha Real Smooth was screened as part of the Sundance Film Festival 2022. It is released in select cinemas and on Apple TV+ on 17 June.