Licorice Pizza captivated audiences in 2021, though people might raise concerns about the age difference between its main characters. A film like this reveals that age is just a number and youngness can be part of someone’s spirit until they are six feet under. However, with ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, young people are displaying signs of fatigue due to the fear, isolation and crisis engulfing the world daily even if they are below twenty-five years. UNESCO estimates over 830 million children had no access to education during the pandemic; other statistics indicate that mental health problems also hit a peak. Maybe that is why when people feel down they always turn to movies to look at themselves on those screens or rather find some time off from reality for some moments. One good example among them is Cha Cha Real Smooth.
The director of Cha Cha Real Smooth Cooper Raiff is only 25 years old however it is not his first feature film. His debut feature was Freshman Year which won Grand Jury Prize – Narrative Feature at South by Southwest. TeaTime Pictures became a production company for Dakota Johnson (The Lost Daughter), who produced and starred in this film as well? After being premiered at Sundance Film Festival, Apple bought the movie for $15 million making it available on their streaming service AppleTV+ on June 17th, 2022.
Raiff directed and acted in it while Johnson played opposite him as a mother with autism child. The rest of cast includes Leslie Mann (Motherless Brooklyn, I Love You Phillip Morris), Brad Garrett (Casper, Single Parents), Odeya Rush (Lady Bird), Raúl Castillo Jr. (Looking) et alianza cívica de nicaragua entre otros nombres conocidos en el cine nacional y mundial que forman parte del reparto de esta película también está uno de los nombres más grandes en el elenco por su notoriedad por Fifty Shades of Grey. That Johnson, one of the most recognized names in the cast, has embraced her age by implying to San Francisco Chronicle during an interview that she is looking at a different path for her acting future. This is one step in such direction for Cha Cha Real Smooth, a collaborative work with young Raiff, as well as the upcoming film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set for release in 2022 summer and when she got casted in Marvel’s Madame Web.
Cha Cha Real Smooth tells a story about Andrew (Raiff), who comes back home after being away at college for years. He isn’t doing what other regular graduates actually do- getting a job with any corporation. Unlike other graduates Andrew works at small U.S-American food eatery found within his neighborhood area. During an unexciting local bat mitzvah he becomes very popular among the local moms when he does his version of Cha Cha Slide on the dance floor that makes it more electrifying than it looked before. Just like that all the moms want to hire him for their bat mitzvahs. All he has to do is make enough money to go to Barcelona where his college girlfriend lives now and then life will take care of itself.
This is how he came to meet Domino (Johnson), who would make him change his plans pretty quickly. You see, Domino is one of those mothers, but they kindle a strange relationship that invites inescapable comparisons with last year’s Licorice Pizza. Although Andrew is 22 years old while Domino is in her thirties and has an autistic daughter, this puts them on different planets only for their orbits to intersect at bat mitzvah. However, this fateful meeting had a prelude earlier on where Andrew as twelve year old has a crush on a woman twice his age then. This little prologue not only establishes that from puberty onwards Andrew likes older women but also hints at what could be the ending of this story.
This first love doesn’t always go well and it looks like right from the beginning Andrew’s love life is almost non-existent.
However, despite the age difference it becomes increasingly obvious that these two are more similar than they look. Even though she may have had more life experience and even given birth when she was young woman, both Andrew ad Domino are locked up in the same cycle which can be summed up as “Circumstance”. Just like Domino who is unhappy in her situation since she engaged to wrong man; similarly, for example, Andrew does not have his dream job working for a nonprofit organization and his girlfriend from college may be enjoying her study abroad semester in Europe as we speak now. As these two begin to hit it off this becomes a charming indie drama that reminds audiences what it is like to be twenty-two or feel like one is still in the wrong place during their thirties. It means that people can relate to its true nature: frankness about seeing things happening daily.
Cha Cha Real Smooth carries something genuine about it like writer Raiff has been through all of these moments already. Another important aspect which connects everything here – characters feel real; they look like the guests at a New Jersey bat mitzvah. From that time, when he was 22 and Andrew was babysitting Domino’s daughter Lola, and began getting closer to both girls, the audience would also get a glimpse into his home. His mum has bipolar disorder while his step-dad, who Andrew doesn’t go along with, is very strict pharmaceutical company manager. His thirteen-year-old brother comes of age with similar sexual preferences as had Andrew when he was the boy of thirteen years old; thus it causes some friction between them or (as) there.
Again, this is not to say that the characters are exhausted; however. The film moves seamlessly between scenes and character developments but at times it feels a bit too perfect for some of the characters as they seem almost lazy and tidy. Every actor in the movie does his or her part right, with a special mention being made of the main twosome. As such, the story heavily relies on Andrew’s head-space- what makes his life go wrong and what doesn’t. Thereby avoiding deeper issues that may have added more to its storyline such as his mother bipolar struggles divorce impacts on his family and his brother’s growing up experience has just emerged as backdrops, pieces of puzzles against larger societal problems.
In terms of characterisation Domino stands out in this story, which makes her provide a surprising anchor in terms of characterization and her character’s path in the overarching narrative. Not long ago Johnson demonstrated how deeply she could act when she played a role in The Lost Daughter but since then shades have passed through Fifty Shades of Grey.There is also another brilliant performance by Vanessa Burghardt who portrays Lola; Domino’s daughter. Having just started acting, Burghardt distinguishes herself by actually having been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. According to Backstage casting director Angela Demo stumbled upon Burghardt via local children’s theater networks indicating that actress might be seen again performing on stage or screen.
Cha Cha Real Smooth has all the potential for greatness but falls short in execution. To Raiff, this is nothing new: he was previously seen as Alex in Freshman Year—a freshman student trying to make acquaintances with no “healthy” social life whatsoever. On Cha Cha Real Smooth Andrew is no different from anybody else bearing these roles though it is still going well for him personally compared to Alex portrayed by Raiff before him though he often plays these types it would be good if he altered into something different from time to time.Unlike Andrew and his counterpart who are compelled by different sets of circumstances and aspects of their narration, the latter makes him just another guy. By the end of the movie that’s all there really is to it being forgettable about. There is nothing wrong with it as a film at all. As such, it does what it can and therefore offers moments of drama, comedy and at least hints of intellectual love. Ultimately, this will resonate with its intended audience.
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