cha cha real smooth

What does it mean to be true to oneself? To love? To grow up? These are the questions that Cooper Raiff wrestles with in his charming second feature, Cha Cha Real Smooth, which debuted at Sundance and is also making the rounds at Tribeca.  In this go-around, Raiff pulls quadruple duty as director, screenwriter, producer, and star, and this is clearly a labor of love.  Heavily inspired by his own upbringing, this sweet romantic dramedy depicts the relationship between a 22-year old slacker and a 30-something mother, in a refreshingly honest, frank manner. Meanwhile, the recurring backdrop of bar mitzvahs keeps the proceedings entertaining and gives the film a fairly fresh spin.  (Think The Wedding Singer if Sandler’s character actually confronted harsh truths about himself and his position in the world.)

The film opens on Raiff’s Andrew, who’s just graduated college and trying to figure out what to do with his life.  Fresh off a breakup, he mulls whether to follow his ex-girlfriend to Europe, but this seems borne out of aimlessness rather than any actual desire. Boldly pronouncing that he’s going to return home and work at a non-profit, he quickly finds himself working at a depressingly named fast food chain, Meat Sticks, in one of the film’s more amusing bits. Meanwhile, he lives at home with his insecure younger brother, David (Evan Assante); his bipolar mother, credited only as Andrew’s Mom (Leslie Mann, indispensable); and his harried stepfather Greg (Brad Garrett, effective).  While escorting David to a bar mitzvah, he encounters Domino (Dakota Johnson), who’s brought her special-needs daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). Andrew befriends Lola and soon embarks on a will-they/won’t they romance with Domino, which propels the rest of the film.

It has to be said—this is not a pleasant film to look at.  Production values are shoddy and the ‘cinematography’ is about on par with what you’d expect from a D-list reality show on basic cable. This is all apparent from the opening scenes, as the credits look like they were created in iMovie.  (Not to say that movies can’t be shot on an iPhone, and done well—just see Sean Baker’s Tangerine.) I suspect most of the budget went to music licensing, as the mitzvahs feature such hits as “WAP.” The upside of this is, it forces other elements of the film to do the heavy lifting, specifically the dialogue and the performances, which are entirely up to the task.

The film feels nothing if not authentic, and borrows enough from Raiff’s life that it’s almost autobiographical.  As a kid growing up in Texas, Raiff attended a school that was 40% Jewish, and per his recollection, spent almost every Saturday night in 7th grade attending mitzvahs. He also has a sister who is special-needs, and has stated publicly that he made this film for his mother.  And it shows. Andrew demonstrates an inexhaustible patience with Lola, sweetly asking her about her hobbies (she has a bedroom collection of potato mashers that she calls ‘Potato World’). In a small part, Leslie Mann provides much of the film’s emotional weight, as a woman who wants her son to be happy while also battling her own mental illness. She and Raiff have some of the movie’s most powerful scenes.  And based on his demeanor in interviews, Raiff really appears to be playing himself here.  Andrew is an endearing character—cocky, charming, sweet, neurotic.  He wears his shirts with the top button buttoned, ala David Lynch, and at one point he makes a finger gun gesture and awkwardly moonwalks away.  And so on. Raiff is so comfortable in his character’s skin that the line between artist and subject is often blurred.  The other characters are similarly well sketched out, and are all going through their own struggles.  Johnson is masterful at portraying the weight her character feels from being a young mother of a special-needs child. Her character openly acknowledges that her life has been, and will always be, defined by Lola’s “stages.” In Andrew, she sees a kind spirit, a sort of escape. Their scenes together are achingly tender, and anytime they’re on screen together, the movie really comes alive. 

Their spark unfortunately works for and against the movie.  Somewhere around the beginning of the second act, the film runs out of steam and starts to feel a bit repetitive. Andrew and Domino flirt, Andrew babysits Lola, Andrew goes to another bar mitzvah, rinse and repeat. Worsening matters is the fact that Domino disappears for a large chunk of the runtime, and her absence is sorely missed.  Without her, the vitality slowly drains from the film. Luckily, the film rallies in the third act but be prepared to be patient in the meantime.

The finale is well worth the wait, however, and demonstrates Raiff’s grasp of the themes at play. This is at its heart, a movie about love and loss, and growing up.  Andrew and Domino are soul mates, but reality has other plans. And Andrew has a lot of learning and self-discovery ahead of him. Everyone but him seems to understand this, even Joseph, Domino’s abrasive fiancé.  In one tender moment, Andrew sits in his car crying, apologizing for the follies of his youth. Joseph movingly, softly comforts him, “it’s okay.” The ending is bittersweet and feels earned, yet is not without hope.  It will speak to anyone who’s loved and lost, and further solidifies Raiff as a voice to watch.