It's been months since Cooper Raiff's indie film 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' hit the screens. The movie has undoubtedly become one of my favorites. Why? Because it taught me the beauty of being young and enjoying those little road bumps in life.
Quick Synopsis: Andrew, a young man starts hosting bat mitzvah parties, there he stumbles across a woman and her young autistic daughter. What follows is a unique friendship with some rocky turns.
The beginning of Cha Cha Real Smooth is like no other movie, a young man lost in life, meets someone who is the total opposite of him, forms a bond with them and because of them, he finds a purpose in his life. But the movie diverts from the typically clichéd narrative. For Raiff's characters love isn't enough (even though there's plenty of romance in the movie) but it rather focuses on how it's okay to be uncertain in life and celebrate all those beautiful uncertainties with your head held high. Being uncertain is indeed a part of youth that'll never come back.
Andrew (Cooper Raiff) is a graduate student without any hopes and aspirations in life (like all of us), in a complex relationship, working at a meat stall while living with his mom (Leslie Mann), stepfather (Brad Garret), and little brother (Evan Assante). He plans on moving to Barcelona, where his girlfriend is but that doesn't seem to pan out the way he expected. One day his dance skills are noticed by the ladies at the bat mitzvah, so they hire him to become the official MC of the parties, helping young kids to break out of their shells and dance off.
There he meets Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic daughter Lola (Vanessa Burgardht). The way their trio is portrayed is nothing short of wholesome. He falls in love with Domino and loves taking care of Lola and doesn't think of her as interference in his supposed romance with Domino. The above sounds like a perfect plot for an unconventional romance, with the three of them forming their own tiny family and living happily ever after. But that's not what happens, what interferes with their perfect romance is life.
Domino is a young, charming woman who is elder to Andrew. Even though Andrew is smitten with Domino, she knows very well that he has so much to look forward to, despite their mutual feelings, she knows she has to let go of him. She can't tie him down and let him not experience his youthful days. Andrew thinks of her as his soulmate, he considers himself to be beyond his years and assures her the safety and love that she needs, but Domino knows that it is a mere attraction that'll pass (considering that Andrew has a thing for older women) Raiff challenges the age-old tradition of soulmates and gives it a different narrative. It's not necessary to have one soulmate, you can meet multiple people and consider them your soulmate, it can be platonic, it can be romantic or it can be unrequited. Whoever your heart wants, ends up becoming your soulmate.
Domino's proximity with Andrew is questioned when her fiancé, Joseph (Raúl Castillo) enters the picture, but that doesn't mean the moments she shared with Andrew were her trying to escape her reality. i.e. Joseph. It simply meant that he made her comfortable and at ease, something she hadn't witnessed with Joseph ever since he moved to Chicago for his job, but that also doesn't mean her love for Joseph was any less. Relationships can get complicated, no matter how in love you are, but if you really want to work it out, you find a middle ground. That's what Domino knows is best for her and her daughter Lola. Joseph. To her, love can't just be whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears, there's more to it than that, something Andrew will take time to understand (through time perhaps).
Instead of getting his fairytale ending, Andrew gets his heartbroken, now instead of a whole transition that we see in other movies where the main lead goes through all the stages of grief with a snap of a finger. Here, Raiff makes sure that Andrew's feelings are validated. As Andrew drives into the night after his unfulfilled confession, he doesn't have any sour feelings towards Domino, he simply takes his bruised heart and moves on with his life and lets her do the same too. He almost quickly recovers from his heartbreak, and that is the bliss of youth.
Domino in every aspect knew Andrew knew as well, so he swallowed the bitter pill and moved on. Raiff showed that no matter what age you are, you can be unsure be it David, who is in puberty trying to figure out how to kiss his girlfriend, or be it Domino who is trying to get past the old traumas that instilled the issues of commitment in her. Everyone is trying to figure their life out, some know how to, whereas some simply follow where their life takes them.
And finally, that is exactly what Andrew does. He dives into his Twenties with an open heart and mind, letting go of his inhibitions and just dancing to the beats of life, trying to figure out what he wants. Finding happiness, exploring new relationships, and finding more soulmates. He doesn't go to Barcelona to chase his ex and continues his job as a bat mitzvah MC. The movie closes with him dancing under the disco light looking happy and carefree, seemingly with no regrets, And that's what your Twenties are about.
Cha Cha Real Smooth celebrates your uncertainties, it acknowledges the fact that growing up is indeed hard, and finding something that drives your passion is hard but you just got to Cha Cha your way through it and realize that your life is full of possibilities and there's no end to it.
You can watch the movie on Apple TV+
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