Cha Cha Real Smooth

I wasn't expecting anything when I watched this movie but turns out I just got a big warm hug from it. Cha Cha Real Smooth is the pure heartfelt, sincere, and heartwarming I have ever felt from watching a movie this year. It's a bittersweet coming-of-age movie about a 22-year-old Andrew (Cooper Raiff), fresh out of college and stuck at his home without a clear path forward, he begins working as a party starter where he strikes up a friendship with a young mom (Dakota Johnson) and her teenage daughter.

You will never walk out the same after watching this movie and that's what I liked about it. Cooper Raiff is such a talented and gifted director, what makes him different from most of the directors is how he is genuinely capable of being related to the audience on a personal level. He is engaging not only how the way he directed it but also in how he writes it, and to add, played the character. The story is what I needed right now, the dialogues are just simply beautiful and touching. (Mind me, I also just got fresh out from the college lol)

Dakota Johnson's performance as a supporting actress is breathtaking and their chemistry is absolutely striking. I almost feel like the entire time of the movie they just let the eyes do the speaking, and it's working. My memories aren't going anywhere, especially for this movie. I can't wait to see more of Cooper Raiff's work in the future. Definitely a must-see.

As someone who loved Sh!thouse, I mostly wanted to see what Raiff would do next. Would it feel that real again? Could he find that mix of funny and heartbreaking? Answer: yes. This kid has such a knack for finding connections that feel human - joyous and complicated and cringy and triumphant and sad. Nothing in this movie feels like a stretch. So much happens, and so little happens all at once....for the plot and for the protagonist. I so wanted Andrew to be the best version of himself through it all. I'm excited Raiff has found a way to make this kind of story because we need more of them.

It's a classic indie film and that's a plus in my book! It's a really nice story and it's perfectly directed, Cooper Raiff did an excellent job! There are some really joyful and humorous moments, really liked Raiff's sense of humour and there also some touching scenes, in particular the one where Raiff and Johnson talk about depression (I cried my eyes out during that scene)! Though I'd like to notify that there's a cringe dialogue between them in another scene later in the movie too! All in all, the movie is definitely worth watching if you love the combination of sentimental and funny!

This was the other film I was privileged to see during Sundance and it's most likely gonna go down as one of my favorites of the year. Cha Cha Real Smooth has more of a personal connection to me with how it treats leaving home while you still have a younger sibling there. It really resonated with me and I'm not ashamed to say that the final scene of the film almost made me cry. It hit very close to home. The performances here are great. Major props to Cooper Raiff for Directing, Writing, and starring in this because the writing and his performance were fantastic. His direction was pretty good but the writing and acting outshined it. His character feels very realistic. He gets in over his head a lot but tries his best to make others feel happy and he usually succeeds at it. Dakota Johnson did a great job as well along with Vanessa Burghardt who plays her daughter. All of these characters that Raiff wrote are great. They feel personal and well thought out and play a major impact into the story. As you can tell, it was the characters and writing that really sold me for this film because those aspects genuinely are fantastic. The music and editing were good but really weren't anything that special. I would highly recommend checking this film out whenever it hits theaters or streaming services if you want a more personal kind of story.

There is a good bit of sarcastic comedy and wittiness. Honestly starts out a little clunky but I think it's intentional. Great story well acted in unique style by the lead. It's always fun to see a film truly evolve as the characters do and I think that's what you get here as the main actor is also the director and writer. Just a good movie that touches each emotion sometimes in unique and engaging ways.