Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH [SxSW Film 2022 - Virtual]

The beauty when Cooper Raiff made "Sh*thouse" in a bubble is that he made it seem that his insight maybe was exacerbated by the pandemic and caused that inspiration but it in fact was made before and just found that right corner in the perspective of isolation and loneliness. But the reality is that he had a very sure steadying hand both as a director and as actor that transcended the tools he had. That film had a memory coding and an honesty that made one think back to "Before Sunrise". The balance is that he played that character with honesty, heart and a self depreciation that gave him both power and a sense of loss.

"Cha Cha Real Smooth" [Festival Favorites], his follow up which originally played at Sundance this year and got picked up by Apple TV+, is more assured and even better than "Sh*thouse" because that raw talent, he has been able to nurture without having to make a bigger picture per se. He shot this film in Pittsburgh rather than LA and while he has some interesting co-stars, it is Dakota Johnson as his would-be paramour with an inherent complication or understanding of life all her own that helps him dance it to life and transcends it. This is the most vulnerable and best we have seen Johnson. Her knowing from films like "Fifty Shades" informs this but this is the evolution. It is about everything that makes her her plus the history of her lineage perfectly encapsulates while making it her own. Her and Raiff standing over a counter eating icees or on a couch after a confusing night are just these great moments of human behavior while not needing to push anything too far but just far enough. Johnson also produced the film so she recognized inherently what Raiff was doing without having to supersede him at all. It is a nice balance that comes through on screen.

All relationships and, in general, life, is messy and this film completely leans into it but doesn't get too melodramatic. But it is also the two younger actors playing very different approaches in Victoria Burghardt as Johnson's daughter Lola and Evan Assante as Cooper's brother David that makes the main story all the better because life goes on and people makes mistakes. The background of how everybody meets (Bar Mitzvahs, bad jobs] is sort of besides the point in the story as it simply provides a framework without needing to push the story because the plot needs to. This is Cooper's superpower in that he lets his characters just do their thing for better or worse while still being precise but yet it feels loose. Cooper's scenes with Lola simply in the way they approach it [Burghardt in real life is also on the autistic spectrum] feel very genuine and have a humor to them in a beautiful way because it is about playing on an equal field.

At one point Raiff's character asks if he is talking too much and Burghardt explains why and how she copes. It is really inspired in its simplicity but also intention. This is completely different to Cooper and Dakota sitting in the room because in a way he becomes the child and yet he is not. That difference and how it is used in context is both truthful, sad but also beautiful in a way. By contrast some scenes with Assante are meant to be the comedy bits but the final moment between them in a way is so true because of its authenticity that they come away as truly human and not as any kind of construct. "Cha Cha Real Smooth" shows that Raiff is only getting better. The balance will become keeping this authenticity, but as Johnson makes reference to, enjoy your 20s because you will not have this experience again. Raiff is only 25 so seeing his voice at this time really is a great thing because in many ways, it is in its purest form. A

By Tim Wassberg