Watching Cha Cha Real Smooth felt like going outside and being greeted with the perfect sunny day after being stuck indoors for so long. It's not so blinding that it hurts your eyes, but rather, the kind of brightness that just makes you smile and remember that you're glad to be alive. This movie is just so effortlessly charming. Cha Cha Real Smooth, the hit 2022 Sundance Audience Award winner, is a romantic dramedy about the relationship between Andrew (Cooper Raiff), a 22-year-old college graduate who has no idea what to do next, and Domino (Dakota Johnson), a mother who desperately wants to be stable and happy.

The screenplay by Cooper Raiff is probably the best part about this movie. It’s paced very well, as you never feel like the movie is dragging or going too fast. The dialogue is fantastic, humorous, and very real. The conversations between the characters all feel so natural, and there are a select few that really hit hard. While the plot itself isn’t the most unique thing in the world, the way it’s written and executed feels so special. The script balances comedy, drama, and romance so well. The ending is also excellent, as it was both a natural conclusion to every character’s storyline but also remained relentlessly warm like the rest of the film.

The characters are also great and are all relatable to some extent. Andrew is a very likable and energetic protagonist. He’s not perfect and messes up frequently, but you can’t help but root for him throughout. Cooper Raiff does a wonderful job of bringing him to life, and you can tell that he put a lot of himself in the character. Lola (played wonderfully by Vanessa Burghardt), Domino’s daughter, is also a very lovable character and the heart of the film. She shares quite a few scenes with Andrew, and their bond is so heartwarming. Leslie Mann and Raúl Castillo’s characters are both very likable and well-acted. But I think the best character had to be Domino. It is so easy to relate to her struggles and to understand why she does the things she does. Dakota Johnson is exceptional and nails every part of her character. In general, the entire cast of characters is splendid.

While I loved the story and characters of Cha Cha Real Smooth, I will say that on a technical level the movie isn’t quite as strong. The lighting is great at setting the mood for scenes. Aside from that, however, I feel like there was a lot more that could be done visually. The direction by Cooper Raiff was good, for instance, but there’s nothing that felt memorable about it. There aren’t any shots that I thought were terribly creative. The score by Este Haim and Christopher Stracey wasn’t very prominent as the film usually chose to use needle drops instead. However, when it was there, it was great. The editing is also pretty solid.

Cha Cha Real Smooth is still good on a technical level, but it doesn’t quite match the brilliance of the script and characters. But I don’t really mind. I know an even better version of this film with more polished visuals and techs could have existed, but I was still blown away with what I saw. Even if you aren't in the exact same position as either of our main characters, it's still such an easy movie to connect to. It gets this feeling of not knowing who you are or what you want. And for 108 minutes, I smiled, I laughed, I cried, and I felt really understood, despite not having quite experienced what our leads have. It just works. Please go see this whenever you can, I guarantee it's worth your time.

8.5/10