Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the film Cha Cha Real Smooth and discussions of depression.
Cha Cha Real Smooth captivated the audience at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is now finally available to stream on Apple TV+. It's the second film written, directed, and starred by Cooper Raiff, who is regarded as one of the most promising new filmmakers in the indie scene, all this talent being displayed while he's still 25 years old.
In his new film, his co-star is none other than the talented Dakota Johnson, who plays a young mother trying to settle her life. Cooper Raiff is Andrew, a fresh graduate stuck at his New Jersey home without a clear path forward. Together they form a beautiful bond, and Cha Cha Real Smooth addresses relevant topics of coming-of-age, autism, and the clash of generations in a funny, yet deeply emotional way.
Domino
"I feel very comfortable with you. I don't know why. But I do."
After the tragic night in which Domino has a miscarriage, Andrew shows himself to be a very caring person, helping her out in such an upsetting moment of her life. After bringing her home and taking care of Lola while she takes the weight of a loss out of her chest, they have an important heart-to-heart conversation in Domino's living room, where she reveals how comfortable she feels when Andrew is around.
Their friendship really kind of began out of the blue, but the connection between the two clicked almost instantly. It's a beautiful moment because Domino says these words right before she reveals to Andrew what really happened to her that night.
Lola
"I'm ready for bed and I do not mind you scratching my back."
One of the most beautiful friendships in Cha Cha Real Smooth is between Andrew and Lola. One great thing about the movie is how it portrays autism in a delicate, thoughtful way, and how Andrew is committed to making Lola feel comfortable at all times.
While they grew closer since the day they met, it wasn't until Lola let Andrew scratch her back that he realized how much he meant to her, and how that's her way to say that she trusts him. Such a simple gesture from Lola reveals how much she feels comfortable with Andrew and how she's giving him all her heart so the bond between them becomes something meaningful.
Domino
"The things that I'm scared of doing are probably the things that will help me the most, but I just can't do them."
In one of the most heartfelt moments of the movie, Andrew and Domino share their honest, personal thoughts on mental health matters. As Domino opens her heart and tells him about her depression, she explains how she often doesn't know what better feels like, so she does things that would make her feel better only to disguise the sadness.
When Domino reveals how the things that she's scared of doing are probably the things that will help her the most, that sentence struck Andrew for good as he thinks she was talking about him. When it's later revealed that she was talking about her fear of commitment to Joseph, her words have even more weight and evolve from the acknowledgment of a problem to the actual solution of said problem.
Andrew
"Most people in the world aren't your soul mate."
What could easily turn into a cliché discussion on the saturated topic of soul mates ends up being one relevant discussion on modern relationships. In an age where everyone is so connected, there are thousands and thousands of people one could love more if they met them, but that rarely happens.
This conversation between Andrew and Domino showcases how Cha Cha Real Smooth has more heart than audiences were expecting because it deals with typical rom-com conventions in a much more intimate and honest way. These words have even more meaning at the of the film when Andrew reveals he definitely thinks he's one of Domino's possible four soul mates.
Andrew
"For me, it's holding back a desire to be close."
In the movie's most rewarding scene, Domino and Andrew are talking in the kitchen when Andrew finally takes a stand and opens up about how he feels there are things that Domino simply doesn't say to him, and how difficult it is to discern whether she's holding back a desire to be distant or to be close.
When he reveals that for him it's a desire to be close, Domino's face already says it all, as the two share the passionate kiss viewers were awaiting so bad. It's not only a very powerful moment in the narrative but is also delivered in the most honest way possible, as the two have the chance to express their repressed feelings.
Domino
"When I'm with you, I feel so... alive, and I feel so special. But that's because it's all possibility."
At the clímax of Cha Cha Real Smooth, a drunken Andrew drives to Domino's house to tell her about all his feelings in an attempt to convince her to not marry Joseph.
In a heartbreaking twist, Domino's words mark the moment where her potential romance with Andrew becomes only a possibility. While their friendship has the potential of becoming something more, Domino opens up about the clear gap of experiences between the two, and how loving someone is much more scary and perplexing than Andrew is anticipating. They are a beautiful couple, but only because it's pretend. While it feels like the right thing in Andrew's life, he's still young and needs to figure himself out. As for Domino, it represents her fear of finally committing to the things that will help her the most.
Joseph
"Thanks for looking out for my family."
One of the most important moments of the film is when a seemingly angry Joseph approaches Andrew as he flees from Domino's house after their heartbreaking conversation. Surprising both Andrew and the audience, Joseph shows compassion towards Andrew and thanks him for helping out while he was so absent.
His words display a vital moment in the movie, as viewers realize Joseph isn't a villain, but a friend. Before that, Joseph's image was built only through Andrew's perception, and he seemed to be a selfish man who didn't really care for his family, showing how Andrew could be an unreliable character when it comes to Domino and her life.
Andrew
"I have this urge to tell you that I had a really great childhood."
Beyond being a movie about friendship and romance, Cha Cha Real Smooth is also a moving film about family. Andrew's relationship with his mother is deeply sincere and open, and they both feel very comfortable sharing their feelings with each other. However, it's clear how the way Andrew had been acting until that moment was detrimental to their bond and how he was taking out his problems on her.
In an emotional moment, Andrew feels the urge to tell his mother how happy his childhood was, as he explains how he feels when he passes through his old house on his way home, in beautiful words of gratitude.
David
"I think I'm a little heartbroken too."
Another important friendship in the movie is the one between Andrew and his little brother David. Trying his best to act like the clever big brother with important bits of advice to pass on, the abrupt rupture in his relationship with Domino and Lola led Andrew to become increasingly distant from David and disregard his little brother when he needed the most.
They overcome these difficulties by the end of the movie, and the news that Andrew is planning to move out soon cause David to react in a cute, yet very emotional way. They cry together at the thought of being separated, and viewers might as well have shed some tears.
Domino
"It is really hard for me to accept the fact that until I leave Earth, I'm gonna have always been so tangled."
Andrew and Domino's final heart-to-heart conversation is a powerful moment that granted plenty of profoundly earnest quotes. Domino has a chance to express how she felt stuck for years before finally realizing what it takes to move on, as Andrew and Domino contemplate how they changed each other's life for the better.
The dialogue really sums up the movie and how Cha Cha Real Smooth is more about finding someone to rely on when everything seems lost than just simply delivering another conventional love story.