Click here to copy URL

Cha Cha Real Smooth

Cha Cha Real Smooth

2022

Cooper Raiff

Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Leslie Mann, Odeya Rush ...

6.4

1,102

Drama. Comedy A young man who works as a Bar Mitzvah party host strikes up a friendship with a mother and her autistic daughter.

	Author	Review
United Kingdom	Tim Grierson Screendaily	"A sweet, sensitive comedy-drama populated by likeable characters (...) Raiff's compassionate eye results in a touching, understated affair"	POS
United States	Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"It’s a smart film that ends up also being surprisingly moving."	POS
United States	Rodrigo Perez The Playlist	"If sarcastic irony was the reflexive weapon of choice for Gen-Xers, Raiff has the capacity to become a sort of millennial/Gen Z poster boy for a more hopeful brand of sweet, light-on-its-feet sincerity"	POS
United States	Carlos Aguilar The Wrap	"The type of sincere enterprise that could be spoiled with hackneyed platitudes or simplistically rose-colored plot points, yet it sings with a wondrous candor and an unforced dramatic rhythm that turns it mightily irresistible"	POS
United States	Leah Greenblatt Entertainment Weekly	"'Cha Cha Real Smooth' feels like both a fitting showcase for a young auteur like Raiff and a larger marker of how much movie masculinity has evolved: a real-smooth manifesto for the anti-toxic man"	POS
United States	John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter	"The speed with which he put together such an assured second film suggests Raiff isn't quite as soft off-screen as on; and the differences between this performance and the last suggest he'll have some range as an actor as well"	POS
United States	Owen Gleiberman Variety	"[It] is made with wit and skill but feels overly designed to be a hit (...) 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' is fine as far as it goes, and some of the acting is better than that. But the movie never explodes into passion or revelation"	NEU
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"It's nice to see a filmmaker bring the stars to him instead of straining to reach their level (...) It's made all the more affecting because Raiff has the patience and maturity to let his characters map their own way forward"	POS
United Kingdom	Benjamin Lee The Guardian	"Cloying sophomore feature (...) A title so skin-crawlingly heinous, it appears that perhaps he's simply trolling us. It's also, sadly, a weak film (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"	NEG
United States	Johnny Oleksinski New York Post	"Heartwarming hit (...) Dismiss 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' as yet another heartwarming comedy at your peril because every single person in it has layers upon layers of complexity"	POS
United States	Pete Hammond Deadline	"This is the kind of feel-good character-driven independent movie that simply is best to just discover on your own and spread the word (...) It is a winner, and so is Cooper Raiff"	POS
United States	Ben Pearson SlashFilm	"Even if its archetypes might feel overly familiar, the formula works for a reason, and when anything is executed with such pure-hearted joy and affection for its characters, you can't help but smile"	POS
United States	Jake Kring-Schreifels The Film Stage	"That this young and perceptive writer-director is so emotionally honest only elevates the entirety of his humble, charming, crowd-pleasing work"	POS
United States	Ross Bonaime Collider	"Raiff has told stories with love, warmth, and a ridiculous amount of heart. [His] films are honest and open in ways that these types of films rarely are (...) A lovely showcase for all of [his] immense talents"	POS
United States	Derek Smith Slant	"Such is Raiff's tunnel vision: He's too enamored with his own character to realize that he's often the least interesting person in the room (…) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	Shayna Maci Warner Paste Magazine	"Clever script, affable characters and naturalistic direction"	POS
Canada	Chris Bumbray JoBlo	"Raiff is too likeable, and the name-heavy supporting cast virtually guarantees people will check it out. While a small-scaled film without anything in the way of major stakes, it's a sweet-natured, pleasing watch that I enjoyed"	POS
Canada	Mae Abdulbaki Screen Rant	"[It] hits all the right notes (...) With a fantastic cast at the center, Cooper Raiff's 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' is charming, tender, and incredibly sincere in its execution (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle	"If Raiff's first film was about two neurotic characters learning to get out of their own heads, then 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' is a tenderly bittersweet story about a couple learning to use theirs"	POS
United Kingdom	Beth Webb Empire	"Raiff's assured and intelligent writing and direction, paired with the strength of its acting ensemble, make this an irresistibly charming, emotionally rich treat (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.