Film

Cha Cha Real Smooth

Name: Cha Cha Real Smooth
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 2022
Cast: Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Evan Assante, Vanessa Burghardt, Leslie Mann

Coming-of-age

A tender, funny film about a twentysomething drifter who finds unexpected connection working at Jewish coming-of-age parties. It's warm without being saccharine, genuinely romantic without pretense, and interested in how people console each other through life's awkward transitions. For anyone who loves character-driven indie comedy with real heart.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like awkward, tender coming-of-age comedies where the humor comes from embarrassing social situations and the feelings underneath them are taken seriously.

Skip it if you want brisk plotting, since this is a loose, talky drift through small moments that lingers in awkward silences and takes its time getting anywhere.

What it asks of you: Under 110 minutes, it moves at a conversational pace, lets scenes run past their punchline, and asks you to sit with discomfort rather than wait for big set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Farewell2019

Lulu Wang finds comedy and heartbreak in cultural collision and family obligation. Like Cha Cha, it's about people trying to do the right thing while figuring out who they actually are, with a specificity that makes everything feel alive.

But It moves at a contemplative pace and doesn't resolve neatly. If you need plot momentum or tidy endings, this will frustrate you.

Punch-Drunk Love2002

Paul Thomas Anderson's oddball romance about an anxious man finding love through sincerity and acceptance. Same DNA as Cha Cha: messy people, real tenderness, and the understanding that vulnerability is braver than cool.

But It's deliberately strange and uncomfortable. Adam Sandler in romantic mode won't click for everyone, and the film doesn't explain its own logic.

21 Grams2003

Guillermo Arriaga writes characters bound together by accident and consequence. The film explores how people fail, forgive, and find grace in wreckage—the same moral universe as Cha Cha, but darker and more wrecked.

But It's heavy, fragmented, and requires emotional labour. This is a film that earns its sadness, which means it won't be fun to watch.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Cha Cha Real Smooth

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Please Give2010

Both films believe that grown-up decency means sitting with ambiguity and showing up for people you don't fully understand.

Nicole Holofcener writes about guilt, generosity, and the gap between wanting to be good and being good. It has Cha Cha's refusal to make anyone a villain, its tenderness toward people caught between phases, and its belief that small acts of connection matter.

But It's deliberately small and uncomfortable, set among Manhattan wealth in a way that can feel claustrophobic. Nothing resolves; people just become slightly more honest.

Diner1982

Barry Levinson's ensemble about young men hovering on the edge of adulthood, bonding over idiotic conversations and genuine care. Cha Cha has that same appetite for how people actually talk when no one's watching.

But It's plotless and male-focused in a way that feels dated. If you need narrative propulsion or female characters as more than satellites, look elsewhere.

Lady Bird2017

Greta Gerwig captures the specific heartbreak of youth with such affection. Like Cha Cha, it finds comedy in family friction and understands that growing up means disappointing people you love while learning to forgive them.

But The Sacramento setting and Catholic school framework won't resonate if indie coming-of-age stories feel interchangeable to you already.

Obvious Child2014

Jenny Slate plays a disaster of a person finding her way toward something better. Gillian Robespierre balances jokes and genuine stakes the way Cha Cha does—nothing feels earned cheaply, but nothing's unnecessarily grim either.

But It centers on abortion in a comedy context, which some find funny and others don't. The protagonist is consistently selfish, which can be hard to root for.

Tamara Drewe2010

Stephen Frears makes a comedy about small-town desire and misalignment, where everyone wants the wrong person and nobody's a villain. It has Cha Cha's warmth and its refusal to punish people for being human and confused.

But It's a British ensemble where the plot snaps into focus late. Some find that refreshing; others find it shapeless.

About a Boy2002

A wealthy man learns to want things beyond himself through an unlikely friendship with a kid. Like Cha Cha, it's about how people rescue each other by accident, with jokes that land without cheapening the feeling.

But Hugh Grant's smug routine gets old if you're not already fond of it. The film sides with its protagonist's growth maybe more than the story earns.

Always Be My Maybe2019

Ali Wong and Randall Park reunite after twenty years. It's a romantic comedy that actually likes its characters, respects Asian-American culture without making it the point, and finds sex and feeling equally important.

But If you find Wong's comedy style grating or don't care about nineties nostalgia, the whole film will feel indulgent. It's unashamed about what it loves.

Aftersun2022

Both understand that the most important conversations happen sideways, through what people do rather than what they say. Both trust the audience to feel what they don't name.

Charlotte Wells photographs memory and regret with devastating tenderness. A father and daughter on holiday; surfaces that hide depths. It's about how love persists even when communication fails, structured around small moments that accrete into heartbreak.

But It's quiet, impressionistic, and offers no catharsis. Some will find it beautiful; others will find it slow and sad in an aimless way.

The Worst Person in the World2021

Both films argue that being lost is actually the interesting part, not something to hurry through. Both suggest that real growth comes from accepting you don't know what's next.

Joachim Trier makes a comedy-drama about a woman in her thirties figuring out what she wants, caught between versions of herself. It's inventive, funny, and completely unsentimental about the mess of becoming whoever you're going to be.

But It's Norwegian and structured around half-chapters and tonal shifts that won't feel natural if you want a straight narrative. The protagonist is sometimes genuinely unlikeable.