Cha Cha Real Smooth

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This weekend I was settling in for a nice and lackadasical Saturday night. As with most weekends I poured myself a nice glass of red wine and began the arduous task of finding something to watch. (Idk about you but I find it amazing how with all the access to content we have I end up watching the same movies over and over again). Anyway I had seen on Twitter earlier last week that Cha Cha Real Smooth was an enjoyable watch. I was happy to realize it was on AppleTV+ one of the 50 streaming services I pay for so I decided to give it a shot.

Fun fact, I like watching movies without having any prior knowledge of the subject matter. There's something about not watching a trailer and just going in blind that makes the movie watching experience better for me, I'm not sure maybe I'm weird. Either way, I had no clue what I was in for when it came to this movie. And let me tell you, wowzers was I surprised.

This movie hit me hard as fuck. Like it was probably easiest 1:47 movie I've ever spent in my life. The movie stars Cooper Raiff who at TWENTY FIVE wrote, directed, and starred in this film. Holy crap is that impressive. Dakota Johnson & Leslie Mann are the obviously more known actresses in this film and the cast is rounded out by the absolutely wonderful Vanessa Burghardt (Shout out her for being a Jersey girl!) who for her first film is magnificent. I don't want to get too into plot specifics but just do me a favor and go watch this movie ASAP and I'll tell you why.

Cooper has a way in this film of articulating life in your 20's in a way that I haven't been seen portrayed any other way. The ability Cooper has to navigate all of the hardships his character Andrew has throughout the film is nothing short of marvelous. He somehow manages to touch on the way how everything in your 20's is both monumentally challenging and also not a big deal at all. The way he approaches the love story in this movie was truly the most relatable thing I've ever watched.

Cooper is able to hit on the feelings you have when you fall in love for maybe the first time in your 20's. When you maybe don't know any better and you think the person you've met is your soulmate. Man does he nail the soulmate thoughts on its head in this one. It's easy to feel like in your 20's when you meet someone that everything is perfect and it's the universe's way of conspiring to make you fall in love forever. But the truth is a lot of those relationships don't last forever. I could harp on countless times I've told someone I've met the one only to be (obviously) dramatically incorrect. What's funny is I don't think I've ever been able to articulate those feelings but man oh man does Cha Cha Real Smooth do an exceptional job doing just that.

I think the best part about this film is the storytelling. Cooper has such a beautiful ability to weave a story that is relatable, tugs at the heart strings, and just hits how it's supposed to. If you haven't watched this movie yet go watch it tonight. Pour yourself a glass of wine and remember how everything your 20's felt like the most important and inconsequential all at the same time. When you're in your 30's its easy to forget how everything felt so monumental and heavy at the same time but this movie did the best job ever of reminding me of that feeling.