Cooper Raiff, who wrote and directed the film, stars as Andrew, an apathetic recent college grad who moves back home and finds work at a fast-food restaurant. While chaperoning his little brother at a bat mitzvah, he is offered employment as a professional party orchestrator as several of the mothers are impressed by his party-starting skills. He also introduces himself to one of the mothers, Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). He establishes an immediate rapport with them, especially with Lola who is played brilliantly by Burghardt, giving her character a charm and honesty that is absolutely refreshing. 

Raiff is also quite good, if somewhat formulaic in his portrayal of the goofy and sometimes annoying Andrew, and Johnson is both alluring and enigmatic as Domino. We never really get to know her as much as we would like and neither does Andrew. Johnson only ever reveals enough of her beguiling character’s backstory to maintain our interest without disclosing too many of her mysteries. The supporting cast includes Leslie Mann as Andrew’s anxious but supportive mother and Brad Garrett, who is slyly hilarious in an uncharacteristically subdued performance as stepdad Greg. 

It’s far too early to make any Oscar predictions but Cha Cha Real Smooth isn’t as daring or as accomplished as CODA, so I don’t suspect it will challenge for many Academy Awards next year. Still, it’s another great Sundance find and solidifies Raiff, who previously wrote, directed and starred in S#!%house, as a filmmaker to take notice of. 

I wasn’t expecting too much technically from this indie film but was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the audio presented in Dolby Atmos and the use of some memorable song selections to go along with the quirky and charming story line. Although the music is mostly constrained to the front channels, there is some effective use of the surround and height channels to subtly enhance the stereo effect for a more involving auditory experience. Grammy -winning artist Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On” sounded fantastic in the opening scenes, with the rapping and vocal harmonies sounding particularly clear. The catchy instrumentation wrapped around to the surrounds with a subtle echoing and a bit of height-channel information to expand the soundfield even further. And whether it was Jean Dawson’s “Clear Bones” accompanying the opening credits or “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc. playing at the bat mitzvah, the music always sounded full and enveloping. 

Much of the film takes place indoors and at night, so there’s little natural lighting, and many of the scenes appear somewhat dark. While this isn’t distracting, as it seems quite organic, the picture is a little soft overall. Minute details in facial expressions or the texture of clothing are often not apparent, and background objects that are out of focus due to shallow depth of field seem even less distinct. Presented in 4K with Dolby Vision, the lighting was smooth and consistent even during those very dark scenes, but details never really pop like they can with a reference-quality HDR presentation.

Apple TV+ has a limited number of new releases each month but a high proportion of them, including both movies and TV series, are very well made. Cha Cha Real Smooth is another example of their high quality of programming. It might not be perfect, but it is an endearing film and well worth seeking out.