Cha Cha Real Smooth Archives - Silver Screen Riot

Somehow, we’re already halfway through the 2020s. The world’s still on fire, the algorithms and A.I. have taken over, my readership is down (people love video, and yet, here I remain), and despite the fact that there is continued chatter about the death of cinema… great movies keep slipping through the cracks. While big franchise I.P. garbage continues to dominate the cultural conversation, there’s been a steady stream of bold, bizarre, and beautiful films flying under the radar. Whether they had a tiny theatrical run, got buried on streaming, or just never hit your watchlist, these are 25 films from this chaotic half-decade that you probably haven’t seen — but absolutely should. Read More

In life, one always has the option of just being nice. With the endearing SXSW Grand Jury Prize winner Shithouse – an overtly sensitive college-campus drama that riffs on the sub-genre of conversation-driven romance films like Before Midnight – and now with Cha Cha Real Smooth, writer/director/star Cooper Raif has proven this to be his modus operadi. Raif’s second feature is an unironically nice film about a recent college grad who falls for the attractive – and engaged – mom of a middle schooler with autism. The kind-hearted temperament of Raif’s films are disarmingly genuine, if skirting the line with being almost – to put it in middle school terms – lame. But for those who can vibe on Raif’s decidedly kind wavelengths, Cha Cha Real Smooth is a feel-good crowdpleaser – with enough complications to keep things interesting. Read More