‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ is Gen Z’s The Graduate | movie review

In Cha Cha Real Smooth, a recent college grad tries to find his purpose in life as he takes up a side hustle as a bar mitzvah party starter

Cha Cha Real Smooth premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

The greatest coming-of-age movies — like Lady Bird and The Graduate — understand that although there is a central protagonist, they are not the main character. In the beginning, they believe they are the center of the universe but eventually learn there is more to their lives than what they see. That everyone surrounding them is the main character of their own lives. That’s what makes Cooper Raiff’s sophomore feature Cha Cha Real Smooth so effortlessly charming as a perfectly pitched dramedy. Although Andrew (Raiff) filters everyone else’s experience around him through his own, Raiff, as the writer-director of the film, gives color to everyone.

Just like The Graduate, Andrew is newly graduated. His college girlfriend is off to Barcelona for he…