Big Picture Big Sound

Cooper Raiff is 24 years old and his second feature film "Cha Cha Real Smooth" is debuting at this year's Sundance Film Festival. He previously directed the college comedy "Shithouse," and has wasted no time capitalizing on the goodwill he built from the indie comedy's reception. His latest proves he is not a one-hit wonder.

"Cha Cha Real Smooth" plays like a spiritual sequel to Raiff's first film because it's about a lost graduate trying to explore his post-college life as he attempts to understand what that even means. Raiff plays Andrew, who lives with his mother (Leslie Mann), stepfather (Brad Garrett) and younger brother (Evan Assante). His girlfriend decied to go to Barcelona after graduation and Andrew stayed back, working at Meat Stick, a fast food stop in a mall.

Andrew accompanies his brother to a friend's bat mitzvah, where he meets Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter Lola (Vanessa Burghardt, a great find). Andrew has a carefree and easy way of talking to just about anyone, so Domino has him persuade Lola, who has autism, on to the dance floor so she can enjoy the evening. All of the mothers take notice and suddenly Andrew now has a job as a party starter, which seems like the job he was born to do, even though he knows it's just a way to make fast cash.

Domino takes a liking to Andrew and appreciates how effortlessly he associates with Lola. He starts spending time with them, especially since Lola's fiancée (Raul Castillo) is often out of town for business and Domino needs occasional help with Lola. Andrew and Domino feel comfortable around each other, like two lost people who have been desperately waiting for someone to talk to. Raiff and Johnson's chemistry is pitch-perfect, like they are also long lost friends. After each passing movie, Johnson is proving to be one of our finest actors working today. She has mastered deadpan delivery and her performance here may be one of her best. Domino is mysterious but warm, closed but vulnerable, and Johnson's persona is a flawless match for the role.

We've seen a million movies about lost souls on the cusp of adulthood. In a way, we've seen a lot of what "Cha Cha Real Smooth" has to offer, but Raiff's screenplay handles each character with delicacy and a piercing honesty. What's remarkable about Raiff's two films is how unpretentious they are, given his young age and early start to his career. He never feels like he is imparting wisdom into a story that he doesn't have, or tries to know the answers to his character's problems. He presents life as messy, which for most people it is, and puts a comedic spin and embellishments on his experiences. "Cha Cha Real Smooth" plays like a broad comedy at times mixed with a real sense of observation.

It will be interesting to see what Raiff does next. Does he complete some sort of unofficial trilogy, playing a twentysomething who gets a job and navigates the malaise of the nine-to-five? Who knows, but after two films he has shown that no matter what he continues to do, it will be filled with warmth and a natural urge to connect to a character on a human level. What more could an audience ask for?