Vanessa Burghardt in “Cha Cha Real Smooth. “Apple TV Vanessa Burghardt is the breakout star of “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” starring Dakota Johnson and Cooper Raiff, who also wrote and directed. Burghardt, who has autism, portrays Lola, the autistic daughter of Johnson’s character.
The newcomer collaborated with Raiff on the script and brings authentic representation to the role. If Apple TV+ has its way, “Cha Cha Real Smooth” could follow the path set by last year’s “CODA. “Like the 2022 best picture winner, “Cha Cha Real Smooth” was a feel-good highlight of the Sundance Film Festival, winning the audience award in the US Dramatic Competition category.
Apple bid millions for it and is now giving it a simultaneous theatrical and streaming summer release, with hopes that great reviews and overall likability will keep it in the conversation come awards season. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” has something else in common with “CODA”: Both films did the highly appreciated yet still pretty rare thing of actually casting actors with disabilities to play characters with disabilities. The deaf family at the heart of “CODA” included Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin and stage stars Daniel Durant and Troy Kotsur.
Kotsur went on to win the best supporting actor Oscar for his hilarious performance as the film’s Masshole patriarch, making history as the first deaf man to win in an acting category. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” cast unknown actress Vanessa Burghardt to play Lola, the introverted teenager with autism whom the film’s protagonist Andrew (Cooper Raiff) babysits while trying to woo her anxious single mother, Domino (Dakota Johnson). Burghardt, like her character, has autism in real life.
Burghardt brought much needed authenticity to the roleBurghardt and Dakota Johnson in “Cha Cha Real Smooth. “Apple TVAs an autistic film critic, I was excited if somewhat cautious about “Cha Cha Real Smooth” back at Sundance in January, but I left the film impressed. Raiff, who wrote, directed, and starred in the film, has a lot of smart things to say about relationships and growing up, and he gets great performances from everyone involved.
I was particularly impressed with Burghardt, whose character could have easily been a stereotype, but thanks to great writing and acting instead comes across as a real and convincing person. Speaking with Burghardt ahead of the film’s theatrical and streaming release on June 17, she explained how she helped build the character of Lola. Raiff consulted with the organization Respect Ability, a nonprofit that promotes empowerment and self-advocacy for individuals with disabilities, while writing the initial script, but Burghardt was the main autistic voice in the production once she got the role.
She told Insider that she and the director had “a lot of conversations about Lola’s character, about how she feels in social situations or what kind of response she might have to her mom. “”We really did change a lot of the script when we started talking,” Burghardt added. The actress pointed to one specific example of a detail that was added to the film directly from a conversation she had with Raiff.
“There was a scene that we were doing in my room and I was supposed to kind of just be there with the lights off just kind of relaxing,” Burghardt said. “And I ended up doing this thing where I flap my hands because I do that a lot. “”It’s something I do to regulate, and I felt like Lola as an autistic character probably does something like that, and Cooper was fine with it so it made it into the movie,” she continued.
Burghardt brought a lot of herself to the role of Lola. When asked her biggest similarities with her character, she answered, “Lola and I are very similar in the way that we care about people but kind of express it in a different way and want to be social but don’t really know how to initiate it. “The biggest differences between the two are ones of maturity; Lola is around 14 or 15 (her specific age isn’t stated, but she’s attending bar and bat mitzvahs with 12- and 13-year-olds and is said to have been held back a couple grades), and while Burghardt was even more like Lola at that age, now she says, “I’m older than Lola, so I think I’m a little bit more socially mature and a little less rigid than her.
“Cooper Raiff and Johnson in “Cha Cha Real Smooth. “AppleIt’s important to note that, while Lola is a well-developed character, she is not the film’s main character. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” is mostly about Andrew, whose extremely extroverted nature makes a dramatic contrast with Lola’s social discomfort, and Domino, who loves her daughter but struggles with depression and often feels overwhelmed by her circumstances.
If I was to anticipate any criticism of the film coming from neurodiversity-minded circles, it’s that it’s yet another story where the feelings of the parent/caretaker of a child with autism take greater prominence than the feelings of the child with autism themself. Even with this in mind, however, “Cha Cha Real Smooth” is valuable in offering a much more sensitive and nuanced perspective than most so-called “autism mom” stories, which often center the parent to the detriment of building the child as a wholly realized character. Burghardt said it’s one of the things she likes most about the film.
“It’s not talking about how Lola is the burden or the child with the disability is the burden, it’s talking about why her mom feels that way, and it’s not all because of her,” she said. “It kind of took the feeling that the autistic child is the one who’s burdening the parent when in reality it’s the parent, they have their own things that they’re dealing with. “Burghardt believes we have a long way to go in portraying neurodiversity authentically on screen”Cha Cha Real Smooth.
“Apple TVWhen asked about the controversial issue of neurotypical actors playing autistic characters, Burghardt is clear she prefers such roles “be reserved for people who have the experience of being neurodiverse, because you’re never going to get it completely right if you haven’t had that experience. ” She’s similarly passionate about wanting “more open-mindedness” from casting directors about autistic actors to get the chance to play roles not specifically written as autistic. “People say that they want to include you and they love diversity,” Burghardt told Insider.
“But if you’re not what they’re looking for — maybe the character is neurotypical and you’re autistic — and they’re not really willing to be flexible and include you in it, then you don’t really want diversity. “Though “Cha Cha Real Smooth” is her first movie role, Burghardt has experience acting in neurotypical roles on stage. She’s not interested in continuing with theater, however, and thinks film acting plays better to her strengths.
“I’m not someone who is very overt in the way that I express emotion,” she explained, “and I feel like in stage acting it can be seen as I’m not doing enough, but in film acting, I’m always doing enough, people just need to look a little bit harder, and I kind of like that. “When it comes to neurodiversity on screen, Burghardt wants to see more. She praised the Netflix reality series “Love on the Spectrum,” which follows the dating lives of young adults on the autism spectrum, for being “authentic,” but overall, she feels there are simply not enough examples of quality autistic representation she can point to.
Her presence in “Cha Cha Real Smooth” makes a difference — and will hopefully be the start of a long and successful career. “I’d like to continue acting,” she said. “I’m auditioning all the time, and I’m really looking forward to finding the right role.
“”Cha Cha Real Smooth” is now available on Apple TV+ and in theaters. Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://insider.com/cha-cha-real-smooth-vanessa-burghardt-authentic-autistic-representation-interview-2022-6
