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How ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ Achieved Authentic Representation of Autism, According to Its Star and Casting Director

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variety.com

Selome Hailu For “Cha Cha Real Smooth” casting director Angela Demo, it was out of the question to consider neurotypical actors for the part of Lola, who is on the autism spectrum. “It was never in my mind,” Demo tells Variety. “Never was it ever mentioned on this project [that we would consider] actors who do not have autism.”This shouldn’t be surprising, as characters that are explicitly or implied to be on the autism spectrum have been present in popular movies for decades.

But as evidenced by “Rain Man,” “Forrest Gump,” “Dear John” and countless others, the casting of actors with autism is dismally rare.Affectionately titled after one of the many bar mitzvah jams that soundtrack the movie, Cooper Raiff’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth” tells a messy love story about 22-year-old Andrew (Raiff), who falls for the older Domino (Dakota Johnson) while babysitting her daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt).

But Lola is much more than just an avenue uniting Andrew and Domino. She’s a teenage girl, and like others her age, she has a mix of very specific opinions and interests: she takes great care of her hamster, Jerry; she collects potato mashers; she spends a lot of time working on Rubik’s cubes; she hates to dance.The scene Burghardt read before deciding to send in a self-tape sets up one of the film’s best motifs.

While scratching Lola’s back to help her fall asleep, Domino asks Lola if she’s thinking about Andrew, who they just met at a bar mitzvah.

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