In ‘Sacramento,’ Michael Angarano and Michael Cera hit the road—and a few emotional speed bumps—on a trip to delayed adulthood.
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Directed, written, and starring the actor Michael Angarano (“Oppenheimer”), “Sacramento” follows two questionably immature friends on a road trip to California’s pleasant, if not very sexy, capital city. Glenn—played by Michael Cera, the definitive man-child of the early 2000s—has somehow landed the stunning Rosie (Kristen Stewart) as his wife. They live in a small home in Los Angeles and are expecting their first child. Glenn is in danger of being laid off from the “Death Star,” a nickname for the otherwise unnamed corporation where he works. But Rosie earns enough to get them by; if Glenn loses his job, he can be the stay-at-home dad.
Rickey (Angarano), whose father has recently died, has suffered some sort of mental breakdown, and his therapist (Rosalind Chao) at the facility where he has been recovering (and showing signs that he might want to become a therapist himself someday) has recommended that he seek out family or friends. Rickey convinces old friend Glenn, who displays some behavior we find frightening for a soon-to-be father, to drive together in a vintage 1980s convertible named Betsy to Sacramento. Rosie gives Glenn her blessing. Earlier, Rickey had met a young woman named Tallie (Maya Erskine, TV’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”) in the woods, where they had sex, an act nicely mirrored in their attempt to swim to each other across a small pond. More recently, she has been trying to reach Rickey by phone. But he has not returned her calls. Rickey and Glenn both sport facial hair that might be described as semi-beards, and in their boyish T-shirts and khakis, they are mirror images of one another.
Speaking of the “aughts,” “Sacramento” has much in common with the American film genre known for some reason as “mumblecore,” with its emphasis on low budgets and romantic entanglements of young (or, in this case, youngish) people. Therefore, it also has roots in the French New Wave.
Angarano and his co-writer Chris Smith (TV’s “Friends from College”) are arguably too inclined to write in the modern-day equivalent of psychobabble, going on about people’s feelings, kind of endlessly, using such terms as “processing,” “projecting” and, inevitably, “gaslighting.” Rickey is prone to composing slightly annoying aphorisms such as: “Anger is just sadness with nowhere to go.”
On the road to Sacramento, Rickey and Glenn run into two young women who run a local gym. One of them is played by a ridiculously charismatic former WWE superstar AJ Lee, aka AJ Mendez (someone needs to make her the star of a major action movie, now). To the tune of the jazzy score by Peter Erskine, Rickey and Glenn eventually run into Tallie, who presents Rickey with an infant boy named Ray. Thus, Rickey and Glenn face the same adult hurdle, fatherhood, at the same time. In fact, Rickey gets there first. (In keeping with the film’s family affair approach, Angarano and Erskine are married. Angarano’s father, also named Michael, plays a character in the film. Baby Ray is Angarano and Erskine’s son.)
Rickey is initially thrown off by the prospect of becoming an instant father. Subsequent developments include an incident some might find implausible or disturbing. However, on the whole, although the plot leaves something to be desired, these characters grow on us thanks to the film’s gifted and quirky ensemble cast. As it turns out, “Sacramento” is worth a visit after all.
‘Sacramento’
Rating: R for language
Cast: Michael Angarano, Maya Erskine, Michael Cera
Director: Angarano
Writers: Angarano, Christopher Nicholas Smith
Running Time: 89 minutes
Where to Watch: AMC Boston Common, AMC Liberty Tree Mall, AMC Methuen 20
Grade: B
Boston Movie News 