New road trip movie goes nowhere
Bay Area viewers may wince when they hear a character refer to San Francisco as “San Fran” in the new movie Sacramento, but that head-shaking tidbit is the least of this odd indie film’s problems. The second feature film from writer, director, and actor Michael Angarano (Minx; This is Us), Sacramento is an uninspired and mostly forgettable picture, saved only by an excellent, layered performance from the always reliable Michael Cera.
Cera and Kristen Stewart (wasted in a thankless minor role) star as Glenn and Rosie, an anxious husband and a cool and collected wife expecting their first baby. Glenn is also on the verge of a layoff, compounding his all-consuming stress. Glenn’s nervousness irritates Rosie, who doesn’t have the energy to care for a needy husband as she focuses on her pending due date. When Glenn’s longtime, somewhat estranged and somewhat annoying friend Rickey (director Michael Angarano, and co-writer with Christopher Nicholas Smith) convinces Glenn to accompany him on a six-hour drive from Los Angeles to Sacramento, ostensibly to scatter Rickey’s father’s ashes, Glenn reluctantly agrees.
What follows is a predictable buddies-bonding-on-a-road-trip movie that doesn’t bring anything new to the genre. Glenn has issues, but Rickey does, too. Can the two salvage their friendship and help each other out? No spoilers, but I bet you can guess. There are other motivations for Rickey’s jaunt to Sacramento involves Tallie (Maya Erskine), a woman Rickey met a year prior, that come to light and that parallel Glenn’s situation (side note: Erskine and Angarano are married in real life, and Andarano and Stewart dated as teenages, a backstory more interesting than the film itself).
The tone of the picture is all over the map, with Andarano seemingly unable to decide if he’s making a dry comedy or a sincere look at mental health challenges. We never know if we’re supposed to be annoyed by Rickey or empathize with him, as Andarano’s performance is strangely both whiny and glib. Much of the story arc is too far-fetched to be believable (including an illegal act that, in a more authentic film, would result in cops being called), which also puts us at a remove from the characters. And even though the picture is only 90 minutes, it feels much longer. The story is weighed down with several unnecessary scenes, including an interminably long, unamusing boxing ring fight between the two friends that serves as a too on-the-nose metaphor about their complicated friendship. The film’s pat and easy final wrap up also does it no favors.
The picture has two saving graces that keep it from being totally worthless. As the emotionally terrified soon-to-be dad, Cera is terrific, giving a rich and complex performance that feels out of place in this lightweight film. He deserves better. And second, Bay Area locals who have ever made the drive from L.A. northward will appreciate the accuracy of the scenes on Highway 5. Seeing the Grapevine and lesser known familiar landscapes on the big screen is always fun, so kudos to Andarano for actually filming in Old Town Sacramento and giving the historic Tower Bridge its close up.
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Sacramento is now playing in theaters, including at the AMC Metreon in San Francisco and the Cinemark Century in Pleasant Hill.
