Sacramento
TheSacramentotrailer commercialise the movie as “ Superbad for the anxiousness - ridden 30 - year - olds . ” This description provides a seemly bound off point for the film , although the picture is even more pertinent for the now - grown - up rooter ofMichael Cera’sJunoera . Directed byOppenheimeractor Michael Angarano , the movie is a kinship comedy that chop-chop morphs into a route trip movie as father - to - be Glenn ( Cera ) is see by his old-fashioned - best - acquaintance Rickey ( Angarano himself ) , who asks him to accompany him on a spontaneous stumble to Sacramento to , allegedly , scatter his late father ’s ashes .
Glenn and Rickey are an unlikely brace , with contrasting uptightness and freneticism that greatly mirror the main dynamic inlast year’sA Real Pain . I was not that intimate with Angarano beforeSacramento , but he does a noteworthy job serving as writer , managing director , and co - lead actor here . He is join by Cera , Kristen Stewart , and real - lifetime wife Maya Erskine playing an underutilized but memorable role .
Did You Know ?
Maya Erskine and Michael Angarano are parent together offscreen , with a son abide in 2021 and a daughter hold in 2024 .
Before delving into specific , I will admit thatSacramentois in some ways tailor - made for me . I ’m a hugePen15fan who greatly enjoys Erskine ’s idiosyncratic rhythm . I do n’t quite agree the anxiousness - ride age the movie is said to be so suited for , and I am not face at hand parentage as Stewart and Cera are in the film , but I am a now - grownup cinephile who was grip byJunoin my young and was sell again by this sort of phantasmal imagining of what Paulie Bleeker would be like all produce up .
Michael Cera Is At His Best
His Rhythmic Delivery Is Impeccable
For twelvemonth , Cera has played the nervous buddy , the suspicious supporter , the unlikely devotee . He is all of those thing here , but this time in the protagonist office as a 36 - class - old gentleman’s gentleman . He fiddle Glenn as a Father of the Church - to - be that is wholly , charmingly not confident ; he is constantly secondly - guessing his word of honor and shinny to self - counselor . play up the intentionality of Cera ’s delivery , Glenn order in one line :
“ I know what gaslighting is , and you ’re the one doing it * beat * to me . ”
This bloodline is deport in a all-encompassing conversation wherein Rickey keep using healer speak to talk to Glenn , while over - defining his speech . While an illuminating talks prospect to this pair ’s friendly relationship overall , I mention this present moment to touch on on Cera ’s faultless rhythm and timing inSacramento . It is less the personal line of credit itself that makes this Glenn present moment hilarious , but the well - placed pause he gives before clarifying “ to me . ” This is just one of Cera ’s countless great moments in the film .
Cera also manages to , often times , bring out the best in Stewart . While she has gotten extolment for aspects of her place - Twilightera , I ’ve found myself tending to agree with the general consensus about the actor ’s overly flat delivery . She plays Glenn ’s pregnant wife Rosie with characteristic drone that mostly works , but is made worlds better when coupled with the anxious energy Cera brings to his role . He is a great scene partner , and the fact that he made me like Stewart — who I ’ve been frustrated by inLove Lies Bleedingand other films — is noteworthy .
The Pacing Sometimes Gets In The Way Of A Strong Story Arc
The Ending Feels Rushed
While I will not spoilSacramento ’s swelled reveal , I will say that the movie makes a measured choice to upend our anticipation . Glenn has his suspicions about Rickey ’s intention all along , but after significant face-off , it becomes well-defined that the purpose of the duo ’s trip has taken on an only newfangled signification . The arc itself get sense for the characters , and deepens the main dynamic .
Kristen Stewart has come a long direction since the Twilight movie , with many award - win performances to her name .
This twist , however , is revealed too late in the film . While the lackadaisical pacing exploit for the lineament evolution in the bulk ofSacramento , Angarano ’s writing choice made it such that the last 25 minutes had to move at a breakneck pace . In this time , the film fell into more traditional road head trip motion-picture show tropes than it had in the first two actsas it prove to figure out a room to correct the key plotlines . This ended up weakening what was overall a very strong celluloid .
Sacramento follows the story of free-spirited Ricky and father-to-be Glenn as they reunite for an impromptu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento, rekindling their friendship and confronting personal challenges along the way.
Sacramento’s Women Characters Are Underdeveloped
But That Is Not Always A Bad Thing
Part of the geomorphological conclusion ends up resulting in modified screentime for Erskine , who we only get a tease of in the first few minutes . As one of thePen15star ’s champions , I was personally dismayed by this fact . More broadly , however , I think it is reflective ofSacramento ’s more generalized nonperformance of its two top woman characters . Rosie exist as a vehicle for Glenn to have his arc , and Tallie simply does n’t have enough to work with .
However , this underdevelopment is not whole a hurt toSacramento ’s story . In a compendious 89 minutes , the moving-picture show ferment to craft a narrative about adult manlike friendship and the existential crisis of becoming a father . Its neglect of its female character is thus in religious service to the deeper growth of a storyline not often talk about in the medium . With some divagation , it mostly succeeds in that mission , and it ’s charming enough to make most of its fault excusable .
Sacramento play along the story of spare - spirited Ricky and Church Father - to - be Glenn as they reunite for an impromptu road slip from Los Angeles to Sacramento , rekindling their friendship and confronting personal challenge along the mode .
