Michael Cera and Kristen Stewart star in light comedy on Prime Video that doesn’t change your life, but improves your afternoon

Well, I’ve seen Michael Angarano in some films, such as “Almost Famous“, “The Kings of Dogtown“ and “In a Serious Relationship“, but I never imagined that he had already directed a production. I discovered, watching “Sacramento“, that this was his second feature film, preceded by “Through the Streets of Manhattan“, from 2017. Released in 2024, “Sacramento“ is a road movie that is basically structured as a personal journey of maturity for the actor and director, now married to his screen partner, Maya Erskine. Despite being recent, the film went through several processes before reaching the finished version, as Angarano took time to discover its tone, its narrative axis and find a budget.

It’s a guy movie, because it’s much more relatable to male dilemmas than female ones and, therefore, sometimes it sounds a bit like nonsense for women. The plot revolves around the typical late maturity of guys who are between 30 and 40 years old and still behave like teenagers, running away from serious relationships and responsibilities, until life gives a jolt and shows that it’s time to assume an adult attitude and leave the jokes aside. Women are required to mature very early. In fact, from a young age they are taught how to dress, behave and work like adults. Responsibilities come quickly, cutting through childhood and stealing some of the fun from life.

But Angarano doesn’t touch men’s heads. Here he plays Rickey, an irresponsible and reckless guy, who lives wandering and disappears for a year, reappearing months after his father’s death at the house of his best friend, Glenn (Michael Cera). He only returns because he is released from rehab and needs a place to stay. Glenn is about to become a father. Married to Rosie (Kristen Stewart), he finds himself overwhelmed by life’s transformations and the fact that he will now be responsible for someone else. He wants to take a serious stance in the face of the promotion provided by destiny itself, but his head seems to collapse.

Rickey lies to his friend saying that his father died recently, when in fact it has been a year. He asks Glenn to travel with him to Sacramento, his father’s hometown, to remember his life and dispose of his ashes. However, Rickey also has his own fatherhood journey to face. While Rickey is relaxed and doesn’t take anything too seriously, Glenn is anxious and tense about absolutely everything. The feature film does not offer a story of redemption or great learning. It is a discreet comedy, with internal and improvised jokes, which works simply and, therefore, may not be as impressive.

With a modest budget, estimated at a maximum of 6 million dollars, the film was shot in Sacramento and Northern California. Simple photography, which favors panoramas, conveys a feeling of realism and comfort, something done honestly and without great pretensions. “Sacramento“ is a film made between friends, with the desire to deal with personal matters and dialogue with a limited audience. It’s light, relaxed and silly. Highly forgettable and underwhelming. It almost seems like a game of filmmaking.