Sacramento

Actor and director Michael Angarano offers us an indie journey through friendship and parenthood plagued by anxiety that makes this fun film one of the best pastimes of 2025. A road movie on a simple scale, but rewarding in its message.

An exploration of friendship.

This is a simple and human film that aims to be nothing more than a journey through the observation of modern man and his fears within his life and relationships, with all the complexity that this entails. It's a rich look at the anxiety of becoming a parent and how to cope with it all, captured in a delicious blend of dark humor and well-thought-out humor that delivers a true indie adventure with a star-studded cast. Michael Angarano and Michael Cera are a formidable on-screen duo, reflecting a strange friendship that feels as real as it is enriching. Meanwhile, wonderful supporting actors like Kristen Stewart and Maya Erskine provide powerful moments within this captivating story.

An intelligent management style.

In his second feature film as a director, Michael Angarano's direction is so carefully curated that it feels so innocent and unobtrusive, practically allowing us to be a traveling companion of this duo of friends. The director's great virtue is highlighting the strong connection that exists behind his cast, where directing his current partner, Maya, and his ex, Kristen, allows the director to feel truly confident in bringing the naturalness of splendidly interpreted characters. Both actresses elevate a film in which the men bear the burden of carrying the problems, but the women provide the necessary maturity to impeccably portray the challenges. An effective and enjoyable direction.

Conclusion.

A truly enjoyable film, well-made and with a deep love that gives us a great time in this anxiety-filled drama with laughter that soothes the soul and a simple and successful direction to enjoy one of the pleasant surprises of this 2025 and to which it deserves our time and enjoyment.

In likeable buddy dramedy "Sacramento" troubled Michael Angarano (terrific) tricks estranged Los Angeles pal Michael Cera (who has issues of his own - including heavily pregnant wife Kristen Stewart) into a 380 mile road-trip to Sacramento (duh)... for reasons that become apparent downstream. Maya Erskine & AJ Mendez offer good support, and 8yrs after his writer / director debut ("Avenues") Angarano again writes & directs, doing well, especially with the screenplay (co-written with first-timer Christopher Nicholas Smith) that may have too many similarities to "Sideways" to be truly original, but is still enjoyable & engaging. A good movie - props to Angarano.

Fondly remembered as Jack McFarland's son Elliott on "Will & Grace", Michael Angarano not only stars in this surprisingly adept 2025 road comedy, but he also directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Smith. It runs a fleet 84 minutes, but Angarano manages to fit in quite a packed story about two boyhood friends who had become estranged as they moved on different tracks into their thirties. Angarano plays extroverted Rickey, perennially unreliable to Michael Cera's emotionally uptight Glenn. Upon Rickey's incessant cajoling, they take a road trip from LA to Sacramento, while Glenn's practical-minded wife Rosie awaits the arrival of their first baby. The shenanigans are somewhat predictable with the reemergence of their alpha male energy resuscitating their former bond. While Rickey's true motivations for the trip eventually become clearer, Glenn deals with his increasing anxiety over pending fatherhood which leads to an unexpected seriocomic plot turn. Angarano and Cera are both dexterous in their roles, though Cera teeters on caricature based on his own nerdy screen persona. Maya Erskine brings an earthy appeal to Rickey's put-upon girlfriend Tallie, while Kristen Stewart makes the most of her limited screen time and steals the picture as Rosie.

I left the theaters about 15-20 minutes ago

I went to see this film because I've found Michael Cera funny in some movies, and the preview suggested a fun buddy-buddy road-trip comedy. As a road trip aficiano myself, I was drawn to the idea of an impromptu road trip to some random city. I could kinda relate

The movie isn't for everyone. At my screening, there were just two people (myself included). By the end, I was alone after the other gentleman walked out before the finish

The movie is a thoughtful adult drama with a little comedy sprinkled. The film is a little dialogue heavy at times. The third act surpasses the first and second acts by a lot. The comedy delivers a few times (usually through Michael Cera's character). Yet overall, the jokes are the sort that will make you mildly chuckle or smile rather than burst out laughing. It's not the funniest movie

Michael Angarano's character is cool at times, but Michael Cera and Maya Erskine's characters get a little annoying from rudeness or awkwardness. When Michael Angarano's character wants to hang out and have fun, Michael Cera's character keep shutting it down to the point where he got irritating. Kristen Stewart is ok, but she doesn't get much screen-time. I was surprised to see former wrestler AJ Lee too

The movie's crux rests upon the fact that Michael Cera and Michael Angarano's characters were best friends who drifted apart. The movie could've given us more about their friendship. Exactly how close were they in the past? What drew them close in the first place? How and why did they drift apart? There were some details offered, such as the dialogue about the car, but it's not enough. I'm not saying that we needed flashbacks, but the film needed some way to flesh out their relationship

But in spite of the above, the movie isn't all bad. The message of the movie, as I take it, centers on the importance of friendships. Both of the leads, played by Michael Cera and Michael Arangano, are anxious and stressed about events in their lives, and the movie essentially shows how their friendship enables them to get through it. It's a sweet message, delivered effectively

The movie kinda reminded me of 2009's "One Week" (starring Joshua Jackson), with some "American Beauty" mixed in

6.5/10.

It took me a little while to get into the vibe of 'Sacramento' but once I did it became very enjoyable. It's a similar movie in a lot of ways to 'A Real Pain'. Every character looks like they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, but trying their best to hide it.

The humour in the film is what takes some adjusting to. It is extremely dry. Once you adjust and start vibing with it though there are some very funny moments it has to be said.

Michael Cera was born to plays roles like this. I'm not even sure if he's acting half the time, or whether they just started filming him on break and worked it into the story. This one was a nice surprise. 7/10.