The Sacramento trailer markets the movie as “Superbad for the anxiety-ridden 30-year-olds.” This description provides a decent jumping off point for the film, although the movie is even more apt for the now-grown-up fans of Michael Cera’s Juno era. Directed by Oppenheimer actor Michael Angarano, the movie is a relationship comedy that quickly morphs into a road trip movie as father-to-be Glenn (Cera) is visited by his ex-best-friend Rickey (Angarano himself), who asks him to accompany him on a spontaneous trip to Sacramento to, allegedly, scatter his late father’s ashes.

Glenn and Rickey are an unlikely pair, with contrasting upтιԍнтness and freneticism that greatly mirror the main dynamic in last year’s A Real Pain. I was not that familiar with Angarano before Sacramento, but he does a remarkable job serving as writer, director, and co-lead actor here. He is joined by Cera, Kristen Stewart, and real-life wife Maya Erskine playing an underutilized but memorable role.

Before delving into specifics, I will admit that Sacramento is in some ways tailor-made for me. I’m a huge Pen15 fan who greatly enjoys Erskine’s idiosyncratic rhythms. I don’t quite match the anxiety-ridden age the movie is said to be so suited for, and I am not facing imminent parenthood as Stewart and Cera are in the film, but I am a now-adult cinephile who was transfixed by Juno in my youth and was sold again by this sort of spiritual imagining of what Paulie Bleeker would be like all grown up.

Michael Cera Is At His Best

His Rhythmic Delivery Is Impeccable

For years, Cera has played the anxious sidekick, the wary friend, the unlikely lover. He is all of those things here, but this time in the protagonist role as a 36-year-old man. He plays Glenn as a father-to-be that is wholly, charmingly not confident; he is constantly second-guessing his words and struggling to self-advocate. Highlighting the intentionality of Cera’s delivery, Glenn says in one line:

“I know what gaslighting is, and you’re the one doing it *beat* to me.”

This line is delivered in a broader conversation wherein Rickey keeps using therapist speak to talk to Glenn, while over-defining his language. While an illuminating dialogue scene to this pair’s friendship overall, I mention this moment to touch on Cera’s impeccable rhythm and timing in Sacramento. It is less the line itself that makes this Glenn 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 praise for aspects of her post-Twilight era, 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 monotone 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 in Love Lies Bleeding and other films — is remarkable.

The Pacing Sometimes Gets In The Way Of A Strong Story Arc

The Ending Feels Rushed

While I will not spoil Sacramento’s big reveal, I will say that the movie makes a deliberate choice to upend our expectations. Glenn has his suspicions about Rickey’s intentions all along, but after significant confrontation, it becomes clear that the purpose of the duo’s trip has taken on an entirely new meaning. The arc itself makes sense for the characters, and deepens the main dynamic.

This twist, however, is revealed too late in the film. While the languid pacing worked for the character development in the bulk of Sacramento, 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 trip movie tropes than it had in the first two acts as it tried to figure out a way to resolve the key plotlines. This ended up weakening what was overall a very strong film.

Sacramento’s Women Characters Are Underdeveloped

But That Is Not Always A Bad Thing

Part of the structural decision ends up resulting in limited screentime for Erskine, who we only get a tease of in the first few minutes. As one of the Pen15 star’s champions, I was personally dismayed by this fact. More broadly, however, I think it is reflective of Sacramento’s more generalized neglect of its two leading women characters. Rosie exists as a vehicle for Glenn to have his arc, and Tallie simply doesn’t have enough to work with.

However, this underdevelopment is not entirely a detriment to Sacramento’s story. In a succinct 89 minutes, the film works to craft a narrative about adult male friendship and the existential crisis of becoming a father. Its neglect of its female characters is thus in service to the deeper development of a storyline not often discussed in the media. With some diversions, it mostly succeeds in that mission, and it’s charming enough to make most of its flaws excusable.