Michael Angarano’s “Sacramento” is the perfect film for anyone interested in being completely insufferable. An inspirational story for young men who aspire to emotional immaturity and irresponsibility, the film puts its stellar cast — Angarano, Michael Cera, Kristen Stewart and Maya Erskine, among others — to shame.
In “Sacramento,” an anxiety-ridden and whiny Glenn (Cera) is tricked into a road trip by his best — and perhaps only — friend Rickey (Angarano) under the guise of scattering Rickey’s father’s ashes. Glenn leaves his pregnant wife Rosie (Stewart) home alone for the weekend as he and Rickey head north to fulfill the true goal of the adventure: reuniting Rickey with his one-time fling Tallie (Erskine).
The movie is a worse, low-stakes rendition of Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” featuring Kieran Culkin, with Angarano taking on the eccentric traits of Culkin’s character and Cera taking on the emotionally repressed aspects of Eisenberg’s.
Meanwhile, Rosie is relieved to have a weekend away from her childlike husband, who she typically has to nurse through the unmanaged mental health issues he takes no initiative in remedying, despite his forthcoming fatherhood. The relationship between Rosie, who is employed and pleasant, and Glenn, who sucks the life out of the room and is unfit to be a father, is extremely unrealistic — making the film much less relatable.
It is only slightly more realistic that Tallie would not be enraged to see Rickey turn up on her doorstep, one year after he ignored her messages informing him of her pregnancy. An exhausted single mother, Tallie accepts Rickey’s visit as free childcare for their baby.
Although men’s mental health is a pervasive issue in our country, it is rarely represented in film. It seems at first that “Sacramento” aims to showcase the importance of seeking treatment and support as a man struggling with his mental health. But at this, the film fails spectacularly. Instead of motivating men to seek help, “Sacramento” is a self-pitying, self-indulgent, self-righteous whimper, becoming yet another story about the dangers of men who don’t manage their feelings.
Naturally, the fear and neurosis that comes with impending parenthood is challenging and human. But “Sacramento” is not a display of that vulnerable humanity that many soon-to-be parents may face. Instead, the movie depicts the downward spiral of two men who think only about themselves. Unlike Glenn and Rickey, Rosie and Tallie are not afforded the luxury of breakdowns or personal desires, as they bear the responsibility for their babies, their babies’ respective fathers and themselves.
Parenthood is frightening. Mental health can feel at times like an insurmountable challenge. However, Rickey and Glenn seem to think they are the only two people to have ever struggled, and the two people who most deserve to act out because of it. Rickey and Glenn are suffering, but instead of arousing empathy from the audience, they incite rage.
Beyond the horror of the characters, “Sacramento” is uninteresting in terms of plot and fails to evoke any meaningful emotion. And however appealing the film’s cinematography may be, it cannot make up for the poor quality of the content within a given frame.
“Where’s your shame?” Glenn asks Rickey at one point in the film. This is the exact same question audiences beg of the two characters themselves throughout the grueling hour-and-a-half comedy that plays like a horror film.
