Sacramento isn’t the worst film of 2025, but it does feel antiquated. In the aftermath of 2004’s Garden State, a trend emerged where actors of moderate fame would direct themselves in personal, semi-biographical family dramedies; the goal was to offer a preview of their acting skills within a grounded, low-budget film that aimed to capture the naturalism of a genuine independent production. This obnoxious movement was inevitably exposed as nothing but a platform for B-level stars to stroke their egos. The best actors-turned-directors of the past decade, such as Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele, had the self-awareness not to star in their debut features.
Michael Angarano has had an unremarkable career, with the exception of his rare villainous turn in the biographical thriller The Stanford Prison Experiment. Angarano is best utilized as a character actor who can bring unusual, oddball supporting roles to life, but his directorial effort Sacramento is a last-ditch attempt to attain leading man status. Angarano cast himself in the lead role of Rickey, a friendly man-child whose unbridled enthusiasm is in stark contrast to the emotionally muted sensibilities of his best friend Glenn, played by Michael Cera.
The dynamic between Rickey and Glenn will be familiar to anyone who’s seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Easy Rider, Little Miss Sunshine, or countless other road trip dramedies. Rickey is only able to convince his best friend to join him because he’s sought a means to honor his late father, whose ashes he has intended to spread in Sacramento. It doesn't take a detective to figure out this is a lie used by Rickey to spend time with Glenn, but the clumsy plotting is the least of Sacramento’s problems. Rickey’s an obnoxious character whose “quirks” aren’t a substitute for depth; Rickey’s decision to undercut any serious conversation with a joke is grating.
The sole highlight of Sacramento is Cera’s compelling performance, a significant detour from the roles he’s frequently cast in. Even before Superbad turned him into the awkward teen hero for millennials, Cera used his performative awkwardness to deliver an all-time great comedic performance in the sitcom Arrested Development, which was eventually solidified as a cult classic. Cera plays wimpy, apprehensive man-children with hearts of gold, but Sacramento already had Angarano to fulfill that archetype. As a result, Cera had the rare opportunity to be the adult.
Rickey’s ignorance of social protocol is used so that he can blurt out moments of hardship, tragedy, or self-doubt when it's most convenient for the story; it’s not only a lazy screenwriting technique, but yet another barrier that’s made it harder to relate to Rickey’s situation. Comparatively, Glenn is the type of character who can identify the familiar narrative trappings he’s stuck in. Even if Glenn’s able to recognize that Rickey’s proposed exodus to Sacramento will be haphazard and ultimately pointless, he’s too much of a gentleman to deny his friend’s enthusiasm.
Although cinema is heavily populated by neglectful fathers and irresponsible young men thrust into parenthood, Sacramento is a rarely empathetic portrayal of the difficult pressures of being an enthusiastic dad-in-waiting. Conversations between Glenn and Rickey suggest that the former has reached a point in his life where he has felt he has something to give back, and could share his love and experience with a child. His wife Rosie (played by Kristen Stewart in an underwritten role) has urged him to help Rickey has placed him in a difficult position; Glenn doesn’t want to spend an extended period of time with someone who’s a living reminder of an irresponsible youth.
Rather than relying on an unbelievable set piece, Cera has one of the film’s best laughs during a scene where Glenn’s attempt to build a crib go awry. The uncomfortable humor that Cera is best at is utilized perfectly during a late-night scene at a Sacramento bar, in which Glenn reminds every woman he’s interacted with that he’s a married man with a child on the way.
There’s performative value for actors best known for comedy to take dark detours, such as Steve Carell’s sinister role as John du Pont in Foxcatcher, or Jonah Hill’s more serious performances in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street. Cera hasn’t chosen such a path. Sacramento is a friendly reminder that Cera’s age has made it impossible for him to rely on his familiar schtick; his performance as Glenn isn’t a dramatic reinvention of his star persona, but rather a much-needed evolution.
Sacramento could be paired with Cera’s other 2025 film, Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, which is a far better road trip adventure. Curiously, Cera is also cast as a bystander to the maturation of a charismatic man-child; his character Bjørn Lund is hired to be a tutor by the eccentric billionaire Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) to work with his daughter while they go on international adventures. Cera ‘s such a natural fit for Anderson’s style that it’s odd that was their first collaboration; I hope Cera has more Anderson films in his future.