By its title, “Sacramento” may sound like a film exploring a story centered around Sacramento, but it is not.
Released in the United States by Vertical Entertainment on April 11, director and Emmy-nominated actor Michael Angarano (“Sky High”) took a comedic approach in showing awareness for mental health and confronting past unresolved challenges.
The film brings attention to Sacramento, just as the acclaimed “Lady Bird”(2017) brought Sacramento widespread attention back during its release.
The one hour and 29 minute film follows a journey of self discovery where Rickey, played by Angarano, goes on a road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento with friend Glenn, played by Michael Cera (“Barbie”), in which both men discover issues that they need to confront about themselves.
The self discovery of both characters was heartfelt but also confusing, especially when it came to the mental health aspects of the movie.
The use of comedy to explain the struggles Glenn and Rickey were going through was fine, but then became annoying because it seemed like a scene was going to be serious, when seconds later they threw in a comedic jab to move away from the pressing matter of the situation.
The friendship between the two friends felt one-sided and it should have ended by the end of the movie, especially after the roller coaster they both put each other through during their stay in Sacramento, but surprisingly they stayed friends.
The filming took place in Los Angeles and downtown Sacramento, with the majority of the film being shot in Sacramento. That was exciting to see because of the many familiar locations being shown, such as Glenn and Rickey driving past Tower Bridge in downtown Sacramento.
Cinematographer Ben Mullen and costume designer Anaïs Castaldi made the film into a colorful masterpiece by using bright colors for the scenery and clothes, giving a more personal and relatable feel for the movie.
The film’s supporting actors felt like fillers to stretch out time in the movie, specifically Arielle played by WWE wrestler AJ “Lee” Mendez and her friend Jess played by Iman Karram (“Daft State”), whose presence in the film felt out of place and not needed.
Even with that, credit can’t be undone with the comedic timing of the dialogue and how it kept the audience engaged and laughing, but still felt unneeded in some scenes of the film.
Overall, the movie was decent. It didn’t hit the mark in diving deep into mental health and mostly relied on context clues to try to guess what was going on with the characters, but the usage of comedy and scenery still made the movie into something to watch if you’re looking for comfort.