It's the summer of 2007 and a palpable energy fills the air as young moviegoers flock to the cinemas to watch Superbad, a coming-of-age comedy filled mostly with little-known actors. A sea of popped polo T-shirts and tube tops are met with the raunchy — yet heartfelt — bond between the fictional Evan and Seth, played by Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, respectively. We watch these two best friends hurtle toward an undetermined future, fears surrounding their impending separation slowly unravelling.
While Superbad offered a coming-of-age high school studio comedy about a BFF duo who can't stand the notion of being apart, writer-director-actor Michael Angarano's Sacramento goes down the buddy-road-trip-indie-passion-project route, centred on a couple of estranged old friends whose adult anxieties fully ignites their reunion.
On the surface, the two films clearly show their differences, but scratch a bit deeper and their core similarities become difficult to ignore — even beyond the obvious Michael Cera connection. With its script inspired by an inside joke between friends/co-writers Michael Angarano and Chris Smith, and evolving over a decade, Sacramento sees Glenn (Cera) living a quiet, enjoyable life in LA suburbia when his long lost eccentric pal Rickey (Angarano) jumps out of a tree and proposes they take a road trip to Sacramento.
"Mike and Chris sent me the script a couple years before we made the movie with the view of coming on to it, and I loved it. I didn't know what to expect," Cera tells Exclaim! over Zoom.
He continues, "It kind of changed from that draft, but a lot of it was already there — certainly the characters, their dynamic, the heart and core of the movie, as well as the humour. It was nicely calibrated already, and it really came off the page and had a total rhythm to it."
Having previously worked on some of the music for Angarano's directorial debut Avenues in 2017, Cera explains, "I loved what he did with that [film]. And it seemed like it would just be really fun to get to play these guys together, and it was. It was a great decision on my part to say yes."
This excitement to collaborate again certainly displays itself on screen, as Cera and Angarano share a chemistry that's irresistibly watchable, brimming with memorable back-and-forth one-liners and genuine exchanges throughout their trek.
When I ask about how much improvisation was involved in the filming process, Cera reveals, "There's some pockets where we're driving and talking just to talk, but it was mostly very scripted, and very thoughtfully scripted."
In the paired interview, Angarano says, "When movies are small and not made for a lot of money, you have no time, so you have to shoot whatever it is that you get to shoot.
"What's so nice about all of the actors — Mike, Maya [Erskine], Kristen [Stewart] — is that they're all also writers," Angarano explains. "If there was something that felt like it needed something, they were always the most insightful, and it was always [the] greatest idea wins, so to speak. But, for the most part, it was all in the script."
Cera, who notes his experience filming Sacramento as "one of the best times I've had making a movie," first appears as Glenn in a scene where we see him playing a cheery game of peekaboo with what is shortly revealed to be an empty crib.
At first impression, it appears as if Cera's role will be confined to the actor's signdature timid, slightly awkward, entirely endearing persona, but we quickly discover that something darker and angrier lurks beneath Glenn's seemingly happy-go-lucky disposition, a soon-to-be father with Kristen Stewart playing his pregnant wife, Rosie.
Free-spirited slacker Rickey comes with his own case of inner distress — which is partly due to a situation involving past romantic fling Tallie (Maya Erskine) — and takes zero accountability for anything he does. Though he and Glenn are polar opposites, they both have a tendency to blurt out emotionally intelligent therapy jargon, such as "projecting" and "gaslighting," to fend off judgement, but without actually opening up to each other.
Angarano speaks to the significance of this: "From the earliest conceit of the film, it was very clear to Chris and I that male communication was at the forefront of what we wanted to do. That thing that happens when two guys hang out, for hours and hours, a weekend, or months sometimes, and they go home to their partners who ask, 'Hey, so what did you guys talk about?' and in response they say, 'Nothing.'"
He continues, "The idea that men have a hard time talking about how they really feel was something that we always went back to look at whenever we wrote a scene. [We would] proofread it through the lens of: what's being withheld here? What are they really needing? What are they really going through?"
Sacramento delivers a carefully-crafted exploration of male friendship and empathy, highlighting each male character's struggle to be vulnerable with one another during monumental life changes, perhaps because they have never had to reach out for that sort of help before and therefore don't actually know how — similar to the now-classic Superbad.
Cera is a seasoned pro at expressing the panic that these life changes bring, the chaos that ensues when trying to brush things aside, as well as the comforting realization that someone else may be experiencing it in tandem.
With charm and humour, Cera has been gracing millennials with this fine-tuned balance for the last few decades in his performances. Angarano's clear vision allows space for a meaningful full-circle moment for the actor.
"Watching the movie, for me, was very cathartic and kind of emotionally satisfying and funny, and I just hope other people enjoy the ride of that," Cera reflects earnestly.
Angarano adds, "I love the movie so much, and it's true: when I watch the movie, I really miss making it, because we had such a positive, creative and fulfilling time. It was only a 23-day shoot, but the cast and crew became very close, and it felt like a really good combination of people who were excited to be there and excited to work on something meaningful to them."
Since its theatrical release last month, there's been an outpouring of support from critics and audiences alike for this impassioned indie and its sincere portrayal of male vulnerability and mental health, striking a chord with viewers.
Similar to Superbad's positive representations of male friendships almost 20 years ago, Sacramento comes at a time when we as a society are working tirelessly to step away from outdated stereotypes and stigmas, and towards a more nuanced understanding of these topics — something we should never be at crossroads for.
Cera reflects, "A lot of the things discussed and a lot of the ideas in the movie will resonate for people. So, it's not a bad thing if they come out thinking about their lives a little bit, and feeling good." He pauses briefly before adding with a small chuckle, "Not bad."