AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
In the new movie "Sacramento," two longtime friends, Rickey and Glenn, take an impulsive road trip to spread Rickey's father's ashes. What was supposed to be a straightforward journey quickly becomes less about the destination and more about the men's not-so-easy relationship.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SACRAMENTO")
MICHAEL CERA: (As Glenn) You want the ashes scattered somewhere specific?
MICHAEL ANGARANO: (As Rickey) Off the cliffs of Sacramento, the bluffs, into the Pacific.
CERA: (As Glenn) Pacific Ocean?
ANGARANO: (As Rickey) I think so.
CERA: (As Glenn) There access to the ocean from Sacramento?
ANGARANO: (As Rickey) Sure. It's just north of San Fran.
CERA: (As Glenn) And inland, I think.
ANGARANO: (As Rickey) Maybe a little.
CERA: (As Glenn) It's well inland.
ANGARANO: (As Rickey) Huh.
RASCOE: Writer, director and star Michael Angarano takes us on a ride about friendship, fatherhood and figuring out what comes next. He joins us now. Welcome to the program.
ANGARANO: Thank you. Thanks, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So to start off, why Sacramento?
ANGARANO: Many people who live in Los Angeles know there are about a million signs all over Los Angeles that say, I-5 North Sacramento. And so, initially, the whole premise started as an inside joke between Chris and I. Chris Smith is the guy I co-write it with. And we were unemployed, driving around Los Angeles, and we merged on to the I-5 North Sacramento, and I turned to Chris, just as a joke, and said, hey, you want to go to Sacramento? And he said, sure. Let's go on a six-hour drive and ruin our weekend.
And so that's really where it started. And we kind of just started riffing on this idea, and it made us laugh. And that clip that you just played, where they're not really sure where Sacramento is, we probably wrote that scene 10 years ago, and it's probably almost exactly verbatim what we riffed with when we first wrote it.
RASCOE: The movie itself - it's about this road trip to Sacramento, but it's really about, like, this relationship between your character, Rickey, and Glenn, who's played by Michael Cera. Can you describe their dynamic?
ANGARANO: Rickey is the friend that we've all had, or the guy we all know, stuck in college, in a little bit of arrested development, and he's at the point now where he's in his mid-to-late 30s, and that's no longer that funny anymore. The bit's kind of played out. And Glenn, who Michael Cera plays, is at the point where, while he and Rickey were probably very close when they were younger, Glenn has just naturally evolved and matured past that phase. And now he's married and he's having a kid with his wife, Rosie, who Kristen Stewart plays. You know, Glenn has his own issues because on the surface, he's calm seemingly but not that far below the surface. He's very overwhelmed and really struggling.
RASCOE: A lot of the film seems to really also deal with, like, emotional vulnerability or lack thereof between these two men. They can't really open up.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SACRAMENTO")
CERA: (As Glenn) You're going through something. You need my help. So instead of playing all these games, why don't you just tell me what's going on? Maybe I can help, maybe not. But this is about you.
ANGARANO: (As Rickey) Glenn, you might not like how this sounds, but what you're doing right now is textbook projecting. Now, projecting is when you're talking about...
CERA: (As Glenn) I know what projecting is.
RASCOE: It does seem like Rickey uses a lot of therapy language. And it starts out - he's, like, in group therapy, even though it doesn't seem like the therapy has quite taken.
ANGARANO: The whole purpose of that scene - and full credit to Chris because the concept of this scene was his idea, where the initial reason for going to Sacramento has just been revealed. Yeah, you're exactly right. They're using these terms, or Rickey is using these terms, but he's sort of (laughter), you know, weaponizing them to make a point.
And hopefully, what is clear with these guys is that they both want to be the better versions of themselves, and they really take it out on each other which - you know, relationship with men, especially relationship with men who have been friends for as long as Rickey and Glenn have, have a tendency - like, I have a group chat with friends from high school that we started during the pandemic, and there is a very intense reversion that happens when a group of grown men get together who have known each other for a very long time.
RASCOE: (Laughter) Is there a lot of, like, you know, name calling?
ANGARANO: Oh, it's past name calling.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
ANGARANO: I mean, we are not that far off from being the worst versions of ourselves, but we do make each other laugh. Yeah, it's that male ego, primal, carnal need to just one-up each other and it's almost like a neverending dare. That's sort of the premise of Sacramento there in itself. That's where it lies, is a dare.
RASCOE: Did you learn anything for yourself about male friendship?
ANGARANO: Yeah. I think it's still a work in progress. I think, like, the film - you know, these guys - we want them to face consequences of their actions. And by the end, we also hope the audience endears to them because at the end of the day, they're trying and being vulnerable. It's a really ingrained thing for middle-aged men. And maybe the generation below us will have a little bit of an easier time, but there's still a lot they kind of have to work through. So I feel like, for me, communication is always going to be a work in progress.
RASCOE: That's Michael Angarano, director, writer and star of the film "Sacramento," out now. Thank you so much for being with us.
ANGARANO: Thank you for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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