We Are Your Friends (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – Caught between a forbidden romance and the expectations of his friends, aspiring DJ Cole Carter attempts to find the path in life that leads to fame and fortune.

My Take – Walking out of the special screening of this Zac Efron – Emily Ratajkowski starring Max Joseph directed film about a DJ, I thought to myself – ‘When was the last time I got this so called goosebumps, a feeling of intense satisfaction and happiness after watching a film which I had expected nothing from? I know, what a surprise! Well I don’t know much about Electronic music or the specialized artists of the field except for famous names such as Armin Van Braun & David Guetta. Judging by the trailers all I had expected this film to be about a bunch people doing drugs & dancing around on loud music, but to my surprise, the film is much more than that! Unlike most film nowadays, the film has soul. At heart, it’s your-standard underdog story. A young man wants to succeed in a given field, finds a mentor, faces a few obstacles, falls in love with the wrong person, has some hardships along the way, and ultimately triumphs. We’ve seen this happen before a thousand times. But what makes this film work is its delicate balance of irony and earnestness. Yea, its not perfect, the film slows down in the second act with some humor thrown in here & there, plus it knows it’s being corny sometimes, with its underlying message about the power of creativity and authenticity, and it calls itself out for it, and yet it still totally believes in its message. So there might be jokes about hashtags and sound like a douche bag, it doesn’t take anything away from what it really wants to say.

Which is – it’s hard to find your place in the world, and when you’re young everyone will try to tell you what you should be doing and push you into things you don’t agree with, but ultimately the kind of person you are and the kind of work you create is down to you. I have rarely seen movies based on electronic dance music work well, 2009’s very enjoyable Notorious (even though now I don’t remember much about the film) was probably the only film which came close to the success it aimed for. The few movies that have been made about the electronic dance music scene in the last ten years have come and gone with the wind, in part because of weak plots and sub-plot and bad casting choices but also because techno music (in my humble opinion), like drugs or sex, tends to make for boring on-screen subject matter. What works mainly in favor for this film is that there is something familiar at the heart of first time director Max Joseph’s film (named after a track by Justice Vs Simian), although we may have seen this story in various different guises over the years, there is enough charm and good humor here for the film to work on it’s own. The story follows Cole Carter (Zac Efron), an aspiring DJ who lives & works with his three child hood friends Mason (Jonny Weston), Ollie (Shiloh Fernandez) & Squirrel (Alex Shaffer). Spending most of their nights hooking up small time DJ jobs by tirelessly promoting college club nights & of course by selling drugs, followed by working for Paige (Jon Bernthal), a shady finance broker. In order to fulfill his dreams Cole befriends the hugely successful DJ Paul Reed (Wes Betley), who takes him under his wing. As Cole & Paul’s friendship strengthens, Cole becomes closer to Reed’s girlfriend/ assistant Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski), an Ivy League dropout. Their romantic triangle is offset by the hustle of Cole and his friends, whether it’s promoting club nights or hustling swamped mortgage holders for a shady finance company. The tale of a man taking a day job he hates in order to make rent is a rather familiar track, as is the story of a group of friends torn apart when someone new comes into the mix. All of this familiarity is saved through the lead character being just charming and engaging enough to keep the audience interested, plus some wonderful scenes where paintings come to life and Cole explains his life through voice over and on screen graphics. The film is a story about growing up and letting go of the dreams that are holding the characters back, as well as fighting for the ones they believe in, while dancing and drinking the night away with pretty people in pretty places. This is a delicate balance done well, and the final moment of redemption is an engaging and touching one, with everything tying up neatly but in a poignant way.

First-time director Max Joseph is best known for holding the camera on MTV‘s Catfish, but here he demonstrates that he’s really got an eye for beauty. This is a seriously good-looking film, and not just because he’s got Zac Efron, Emily Ratajkowski and Wes Bentley in lead roles. The music is strong, the sets and costumes bright and colorful, and the relationship between the three central characters is engaging. Ideas come and go, however, with the stylistic touches being dropped fairly soon into the film; this allows the film to focus on the story being told, even though it feels more generic than it needs to. For a film of this genre, its hard to expect some good meaningful dialogues – “This is the best part…the moment before it starts.” & “Is it ever going to be better than this?” are sure to find themselves some GIFs or Memes online. Performance wise, Zac Efron leads the way! With last year’s Neighbors, Efron proved how far he has come from High School Musical days. He is just in terrific form here. Although the character is slightly generic, he is warm and engaging in the lead role as Cole; he quickly gets audience sympathy on his side and, even though he loses it at times, he quickly gains it back. Wes Bentley finally gets a good role! The talented lad wasted in B grade thriller flicks, is in fine form here. As the alcohol and drug addled success who has got lost in his own myth, he is very believable. Emily Ratajkowski proves she is much more than just a pretty face. Sure her sultry looks are her most prominent plus or an arguable distraction, she plays her part well without coming out on the wrong side. The supporting cast of Jon Bernthal, Shiloh Fernandez, Jonny Weston & Alex Shaffer do a good job. On the whole, ‘We Are Your Friends‘, is dramatic & fun enough to be entertaining. With strong performances & excellent music, the film is sure to succeed provided it hits the right kind of audience, mainly if they decide to look past its misjudged notions from the trailer. Honestly I was one of them! & guess what I may check this out again.