Review of We Are Your Friends (2015) by Leon B — 17 Jan 2016

Review:

I'm really in two minds about this film because I didn't really find it entertaining but I stuck with it, mainly because I wanted to see were it was going. I'm not really into "electronic" music so the whole soundtrack became a bit tedious after a while but the director introduced different elements, which made it watchable. Zac Efron plays an 23 year old, aspiring DJ (Cole Carter), in San Fernando Valley, who lives with his best friend Mason (Jonny Weston). They hold parties with there best friends Ollie (Shiloh Fernández) and Squirrel (Alex Shaffer), on a regular basis but they only make a little profit, which doesn't go that far. Whilst Djing at a night club, Cole gets chatting with an older DJ, James (Wes Bentley), who eventually becomes his mentor and teaches him the in's and out of producing in his lavish studio. They soon build a trusting relationship with each other and Cole takes out James girlfriend, Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski), who he falls head over heels for. After spending a passionate night together, James finds out about there relationship, which breaks his friendship with Cole. After losing his best friend, Squirrel, he pursues his career in producing music and he puts together the perfect record, using natural sounds. He then rebuilds his relationship with James and he headlines a major event, were he debuts his record and rocks the crowd. The director added some emotional elements to make it seem like it wasn't your regular American "spoilt youths" type of movie but it still turned out like it. As I'm coming from a Djing background, I could relate to a lot of the concept but I'm used to playing on the underground scene, not to a bunch of rich kids in sunny California. The acting was average and the storyline became a bit predictable after a while. I don't really know what message the director was trying to get across but he done the smart thing by putting Zac Efron in the lead because I doubt that it would have made a profit without him plastered all over the poster. In all, it's a watchable movie but I was left feeling a bit empty when it finished. Average!

Round-Up:

Zac Efron, 28, has been starring in some decent movies lately but I'm yet to see him prove that he can be taken seriously as a major actor. After a successful career in the High School Musical franchise, he first turned to cinema in 2007, in Hairspray. He then took the lead in Me and Orson Welles in 2008 but when he came out with 17 Again in 2009, his career took a turn for the better and he was able to put his High School Musical days, firmly behind him. With another Bad Neighbours in development along with a movie alongside Robert DeNiro called Dirty Grandpa, due to be released, he certainly has a lot to look forward to. His name has also been linked to the remake of Baywatch, which is perfect casting but I'm still waiting for an Oscar winning performance. This is the first major movie directed by Max Joseph, who made this movie from personal experiences. If your not in that scene and your not interested in the music, I personally can't see anyone finding this movie entertaining, so it's not for all audiences.

Budget: $2million.

Worldwide Gross: $9.5million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/music/romance movies starring Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily Ratajkowski, Jonny Weston and Shiloh Fernandez. 4/10.