Review: We Are Your Friends (2015)

Directed by: Max Joseph | 96 minutes | drama, romance, music | Actors: Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily Ratajkowski, Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, Alex Shaffer, Jon Bernthal, Alicia Coppola, Wiley M. Pickett, Jon Abrahams, Molly Hagan, Brittany Furlan, Vanessa Lengies, Rebecca Forsythe, Joey Rudman, Kelsey Formost, Scarlett Benchley, Devon Barnes, Rob Silverman, Timothy Granaderos

As a world-renowned DJ, the world is at your feet, something many dream of. Similarly, Cole Carter (Zac Efron) in We Are Your Friends. He dreams of a career in the electronic music scene. According to Cole, you need a laptop, a little talent and one good track to succeed in this world. Cole still misses the latter. In his first feature, director Max Joseph shows the quest for the right track.

Cole grows up with his three friends in the San Fernando Valley, just the other side of Hollywood hills. They want nothing more than to make the big bucks and get out of this neighborhood. The wait is for Cole’s breakthrough. Until then, however, they have to make a living by promoting clubs and playing for free in the club. Luckily Cole’s talent is picked up by established DJ James Reed who takes him under his wing. The search for the right track naturally poses some problems. Cole’s friends have a love for booze, drugs and women and James’ girlfriend is also driving Cole’s head. Through James Cole eventually comes little by little to the life he wants to have. He is allowed to play at parties and is given the opportunity to make music in James’s studio. His success also has a downside and the contact between Cole and his childhood friends is increasingly diluted. Not a very original scheme of chasing the American dream.

Yet it is interesting to see how things are in the electronic dance world. Although the plot is not very original, few other films have been made on this subject. “We Are Your Friends” provides an interesting glimpse into the world of the DJ scene with, for example, a small beginners lesson about the perfect number of “beats per minute” and a setup of the right track. The music used ensures that the viewer is taken into the world that revolves around music, drink and women. This also includes the hit We Are Your Friends (Justice 2006), which immediately provides recognition. Little by little we learn something about the main characters. But unfortunately Max Joseph gives these characters little depth. It stays on the surface; we get to know little about them. For example, Cole has lived with his friend since he was fifteen, but we don’t get to hear why. Real empathy for the characters is therefore not always easy.

Although “We Are Your Friends” does not tell much news in terms of story, the actors put down the storyline well. The film has the advantage of having a relatively underexposed topic and that the cast is attractive to watch, but ‘We Are Your Friends’ is unfortunately no more than a film that shows the superficiality of the music scene, where quick money is made. has become important and therefore offers little depth.