we are your friends | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: We Are Your Friends

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Darren

Appropriately enough, We Are Your Friends feels like a selection of remixed samples of other movies.

The script for We Are Your Friends dutifully hits all the requisite beats from a coming of age story about a young man trying to find his way in the world; in this case, “the world” refers to “the San Fernando valley”, just over the Hollywood Hills. Appropriately enough, We Are Your Friends positions the valley (“the Valley”) as a sort of purgatory for those who want to get out towards better things; aspiring DJs and actors trapped in dull routine who must learn to stay true to themselves to attain meaningful (and not just material) success.

The beat goes on…

It is a very familiar story structure, one that lends itself to the sense of social striving associated with other (more substantial) films about life in Los Angeles. We Are Your Friends doesn’t have a story as much as it has an outline; the requisite steps that young would-be DJ Cole Carter must take on the path to stardom. There is an older mentor with feet of clay, a troubled love interest also looking for meaning in the world; there is the false promise of financial security, a tragic lesson about life lived to access.

However, all of this is drawn so broadly that We Are Your Friends is a tracklist rather than an album. Director Max Joseph brings commendable energy to the film, and Zac Efron is quite affable as a protagonist more cliché than character. Wes Bentley adds just a hint of flavour to an otherwise ambient film. We Are Your Friends is inoffensive, but ultimately more visually interesting than completely satisfying.