We Are Your Friends (2015) Movie Review

A Familiar Set Played with Original Sounds

          With Summer all but asleep until 2016 and hard-earned money spent on  at least one over-hyped blockbuster hit per month this year, (The Avengers 2 in May, Jurassic World in June, Mission Impossible V in July, anything in August you missed from the previous months before resorting to carefully picking from the latest, less advertised selection), one might not be blamed for withholding leisure money from an ostensibly generic last-minute attempt by movie studios to bless the season with a hopefully inspiring but more likely unnecessary send-off. 

          Fortunately though, anyone, for whatever reason, who decides to give We Are Your Friends a shot will not be blown away but certainly pleasantly surprised, even if all one might want to relive afterwards is the catchy, flame-in-the-soul-igniting soundtrack. This is true, of course, if the melodies raging at raves on the beach and in nightclubs around the Western-influenced parts of the world are what one is into.

          At a much deeper level, however, lies a hard truth about the great personal cost that one must endure in order to achieve a dream. Zac Efron, with his years as a High School Musical sweetheart forever overshadowing all of his later work, for better or worse, moves on from sugar-coated depictions of teenage life to present a grittier, more sincere reality for life in the 'Second Stage of the Teens', more commonly known as the twenties.

          Efron and the cast supporting him won't be considered for Oscars but each significant character leaves the audience excited for what potential lies with the actors assuming these roles for the future. Emily Ratajkowski, led by Efron's controlled performance, sufficiently illustrates the dilemma faced by all - Trying to prove that one can truly find that bond with someone of the opposite sex where both the emotional and physical demands are fully met, desperate to avoid a scenario where one denies paying far more attention to the latter desire or, worse still, where one is convinced their feelings are genuine and justified, unaware that they are not reciprocated by the other party. Wes Bentley and Jon Berthal present believable forces of antagonism that the hero, a twenty-something-year-old with big dreams, might encounter in the workplace that seek to test just how much those dreams are wanted. The latter actor is merely warming up in this role, as far as some eager fans are concerned, for his role as The Punisher, apparently a villain for the second season of Daredevil. However, it is the trio of Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez and Alex Shaffer who aid Efron in highlighting the most significant concept of the movie - Friendship. The audience learns nothing new. Friendship is almost always the first to suffer in the pursuit of dreams, be they career-focused, centred around Romantic Love, or world-changing proposals. And yet, almost always, it is the first quality to come to one's aid in the face of failure. Nonetheless, there is just enough evidence before the credits roll, in the from of persistence and an unexpected tragedy, to make old concepts appear at least a little fresh and original.

          If nothing else, We Are Your Friends, courtesy of a script that avoids becoming too technical at the expense of a noteworthy story, has fostered an appreciation for the DJs giving life to the parties, big and small, around the world. Regardless of the age concerned, anyone who had misconceived that these artists simply stood before a laptop performing only the most basic functions might just want to take up the mantle of DJ for themselves, at least for their next private house party.          

VERDICT: 7/10