“…directionless, uninspiring, and as shallow and emotionless as the constantly stoic, blank stare of its leading actor…”

Whether it be movies based on fictional musicians such as This Is Spinal Tap, Almost Famous, or That Thing You Do, or movies based on real-life musicians such as Ray, Selena, Love and Mercy, and Straight Outta Compton, films about music can be just as inspirational and awe-inspiring as the music itself. More often than not, films about music tend to be about musical greats from the past. Love and Mercy told the story of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys beginning with their fame in the 1960s, and Straight Outta Compton told the story of the N.W.A. which rose in popularity in the late 1980s. Now, we have a fictional film based not on music from the past but on a movement happening right now: EDM or electronic dance music. A Geico commercial pokes fun at the EDM movement with the use of their pig mascot singing “boots and pants and boots and pants” along to the percussion-centric music in the background. Created specifically for nightclubs, raves, and festivals, the creativity and work put in by DJs tends to be scoffed at as mindless and unimaginative, made for drug-induced teens and 20-somethings to jump around to with the hopes of getting laid. I knew a guy in college who would DJ parties, and the heavy, expensive equipment he would cart around was nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, this newest film about EDM does nothing for the DJs of the world, or for anyone for that matter. We Are Your Friends (directed by Max Joseph, 2015) is directionless, uninspiring, and as shallow and emotionless as the constantly stoic, blank stare of its leading actor Zac Efron.

Aspiring DJ Cole Carter (played by Zac Efron) dreams of fame and fortune and hitting it big in the electronic dance music scene. With his friends Mason (played by Jonny Weston), Ollie (played by Shiloh Fernandez), and Squirrel (played by Alex Shaffer) by his side, the gang believes that one day, they will get out of the San Fernando Valley and into the Hollywood Hills where they will make a boatload of money at whatever they end up doing. When Cole is taken under the wing of an older DJ named James (played by Wes Bentley), Cole takes advantage of both the studio equipment and advice of the older DJ, despite his obvious drinking and relationship problems. Cole also takes a liking to James’ assistant and girlfriend Sophie (played by Emily Ratajkowski) whose breathtaking beauty seems to be the most interesting thing about her. Unfortunately for the money-hungry millennials, they soon realize that the likelihood of them hitting it big overnight is slim to none and that not paying cover and getting free drinks on Thursdays won’t pay the bills.

Going into We Are Your Friends, I wasn’t expecting much. From the trailer, it appeared to be a story about some young people who base their entire motivation off the success of other people their age who have become rich by creating apps and selling them for millions of dollars. With a world of technology at their fingertips and people getting rich with or without actual talent, why shouldn’t they too get rich overnight? The story also seemed like it could be a lesson about loyalty to friends despite falling into a crowd that could boost your career. Yet, no, it wasn’t really that. Could it be a glimpse into the hard work, technology, and creativity of the aspiring DJ? Believe it or not, this film crapped all over that concept as well by telling moviegoers that all anyone needs to be a DJ in this day and age is to own a laptop and have one decent track. As for skill? Well, that isn’t really needed so long as you can match the beat of your music to the appropriate 128 BPM of the crowd. So, you have an uninspiring and underwhelming story padded with thumping music and dance parties that sound and look exactly the same. There is no word more appropriate for describing this film besides “boring.”

The characters themselves were superficial and lacked much, if any, actual character development as the film moved forward. Alongside Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne in the 2014 comedy Neighbors, Zac Efron has proved his chops as a strong comedic actor, but he absolutely flopped in this serious, dramatic-central role of Cole Carter. Lacking in any emotion or heart, Ben Stiller’s character Zoolander seemed to have more looks than Efron could muster. The most interesting scene in the film is one in which Cole unknowingly takes PCP and the paintings in the room come alive and blend with the people in the room. Although, without adding any actual interest to the story itself, all I found myself wanting to do is walk out before the movie ended and watch the 1994 film The Pagemaster. I’m typically a person who will give any movie a chance before I completely write it off, but trust me on this one, We Are Your Friends isn’t worth the cost of a movie ticket, and might not even be worth renting. I’m giving this one a 2/10 for lacking any real direction plot wise, for spitting on the art of DJing, and for making fun of the unreasonable expectations of the millennial generation. This is one of the few films I have seen in which I have left the theater literally feeling nothing. And to call this a romance? That’s about as shallow and laughable as the dream of becoming famous overnight.