Atmosphere, texture, and vibe save the day in We Are Your Friends, a rather daft, but often highly entertaining film set in the world of electronic dance music. Zac Efron stars as Cole, an aspiring DJ dreaming of fame and fortune while living in a San Fernando Valley pool house, earning a modest living dealing drugs and cold-calling people in foreclosure at a shady real-estate firm. He and his childhood friends (Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, Alex Shaffer) live fast and play hard to avoid recognizing their complacency and the resulting encroachment of mediocrity. An encounter with a veteran producer (Wes Bentley) and his girlfriend slash assistant (Emily Ratajkowski), however, may represent a chance to ignite Cole's career in music if he can navigate and overcome a treacherous fusion of ambition, desire, and loyalty.

Most of the drama here is on the contrived and predictable side. Anyone who has ever watched a film knows Cole will sleep with his jaded mentor's girlfriend, and the secret will be revealed in time for a third-act confrontation. There is also an eleventh-hour twist of tragedy; it rings false and seems harshly shoehorned in, as if a studio executive became nervous regarding the picture's otherwise largely cavalier attitude toward recreational drug use. And despite the title, the friends are interchangeable bros and arguably the least interesting part of the film.

Yet despite its flaws, We Are Your Friends is fun! A quality which should not be undervalued. First-time feature director Max Joseph recently completed a short documentary on the history of DFA Records, the label co-founded by LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy, and he infuses this film with a genuine respect for dance music, the technique required to create it, and the euphoria it can inspire. He crafts the picture as an earnest, sentimental invitation to a mainstream audience to consider beats per minute, sampling, and the experience of standing in front of hundreds or thousands of people armed only with a laptop. Joseph also proves an aggressive stylist, and the swirling visual experience—one drug-fueled party is depicted with psychedelic animation; hand-held cameras dart and zoom through thronging crowds of people gyrating and becoming one with the Day-Glo—and his heavy hand suits and elevates the content.

There are also a trio of charismatic performers at the center of the story. Efron, who I have long felt possesses a genuine movie-star magnetism beyond his initial claim to fame as a Mouse House heartthrob, is handsome, wide-eyed, and easy enough to invest in. Bentley plays what could be an entirely antagonistic role in a sympathetic, almost haunted way; by refusing to twirl a proverbial mustache, he brings a degree of humanity to the aforementioned flawed-mentor arc/contrivance And in one of her first acting roles, Ratajkowski, one of the most famous supermodels in the world at the moment due in part to her involvement in the "Blurred Lines" video, is not only incredibly sexy, but an authentic and warm presence.

B

I dug it for the most part. It has its issues and some things with the story don't gel well but I liked the visual flair and style of most of it, it's too bad this director will struggle to find other work as I think there is some really strong promise here. Zac Efron was very good, as is the whole ensemble. It's not a great movie per se but it doesn't deserve to be the huge flop it is.

It wasn't awful, but I'll most likely forget about it in a day or two. Efron, Bentley, and Bernthal (in a very small role) were good, but you really don't give a shit about anyone or anything else. The movie definitely has some style and a few energetic moments, but that's about it. Oh and Emily Ratajkowski is indeed a babe.

B+

Gimme this Efron over the bad grampa Efron anyday of the week.

I thought this was good visually and gives the feel of different types of musicians but when it moves away from music everything falls apart. Its difficult to care for the supporting cast because they are not given enough dues. Effron does well, Bently gives a great performance stealing almost all scenes from Effron, Emily is good but she is still in that learning process to become hot as well as act well.

4/10. B-