#Review: We Are Your Friends
We Are Your Friends is a music drama film set around EDM DJ, Cole Carter, played by Hollywood heartthrob, Zac Efron. Although I don’t know too much about EDM, I truly enjoyed the film. I was lucky enough to be one of the few who attended the Toronto premiere of the film and was in the room with the lead actors and the films director, “Catfish” star Max Joseph.
The film follows California “Valley” boy, Cole, a struggling DJ surrounded by his three best friends who are all very invested in the Cali club scene. During the day the boys take on low-paying construction work and at nights, they hit up the clubbing scene. Each boy has a role in the club: bouncer, drug dealer, promoter, and of course, DJ. While Cole is enjoying the music on the dance floor, he locks eyes with Sophie, played by stunning model/ actress, Emily Ratajkowski. The two have a brief interaction before she walks away. While outside for a smoke break, Cole meets older DJ, James (Wes Bentley). The two quickly hit it off and Cole decides to leave with him when James extends an invite for him to join him to a party. Cole is given alcohol and drugs, and begins tripping out. When he wakes up in the morning, he is in an unfamiliar place and see’s Sophie, much to his surprise. Sophie turns out to be James’ assistant and girlfriend, which inevitably begins a love triangle between Cole, Sophie and James.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I sat down to watch this film – my most recent experience with Efron was watching him as the angry frat leaders in “Bad Neighbours” – so I was interested to see how he would approach this different role. While still very connected to a world of clubs, drinking and drugs, this movie is largely about chasing your passion and the things that happen along the way to catching your dream. For Efron, this was losing a friend (a very emotional scene that left a lot of the audience crying).
The chemistry between Efron and his on-screen love interest, Ratajkowski, was amazing. A newcomer to the screen (aside from her small role in Gone Girl), Ratajkowski did a great job selling her character as a girl stuck between two men, both equally dynamic. While not normally a fan of love triangles – they can sometimes come off as being a cheap shtick in films – I didn’t overly mind the way it was used in WAYF as it did it’s job of moving the movie forward. I’m interested to see what the future holds for Ratajkowski and where we might see her next.
Although Efron didn’t appear to stay to watch the film in its entirety (I can’t blame him…it must get awkward to watch yourself on film that many times!), it was great to see him come to Toronto to open the film. After speaking about his experience making the film, along with the director and Ratajkowski, he headed out. But really, I think it says a lot about Toronto that actors are coming to open nights more and more in our fair city. It’s a great sign for our future, especially with TIFF around the corner, that actors and directors are taking Toronto seriously as a place to visit when premiering their films.
We Are Your Friends was a different film from what we’ve seen Efron in previously and both my friend and I really enjoyed it! Although I can’t say that I’ll be getting into the EDM music world any time soon, Efron convinced me that it’s not as shallow as I thought. It was one of the first times I could fully appreciate the work that DJs actually do to become one of the greats.
Warner Bros. Pictures releases We Are Your Friends on Friday,August 28
