We Are Your Friends

Circulating on the L.A. club scene, ambitious 23-year-old music producer Cole (Zac Efron) wants to make it as a DJ in the world of raves and electronic dance music. Cole pals around with his San Fernando Valley buddies (Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, Alex Shaffer), saying: “If you're a DJ, all you need is a laptop, some talent, and one track.” Cole's big break comes when he meets James Reed (Wes Bentley), an arrogant, successful DJ, who becomes his mentor. Not surprisingly, 36-year-old Reed has a gorgeous, much younger girlfriend/personal assistant, Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski). Reed seems to encourage the friendship between Cole and Sophie, saying they should go out and “talk about your millennial angst.” But when a deeper relationship forms, Cole suffers Reed's wrath. Filmmaker Max Joseph's We Are Your Friends is a disappointing, low-budget romantic drama suffering from a formulaic screenplay and bad casting. Efron has established himself as a teen heartthrob, but he exhibits little charisma here, while Ratajkowski is, basically, a beautiful model. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a “How Zac Efron Learned to DJ” segment with the star (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)