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Movie Date: We Are Your Friends (M18)

STARRING: Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily Ratajkowski

DIRECTOR: Max Joseph

THE SKINNY: Cole (Efron) is a young, aspiring DJ who's presented with a ticket to get out of his mundane life filled with questionable vices and odd jobs when he befriends celebrated DJ James Reed (Bentley) and his beautiful girlfriend Sophie (Ratajkowski). But will his childhood friends stand in the way of his music career?


MARS

We should always be grateful to Efron for showing us what exactly a DJ does.

For those of us who didn't grow up with the DJ culture, it's always been a complete mystery.

Now I get it.

They play songs. They remix songs. They compose songs. They play recorded material. They perform live. They use synthesisers and also traditional instruments.

We Are Your Friends actually gave me a certain amount of respect for these guys.

The film is kind of dumb but at the same time makes a sincere attempt at showing the hard work and struggle that go into making it in this world.

Efron is a great choice for the lead role but I just wish they would let him lighten up a little.

A movie about being a DJ should be more fun.

I wish there was a bit more High School Musical in it. Instead, we get a lot of drugs, fighting, betrayal and even death.

All that said, I really enjoyed it.

By the end, when Efron is performing his big make-or-break set, a single tear was rolling down my cheek.

It's formulaic and cheesy as heck but for me, it works.

Also, Ratajkowski does a surprisingly good job as Efron's girlfriend.

We shouldn't be biased against actresses just because they started off showing their boobs in a Robin Thicke video.

- JASON JOHNSON

Rating: 4/5


VENUS

I'm not the kind who appreciates electronic dance music (EDM).

Strip the EDM-centric theme away and you'll see We Are Your Friends doesn't really deserve all the bad buzz it's received.

Instead, it sort of reminded me of John Travolta's Saturday Night Fever, where a young man is trying to find his place in the world while torn between friends and prospects.

While Travolta played his part well in the 1977 classic, Efron could do with a little more emotion, considering he's the "tortured" soul here.

It isn't until the last act where we see some form of life from him.

Thankfully, the film rightly focuses on the bromance between Efron and Bentley's characters.

Bentley turns in a sharp performance as the jaded, alcoholic DJ who agrees to mentor Efron.

His story is actually more engaging than Efron's.

If DJs are meant to be cool people, then Bentley does an awesome job. It's no wonder Efron is drawn to him right from the start.

At times, when you'd expect malice or jealousy from him, he doesn't give in to those cliches.

On the other hand, model-turned-actress Ratajkowski seems stuck in her Blurred Lines persona.

Though her Stanford University dropout character is way more developed, she's still largely pictured as the sexy girl - though more clothed here than in Thicke's music video - who dances to great music.

- JOANNE SOH

Rating: 3/5


 

THE CONSENSUS: Don't listen to the haters! These Friends give us an enjoyable look into the world of EDM, bromance, romance and all.

UncategorisedZac Efronmovieemily ratajkowski