[CRITICAL] WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS

En referring by its title to the remix self-titled electro band Justice, WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS color ad. The song that contributed to the success of the group in 2008 was used for the trailer and during the first few minutes of the film. The goal is simple, to touch a young audience loved it and delivered to the music electro-pop and its atmosphere of celebration.

Before the journey of Max Joseph, for which this is the first feature-length film after several shorts, it is no surprise many of such an approach. Since 2012, he participates to the realization of the documentary series of reality tv show Catfish aired on MTV ; u.s. tv channel a time specializing in music videos and now also a broadcaster of many tv reality shows for a young audience. WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS is heavily influenced by television, and unfortunately too formatted. Despite the potential of its subject and of some finds of staging, the result is too impersonal and ordinary.

Cole , a 23 year old DJ living in the middle of electro and nights in california. The day, he hangs out with his childhood friends. The night mixes it, in the hope of composing the sound that makes dance the whole world. His dream seems to be possible when he makes the acquaintance of James, an experienced DJ, who decides to take him under his wing…

We will say immediately, WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS, is not to be taken as a realistic on the job of a DJ, far from it. In fact anyone from this community or that are of interest to a minimum, may be tearing their hair out at the lack of credibility in general. Turn a blind eye when Cole (Zac Efron) is going to capture on her smartphone the noises of the surrounding to bring out a sample to the perfect sound and without frills. Or on the approach to the work of a DJ and his method to make people dance: nothing more simple, apparently, that matches the rhythm of music on the heartbeat of its audience. A vision of ultra-simplistic and reductive. Well as behind-the-mood-pop of WE ARE YOUR FRIENDSdirector Max Joseph wants us to believe in the importance of using in electronic music, sounds from the world of real, everyday sounds and create pieces from her emotions. It’s cute, but whatever ! Difficult to swallow as the film shows it is formatted and codified.

However, this is not for lack of trying to offer real proposals film for a long first part. A mounting clipé which enables to introduce effectively the main character, Cole, and his friends. Going to canvass for clubs of pretty students and inviting them via a front-facing camera to the ” best night of their life “, it is to us that the four boys are speaking. Similarly in the us, summarizing the life of the hero, its vision and its ambitions in voice-over accompanied by boxes of text to illustrate the sentences. An influence of the clip exceeded even during a sequence of hallucination of Cole, which is caused by drugs. A scene where the real world fades as to leave a colorful animation, which is highly reminiscent of the clip for the DJ Breakboat, Baby I’m Yours, directed by Irina Dakeva.

”Too impersonal and ordinary”

Only after this first part where the director dares pleasantly, the result is much less ambitious, and sadly basic. Worse, the film takes the form of a film of romance of the banal (no surprise between Cole and Sophie, girlfriend neglected to James), to the staging and ultimate. It retains the rest as evenings look-alike with a selection of drugs, and sexy girls. These appear as a vulgar piece of meat interchangeable with the arms of the male characters. A set which, despite a reversal of the situation badly exploited does not lead to a critical but, on the contrary, to sell a vision to be laborious in the world.

Before this he must be content to see a nice duo formed by Zac Efron and model Emily Ratajkowski (Sophie). Efron continues to convince and prove that he is not just a ” pretty face “. The same goes for the young woman, that was expected after its passage too fast in Gone Girl (David Fincher, 2014). It shows here perfectly at ease and natural and offers a service just. A meagre consolation. WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS satisfied with the final bit and not managing to be a nice entertainment, nothing more.

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