Cole Carter, a former track star, college dropout, and struggling 23-year-old DJ in the electronic dance music scene, dreams of becoming a major record producer. Cole books a gig to DJ at a local nightclub, where he meets the headliner, a once-innovative DJ, James Reed. James invites Cole to a party, where Cole hallucinates because a joint they shared contained Phencyclidine. The morning after, Cole wakes up at James' house where he is introduced to Sophie, James' girlfriend and personal assistant, who drives him home. Later, James calls Cole to DJ at his house party, a paid gig. James sees potential in Cole and takes him as his student. After listening to Cole's original song, James criticizes Cole for imitating other well-known producers, and he suggests using organic sounds for an original vibe. The two co-create a song together using the original vibe technique, along with vocals from Sophie, and it is met with success at the local nightclub. Cole and his friends head to Las Vegas for a music festival, where he meets up with Sophie, who James ditched. Sophie gives Cole MDMA, and they fall for each other. Cole and his friends move into a house. They throw a house party and in the morning they realize Squirrel has passed away. After the funeral, the guys get into an argument. While taking a run, the battery of Cole's phone goes dead, causing his music to stop playing. He listens to his surroundings and is inspired to record samples and integrate them into his long-awaited track. Cole calls James and tells him that he has something for Summer Fest, a popular music festival. Cole releases his track at the festival and it is met with enthusiastic acclaim from the audience and James.
On June 6, 2014, Efron entered negotiations to star in an untitled film about a DJ, which was set to be directed by Max Joseph. The film is Joseph's debut. On July 31, 2014, Ratajkowski joined the cast of the film, which by then had been given the title We Are Your Friends, and had a start date of August 18 announced for principal photography. The name came from the 2006 Justice vs. Simian song "We Are Your Friends". Jon Abrahams joined the cast on August 5, Alicia Coppola on August 14, and Wes Bentley on August 18. By that point, Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, and Alex Shaffer had also signed on to star. In late September, the film cast background actors.
Filming
began on August 18, 2014, in the San Fernando Valley. Joseph co-wrote the adapted screenplay with Meaghan Oppenheimer, based on a Richard Silverman story. Working Title Films partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner co-produced the film, which was financed by StudioCanal. Silverman was an executive producer. StudioCanal is the worldwide distributor. The promotional tour for the film included stops in London, Paris and 6 North American cities.
Animation
A critically noted scene in the film involves animation depicting Cole's PCP hallucinations at a swanky LA art gallery. Rotoscoping was used to achieve this effect.
Release
In November 2014, Warner Bros. acquired the film's North American distribution rights. Two weeks later, StudioCanal announced that international distribution had been sold in several markets. On April 28, 2015, Warner Bros. set the film for an August 28, 2015 release. The film was eventually released for home video on November 17, 2015, however, only on DVD in North America. The Blu-ray was only released in region B on December 17, 2015.
Reception
Box office
We Are Your Friends grossed $3.6 million in North America and $7.5 million in other territories for a total gross of $11.1 million. It made $1.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing 14th at the box office. Box Office Mojo reports with a 2,333 theater count, the film grossed an average $758 from each venue, making it the fourth worst debut for a film with a 2,000+ theater average. It was surpassed later in the year by Rock the Kasbah and Jem and the Holograms, both of which opened on October 23, 2015.
Critical response
We Are Your Friends received mixed reviews from critics, although Efron's performance and the soundtrack were praised. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 38% based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 4.93/10. The site's consensus reads, "We Are Your Friends boasts magnetic stars and glimmers of insight, but they're lost in a clichéd coming-of-age story as programmed as the soundtrack's beats." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". According to CinemaScore, audiences gave the film a grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. The Hollywood Reporters Film Critics named Efron's one of their favorite performances of 2015, ranking him second, for his role of Cole Carter, saying, "And while the picture's box-office returns didn't exactly pump up the volume, this 28-year-old Tyrone Power clone increasingly ranks among the most exciting American actors of his generation." Bilge Ebiri of Vulture.com notes that Ratajkowski's role takes a back seat to the love triangle's central Efron/Bentley relationship. The movie is also the subject of the third season of the podcast "The Worst Idea of All Time" in which two New Zealand comedians watch the same terrible movie every week for a whole year, and discuss it each week.
