“We Are Your Friends” is a coming-of-age tale about 23-year-old Cole (Zac Efron) trying to make his way as a DJ in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene. His 3 best friends, Mason (Johnny Weston), Ollie (Shiloh Fernandez) and Squirrel (Alex Shaffer) accompany him as they struggle to find a living in Southern California, until Cole finds a mentor in elder DJ James (Wes Bentley). DJ James takes the aspiring artist under his wing, leading Cole to several tough decisions about his future.

As the directing debut by Max Joseph, “We Are Your Friends” is surprisingly solid in its foundation. The film doesn’t ask too much from its audience, and the movie never reaches too high of what it’s capable of. There are some interesting directing choices, such as adding animated effects to a trip out scene at a party or the opening monologue by Cole describing his lifestyle with his friends in their neighborhood. It plays out like a documentary, with words flashing across the screen with different graphical effects to keep things visually entertaining.

There is also a point where Cole gives the audience, along with James’s girlfriend, a crash course in the science behind the skills a DJ uses to hold sway over the crowd. This sequence plays out like an educational video one might find in school. And yet, despite all of these trippy, or seemingly ‘out of place’ graphics and animations, it all still makes sense in the flow of the movie and they are never distracting or unnecessary. If only as much attention was given to the plot as it was to the graphics and the montage cinematography.

With a movie titled “We Are Your Friends,” you would assume that the movie is about someone realizing the importance of friendship, right? This film is, and isn’t, about that. That’s where the problem lies.

During the course of the movie, it constantly switches to either being about Cole and his music or about Cole and his friends, with Cole’s music taking prevalence in the end.

This ambiguity makes the movie hard to pin down as satisfying because there are some problems that are never resolved with Cole and his friends. With loose ends still untied, the titular friends become plot devices to move the subplot along when the movie is focused on Cole and his music.

Overall, “We Are Your Friends” is good enough for at least one watch. While the writing for both the friends and music sides of the plot is nothing terribly original, it is entertaining enough to fill the 96 minutes running time. The film never felt dragged out or too short.

However, it should have taken more time asserting what its plot focus is.