There was this guy who drank at the bar I worked at named Julian. I've mentioned Julian before. He was a bit of a movie buff and Whiplash was his favorite movie of the year. He wouldn't shut up about what a amazing and inspiring film it was. I probably heard him expound on the greatness of it a hundred times. A friend who bar tended one day a week but who was otherwise a professional musician (studio, production, composition and a bit of touring) also had to hear Julian go on and on about what a great film it was, and how Corey, as a professional musician would love it. So Corey and a few of his musician friends sat down and watched it one night. They thought it was one of the stupidest piles of shit they ever saw. It's not like they hadn't worked hard and payed their dues. Corey lost a large part of his youth to the piano. He wasn't a performance major, he didn't even go to school for music (I had a college music instructor tell the class that if any of us wanted to be professional jazz musicians we should get up and leave the class right now). He is listed as a research assistant on one of the definitive books on modern classical music theory which is hard to do when you don't attend college for music. He's worked his ass for decades to pay his bills with his craft, so had the other guys at least one of whom has a pretty distinguished body of work. They hated the drumming. "Buddy Rich bullshit, that was more than dried up in the 80's. No one plays like that anymore, no one wants to hear it. If someone came in the studio like that he'd never work again." They seemed to think the screaming and anger was something beyond silly. Julian felt hurt and deflated by the whole thing. I didn't see it. I don't like most movies so I don't see many. Maybe it's good but I'll never know. I'd watch Space Is the Place on YouTube again anytime.
I don't think you should watch it. My best guess as to why Julian found it so inspiring is that that dedication is an achievable goal. On the surface, the only limit Andrew has is himself - if only he put more work and hours and effort into the drumming, he'd achieve his dreams. Which is also why reality is so deflating - Corey and his buddies know that just working hard isn't what will get you there. For starters, you need luck, creativity, connections. Corey knows that. Julian doesn't know that or doesn't want to know that. I think he wants to believe the fairy tale that those things don't matter if you just have enough ambition and dedication. So I can totally see why Corey would find it a silly characterization of professional musicians while Julian sees it as a great inspiration. Don't watch it. JK Simmons is good but if you want to watch a good music-related film I liked Inside Llewyn Davis better.