What We Do Is Secret

I remember seeing Darby Crash in the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization and thinking the guy was a total mess. This is a fictional story of his life and they make him far more coherent then he appeared. Of course this is Hollywood fiction not fact so I just had to put all my images of the guy to the side.I liked that the movie included many of the Germs’ songs with concert scenes. The film captured a lot of the rebellion and chaos of Punk Rock when it exploded in Los Angeles and I enjoyed that the most. Shane West was the lead as Darby Crash. Again it portrayed him as this guy with a plan for his music and life which just contrasts so much with my own personal image of him. Ultimately it was entertaining and that’s what is most important.

I've seen WWDIS three times, and I'm giving it four stars. This is why:The first star is for tenacity. This movie took something like ten years to make, years of believing in the project, searching for funding, not taking 'no' for an answer -- and all done by outsiders to the movie system. That takes some balls, you know? So kudos to Roger Grossman and Michelle.The second star is for integrity. This is a labor of love. It isn't tainted by the exploitation that infected other punk movies from the past. It also helps that the original band members were apparently involved, to a degree, in the making of the film. But I would have liked to have seen more of the importance of Malissa in Darby's life, as well as Bosco.Third star goes to the acting, most particularly Bijou Phillips and Shane West. Nice job.Fourth star is for portraying the L.A. punk scene, period. Just as then it was ignored by the music industry, today it's apparently of little interest to the film industry. That's too bad, because the energy and originality of that time was amazing. The soundtrack, by the way, is terrific.The weaknesses: the movie is too short (perhaps due to financial considerations), and I wish they had focused much more on what it must have been like to have been a young, closeted gay man in a scene that was becoming increasingly macho and intolerant. Darby also comes off in the film as a sort of generic, misunderstood rebel... it would have been truer and more affecting to see the darker, more insecure and controlling side of Darby.Look, if you love the Germs music, you should definitely see this movie. If you're curious about the L.A. punk scene, see this movie. For further info, I'd recommend the book Lexicon Devil, and if you can find a copy of The Decline of Western Civilization (Part 1), do so. And of course, buying the Germs album. I think a lot of Darby's secrets are answered in his lyrics.

Let me begin with the disclaimer, I have never been interested in punk rock at all. That being said, why did I buy this movie? I love biographies, I will never know how accurate this was or how much was true but as a movie this was exceptional. This was a troubled young man if you ask me who needed more then those around him were giving him. Was he a "genius" I am sure to some extent and somewhat damaged, too. How his "friends" could not see him spiraling into some very dark place is beyond me but they seemed to emerge from it. This is what I would call a sad and brilliant film. Now for the performances. all of the players were exceptional and did great. Shane West, the lead who did Darby Crash so well was outstanding, I have always said that this guy is a star and just never got the right jumping off point. this was it to me but apparently never noticed, Bravo, Shane! Why not 5 stars....he had a relationship with "Robby" I would have liked that to have been explored more. it was just kind of left hanging in the air and taken for granted. That seemed to be big in his life and should have been touched on some more.

I remember when I first heard The Germs back in late 1979,80. That was my first time hearing punk rock music and it bewildered me. I was 14 and a resident of Los Angeles. But it left me with the memory of the band, wandereng what is this is all about. Well, 30 years later, and more diverse and mature, I finally decided to see what the hype was all about. The Germs were very brilliant, and their leader Darby Crash was a madman/genius! This movie does it's best to capture that era when The Germs were around and the wild stories and rumors that surrounded them. There is a lot of performances by The Germs throughout the movie. The actors do a great job portraying the true life characters. The live performances are very good too. Sad to say, this is another rock and roll tragedy if you haven't heard. But this movie is very real is life gets when you are trying to accomplish something that you believe in. I recommend this movie to any punk rock fan or the curious who would like to see a true story of a legendary punk rock band that gave The Sex Pistols a "run for the money"!

i know there are those----probably correct---in saying this movie was not what it could and should have been. still, this is a good flick. i think it captures the KIND of kids who liked punk as fans and performers and gravitated towards it as a means of self expression, originality and as a way of having something of their own that most in their own generation didn't even acknowledge. i remember talking to my classmates in 77, 78 about the ramones, clash, pistols, etc. and getting looks like i was from another planet. punk was, as it says in this film, for those inside the circle.the one thing i didn't care for was that a lot of the germs' best songs were left off---"american leather" still sounds fresh and dangerous even today------and i still think crash was under appreciated as a vocal stylist. i remember getting this album and thinking, "so, america finally has it's own punk band who can be just as brutal as the english". without the germs, i'm not sure if anyone would have listened to or cared about fear, black flag, etc. in his way, his phrasing was more original than joey ramone, joe strummer, or even johnny rotten himself. with few exceptions who are only pale imitators, there's still no one who does what he did. hey, for 10 bucks??? see this movie.

Who? Well quite, and that may well be the problem for any casual movie fan who happens to like musical bio-pictures. Jan Paul Beahm during his short run for fame was better known as Darby Crash, lead singer and founding member of Los Angeles punk band The Germs. Firmly picking up on the punk ethic for doing it yourself, Crash and his band made waves across L.A. for a short period of time. Much like The Sex Pistols back in the UK, The Germs were blighted by being unable to play venues as their reputation preceded them. With Crash growing ever more erratic as he tried to execute the various strands of his so called 5 year plan, those around him invariably suffered. Here director Rodger Grossman attempts to tell the "true" story of the life and death of an enigmatic young man on a "crash" course to oblivion.With low production values and a choppy attempt at being a semi rockumentary, What We Do Is secret is really only of interest to fans of the band or those wishing to bone up on American punk rock circa 1976-1980. Even tho myself, an ageing old British punker, quite liked The Germs, this film only exists because of two major factors. For the facts are that outside of L.A. they were hardly known at the time. It's only because of Crash's subsequent suicide at a young age {on the day John Lennon was shot and killed} and guitarist Pat Smear's future involvement with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, that the band have had a reappraisal. With minimal input cut onto disc, one has to wonder if someone is trying to build up a legend that doesn't actually exist? What can be said with confidence is that the film at least brings the L.A. punk scene to notice. With all the historical talk about the New York punk scene that was born out of CBGB'S and Max's Kansas City, it often gets forgotten that L.A. had its moments too.The cast here are pretty much the run of the mill performers one expects from such a production. Ranging from adequate (Shane West as Crash) to very decent (Rick Gonzalez of Coach Carter fame as Smear), Grossman's film will not be remembered for any great thesping. And since Crash is not very likable, or engaging on an intellectual level, the finale is unlikely to strike you with a sadness born out of the waste of a young life. However, the soundtrack crackles with punk vibrancy and emotive potency, and definitely some of the concert sequences have the look and feel of the original punk rock era. But ultimately the piece remains only worth an interest to an undemanding and small selection of music fans. Oh and 70s fashion guru's as well one thinks. 5.5/10

Before, I didn't know that it was based on a true story, which made it all more intense. It's filmed a bit unusual maybe, especially in the beginning, in documentary style every now and then, but it was well done, I thought. Great actors, great story, great movie!

Good dvd

great movie/story

伝説のLAパンク・バンド、Germsのバンド・ヒストリーをドキュメンタリー風に映画化した作品。Germsは唯一のアルバムを昔CDで持っていて、音は聴いた事があるのですが、バンドのバイオグラフィは知らない物で、ここで描かれている事が事実かどうかは判りませんが、元メンバーが制作に参加したとあるので、ある程度は事実に忠実に作られていると思ってもいいらしいです。パンクで刹那的な生き方になった人は多いですが、このバンドのDarby Crashという人も若くして亡くなったという事で、何で多くの方が生き急ぐのかは謎ですが、その謎故に人を惹きつけてやまない事も真実だと思います。ギターのPat Smear氏はこの後、Nirvanaのサポートギタリストになりますが、Nirvanaもああいう終わり方をしたので、あまりいい体験ではないですよね。胸中を察する、とか安易に書くと却って失礼だと思いますが、それでも察してしまいます。初期のメンバーにはかのBelinda Carlisleさんもいたというのがちと驚きました、売れてからの音楽性が全然違うので。それと、RHCPの二代目と四代目ギタリストだったJohn Fruscianteさんがよくフェイバリットのアルバムにこのバンドの唯一のアルバムを挙げているのも有名な話ですよね。個人的にはその唯一のアルバムがどパンクというか、これを聴いたら誰でも自分の方が巧くできる、と思いそうな作品だったので、☆をつけるとしたら幾つになるかかなり迷いそうに思うのも真実です。今はもう音源をもっていないので、機会があったらまたダウンロードで聴いてみたいです。Germsの内実が判るドキュメンタリー風の映画。機会があったら是非。