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Shane West, Bijou Phillips, Rick Gonzalez, Noah Segan, Ashton Holmes ... see more see more... , Tina Majorino , Chris Pontius

The true-life story of Darby Crash, who became a Los Angeles punk icon before taking his own life in 1980, provides the background for this gritty musical biopic. Not long after getting kicked out of ... read more read more...an experimental high school in Los Angeles, charismatic misfit and major David Bowie fan Jan Paul Beahm (Shane West) announces that he wants to form a rock band. With his best friend Georg Ruthenberg (Rick Gonzalez), Beahm creates a group called the Germs, mainly because their first choice, "Sophistif--k and the Revlon Spam Queens" costs too much to put on a T-shirt. Beahm appoints himself lead singer, Ruthenberg becomes guitarist even though he has no command of the instrument, and Beahm creates new stage names for them -- George becomes Pat Smear, and Jan is now Bobby Pyn. After a few less-than-impressive attempts to putting Beahm's "five-year plan" into action, the Germs begin to click with the addition of sweet but musically inexperienced Lorna Doom (Bijou Phillips) on bass and Arizona transplant Don Bolles (Noah Segan) on drums. Bobby Pyn gives himself another new name, Darby Crash, and the Germs become the talk of the Los Angeles punk scene with their reckless but literate songs and Darby's aggressive performance style. The Germs become big fish in the small pond of L.A. punk, but when hard drugs enter into the picture, Darby begins alienating those closest to him, and after the Germs' collapse, he's at a loss for how to bring his grand scheme to the next level. The real Pat Smear served as a music producer for What We Do Is Secret, recreating the sound of the Germs and other seminal L.A. punk groups for the soundtrack, while the surviving members of the Germs played a series of reunion dates following the production of the movie, with Shane West standing in as lead singer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

54% liked it

7,791 ratings

Critics

43% liked it

47 critics

R, 1 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: Rodger Grossman

Release Date: June 23, 2007

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DVD Release Date: November 4, 2008

Stats: 220 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (220)

  • lovablemisanthrope
    November 22, 2008
    lovablemisanthrope
    For someone who's never even heard of The Germs, I thought it was fairly good.
  • kingmob6
    March 21, 2012
    kingmob6
    I gave this a re-watch recently and can report that it holds up pretty well.

    I've never been familiar with the background of The Germs, Darby Crash, or even much of their music, but I really enjoyed this film. The style of storytelling is really effective, told in asides to the... read more audience that fleshes out whatever scenes have just occurred.

    Even going into this cold and knowing nothing about the subject matter, I was still quickly drawn into this one, it's well worth a look and Shane West gives an engaging performance as Crash.

    Recommended.
  • thereverendtholomewplague
    November 26, 2010
    thereverendtholomewplague
    Definitely a pretty decent movie that portrays of life of Darby Crash, and of course, The Germs (an early punk band for those of you who have no idea.) Although I thought it was a decent film, I'm a bit skeptical on it being the 'perfect' biopic. Coming from a general Germs fan, ... read moreI thought it was pretty good. Hey, and you know I've got to say Don Bolle's side-band there, ruled. A cool film to check out for sure.
  • sykora259517
    February 26, 2010
    sykora259517
    starring Shane West. In a documentary (looking) movie about the Germs (was that even a real band not sure) I heard it was about punk music so I watched it cause I do like it (at least some)
    Wasn?t great but wasn?t fully horrid I?d say maybe a little below average at worse -C+
  • sunnypnut
    May 16, 2009
    sunnypnut
    To be totally honest, I was kinda worried about this movie. However, they totally blew me out of the water with it. Darby Crash was one of the most interesting characters in the early LA punk scene, and the Germs were one of my personal favorites. Hint: Read the books We Got the ... read moreNeutron Bomb, and Lexicon Devil before watching this. It just helps so you can tell what an amazing retelling they did.
  • Hamee
    December 1, 2008
    Hamee
    This movie makes me really happy that I wasn't alive for the grunge/punk rock scene in the 70's and early 80's. Shane West looked exceptionally strange with the busted, gross teeth, but he did an excellent job
  • rbludgeon
    September 25, 2008
    rbludgeon
    Great movie. Everyone needs to worship Darby Crash. He and the Germs started the California Hardcore scene. Darby and Shane West are hot!
  • standbyfilms
    August 17, 2008
    standbyfilms
    from director Rodger Grossman.
    With dead-on details and a fine cast, "Secret" re-creates that brief, colorful period before punk became a "scene" and still served as a melting pot of outcasts, artists and sleazeballs. Aside from Crash (Shane West, who'll front the regrouped band... read more tonight at the Blender Theatre in Manhattan) and future Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear (Rick Rodriguez), nearly every key player is reincarnated here, from influential radio host Rodney Bingenheimer to foul-mouthed journalist Kickboy Face. There's even a nod to Long Beach's Joan Jett, who produced the Germs' album.

    The film's documentary style is a distraction, but it fades in and out. "Secret" is most compelling when the people and places of L.A. tell this tragic but somehow still ebullient story. I recommend this picture - but might say it won't be on screens long, so its best to wait for its DVD release later this fall.

    Vince
    Vmeda UCB

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Critic Reviews

David Wiegand
August 29, 2008
David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

Some of the supporting performances, like those of Phillips and Gonzalez, are very strong, but it's West who lifts the entire film to a whole other level. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
August 28, 2008
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Despite a terrific performance from Shane West, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Crash, Secret is a chronology, not a biopic. Full Review

Michael Ordoņa
August 22, 2008
Michael Ordoņa, Los Angeles Times

First-time writer-director Rodger Grossman bangs out a visceral, energized biopic that captures the vibrant idiocy of punked-out youth and a tortured soul gaining his wish of cult status. Full Review

J. R. Jones
August 21, 2008
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

A labor of love for writer-director Rodger Grossman, this entertaining if superficial biopic chronicles the rise and fall of LA punk pioneers the Germs. Full Review

Jim Emerson
August 15, 2008
Jim Emerson, Chicago Sun-Times

Where What We Do Is Secret succeeds is in the performances which (and this a compliment, I think) sometimes expose a stilted, amateurish strain that's oddly in tune with the characters' D.I.Y. aesthetic. Full Review

Sid Smith
August 15, 2008
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune

The best parts of Secret recall Sid and Nancy. The worst evoke the last, inferior A Star Is Born. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
August 11, 2008
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

West does an earnest job, but that's the problem: He never conjures Crash's psychotic danger. Neither does this eager, flawed, scrappy biopic. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
August 8, 2008
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

How ironic that a biopic about charismatic punk legend Darby Crash -- lead singer of the Germs in the late '70s -- would be so unmemorably bland. Full Review

Linda Stasi
August 8, 2008
Linda Stasi, New York Post

An unsatisfying biopic of the Germs, the seminal LA punkers led by Darby Crash. Full Review

Rafer Guzman
August 8, 2008
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

The film's faux-documentary style is a distraction, but it fades in and out. Secret is most compelling when the people and places of L.A. tell this tragic but somehow still ebullient story. Full Review

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What We Do Is Secret Trivia

  • After playing darby crash in the 2007 movie What We Do Is Secret , shane west went on to be the front man of what band?  Answer »
  • What We Do Is Secret Who portrays Darby Crash?  Answer »
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