Reviews Nov 03 2008 @ 08:00 am
REVIEW: What We Do Is Secret
Directed By: Rodger Grossman
Written By: Rodger Grossman & Michelle Baer Ghaffari
Starring: Shane West, Bijou Phillips, Rick Gonzalez, Noah Segen, Ashton Holmes
Running Time: 92 minutes
Rated R for drug use, language and brief sexuality
This review was originally published September 16, 2008.
DARBY CRASH: We’re fascists, not nazis.
INTERVIEWER: Who would be your ideal fascist leader?
DARBY CRASH: Myself.
Jon Paul Beahm, aka Bobby Pyn, aka Darby Crash, was the lead singer for The Germs, a ragtag band that came to dominate the L.A. punk scene in the late 70s. On the eve of John Lennon’s assassination, Crash finally made good on the suicide he had been promising for years, but his death was overshadowed and underreported due to omnipresent coverage of the Beatle icon’s murder. Before this film, I had never even heard of him.
Virgin director Rodger Grossman shoots the film as a mock-rock-doc, including “original” interviews with Darby Crash (played by Shane West), “interviewing” former band members Lorna Doom (played by Bijou Phillips) and Pat Smear (Rick Gonzalez), and featuring “bootlegged” concert footage. What We Do Is Secret (named after one of The Germs’ songs) covers the bases of the band’s chaotic existence: their infamous first gig, where Darby jammed the microphone into a jar of peanut butter; how one of their members faked leukemia to get pity money for instruments; their Jerry Springer-esque gigs, never complete without a riot; and Darby’s repressed homosexuality, which may have directly contributed to his suicide. I typically detest biopics and reserve a special corner of hatred for musical ones (both Ray and Walk the Line were chores to finish), but Grossman’s unique approach, coupled with my Germs ignorance, inspired a modest interest that kept me engaged in spite of my biopic prejudice.
Grossman recreates the grungy punk scene with a low rent aesthetic and uses the conspicuosly shoestring budget to his advantage; wide establishing shots are nary to be found (expensive to set dress), replaced almost exclusively by closeups, which lends the film an introverted, claustrophobic atmosphere. It’s quite an effective compromise since the film is manifestly about getting inside of Darby’s headspace.
Shane West as Darby Crash, bleeding from a self-induced cut during a show.
Shane West (an actor known primarily for his long running role on E.R.) not only inhabits the role with a relaxed familiarity, he’s a dead ringer for Darby himself. In fact, he’s so good that The Germs have now reunited and are touring with him as their lead singer. I wonder what Darby Crash would have had to say about that?
I’m a Germs/Crash newbie, so instead of waxing sage on a topic I know nothing about, let me relate what What We Do Is Secret taught me: Darby had a cultic charisma that was irresistible to the disenfranchised punk kids in L.A.; Germs concerts were events, not because of their musical artistry (initially they could not have even played on public access) but because of Darby’s unpredictability; the moment Darby realized that people were there for the spectacle and not his Revolution was pivotal in his road to suicide; the hyper-intelligent Crash (he was 22 when he ended his life) was big on talk, as evidenced by the quote above, but used pseudo-political rhetoric as a smokescreen for his own emptiness; everyone loved Darby, but no one Loved him, and his inability to reconcile with his own sexuality contributed to his suicide.
This is a well crafted film, notable for Grossman’s ability to harness his financial shortcomings in service to the story and West’s in-the-body performance. For Germs fans or anyone even casually interested in the history of punk, it’s a must-see.
MovieZeal’s Interview With Director Rodger Grossman
on Sep 16 2008 @ 9:42 am 1. Silver said …
this si the most spot on review! I saw the movie 3 times and I cant wait for the DVD—
on Sep 16 2008 @ 10:11 am 2. Evan Derrick said …
Thanks for dropping by Silver, and for the compliment. The film does have a very real, in-the-moment aesthetic which really helps contribute to the experience.
on Sep 16 2008 @ 12:56 pm 3. Rick Olson said …
Nice writeup, Evan. I’ve never heard of the Germs, myself, and likely Crash’s suicide would have been sparsely reported even without Lennon’s murder the next day.
on Sep 16 2008 @ 1:17 pm 4. Craig Kennedy said …
I liked the movie too, but it felt a little too squeaky clean.
For a look at the real Germs in their raw glory, catch Penelope Spheeris’ Decline of Western Civilation, much of which is available on YouTube.
on Sep 16 2008 @ 1:28 pm 5. Nick Plowman said …
Oh, this sounds like fun. I must defintely see it soon.
on Sep 16 2008 @ 3:07 pm 6. Maurice said …
Thanks, Evan. Thanks for this great site. Thanks for bringing joy and peace and love into the lives of so many of us little people. Thanks for running this magnificent brain-trust that you have set up in order to insure that the word gets out on the important films. And thanks for having the BALLS to review this film!
I have always contended that the three greatest decades for music are these:
1. The 60’s
2. The 80’s
3. The 70’s
Surely there are arguments to this formula. Some will say that 3 should come before 2 and some have argued that 3 should be number 1. I had one guy argue that 3 should be dropped from the list altogether because, as he put it, “Disco dropped from the anus of Satan.” He wasn’t far wrong. My dilemma is that there was so much great stuff in the 70’s but when you pile on disco, Southern Rock, “Kung Fu Fighting” and the fact that all of that happened in a 32 month period, it’s not at all hard to slot it in at #3.
But one of the things that began and slowly rolled through the music world was Punk. Punk rock is the rattlesnake of music. Punk rock is a rabid badger riding through a schoolyard on the back of a pissed off grizzly bear. It was a raw, savage sound with little grace and not much talent behind it. It pulsed and bled over our psyches like sausage gravy on a biscuit. I can honestly say I have never slow-danced nor cuddled to any tune of the genre. I did do a mosh pit once. Never have I been beaten so badly before. Kumite, indeed.
Now, I want to be clear. When I say Punk rock, I mean the real thing. Do not confuse that music with Thrash or Grunge. While he is a genius and raconteur, Henry Rollins is several steps away from Punk. Black Flag was way too talented to fall into this category.
Patti Smith is punk, but with salad forks. The Clash never got angry enough. No, I am talking about groups like The Vibrators, Suicide Commandos, Nina Hagen, X and The Slits. Notice I stay clear of the Sex Pistols. They may have been viewed as the wholey boys of punk, but, really; what did they contribute? Other than a predilection to heroin, their legacy is mainly the shows they didn’t perform. I do still love “Anarchy In the UK” as it captured the era in a nutshell.
Back to the movie, when I heard from my friend James S, that a film about punk was coming I was thrilled. After all, we’ve never had one that wasn’t a documentary. When he said it would be about Crash and the Germs, I was confused. Other than the fact that they recorded what is considered to be the first punk release in the USA and fact that this sniveling child/man was lucky enough to off himself the day Lennon was killed, I couldn’t think of any reason to remember the group at all. Heck, Pat Smear thought they sucked so badly that he joined Nirvana and, BAM! Cobain does himself in. Thankfully, The Smearminator has not influenced any Foo Fighter to follow suit.
The movie is fine. Although it reminds me of “Back Beat”, it manages to recreate the look and feel of a dump site full of sweaty, stinking bodies, bouncing off of each other in a frenzy of angst and rage against whatever was bothering them at the moment. Also well done was the mimicry of the stars look and action of the people they play. Like “Sid and Nancy”, the protagonists in the film manage to fool you into thinking you are seeing a representation of what the real folks were like and felt or thought. I am not knocking this film from a cinematic standpoint but from a view that there are so many better representations of the music that would make more interesting studies. Make a Patti Smith movie and I’ll see it over and over. Once will do it for me for “What We Do Is Secret and Even hit every point I could make but more articulately.
With very few exceptions, the icons of Punk have gone the way of those in Disco. In fact, each morphed into something different. Punk is the “Star Trek” of music as its tree branches off into a multitude of styles. But its trunk remains the influence of the 60’s. You cannot listen to songs like “anarchy For Sale” and not be reminded of “You Really Got Me.”
Kudos to you, Evan, for reviewing this film. I may think little of the subject group but I do appreciate the retro look into my sordid past. You rock.
on Sep 17 2008 @ 3:06 pm 7. Joey said …
I’m glad you liked this film, I thought it was pretty good and informative and looked beautiful for an indie. I also never heard of The Germs before WWDIS.
And I’m glad you like Speed Racer.
on Sep 18 2008 @ 9:51 am 8. Evan Derrick said …
Maurice, thanks for your thoughts there. (BTW, have you seen Speed Racer yet? Did you love it/hate it?) I really don’t know that much about punk music at all, so I’m glad I didn’t overtly embarrass myself in the review. I actually interviewed the director, Rodger Grossman, and hopefully I’ll have that up within the next day or two.
And Joey, thanks for dropping by. Yes, we SR believers need to stick together.
on Sep 18 2008 @ 1:00 pm 9. Maurice said …
Even, you know I love Jesus and I was going to post a bit about “Speed Racer” but there is so much on there already I felt I couldn’t really add to it. I am not a fan of the original as the whole Racer X thing creeped me out as a teenager. Heck, my favorite cartoon growing up was (and is) “The Herculoids”. That’s how lame I am.
I will say this in passing: “Speed Racer” is so incomprehensible a film that I would suggest popping a peyote button in order to sort it all out in the mind of a first time viewer. My lord, it was like a pinball game. It is one of the few times I staggered from a movie house, so disoriented that I was weaving like Thomas Hearns dids when he fought Marvin Hagler after shotgunning a fifth of Old Crow. I turned to my buddy Jason for help and he was the color of cotton. So, we supported each other out the doors and into the night and said not a word to each other for a week.
How did this film get RELEASED, let alone made? I mean, who wrote this thing. How? HOw, How How HOW did this conveluted mess get a green light? Was it given to them by Matt and Ben? I think it went like this:
Larry: “Dude!”
Andy: “Whoa!”
Larry: “Whoa!”
Andy: “Sweet!”
Larry: “what if took and went…”
Andy:”Like we did in all those “Matrix” movies”
Larry: “Exactly, dude.”
Andy:”Excellent!”
Both; “69, dude!”
Air guitar solos.
Lesson #1: If you’re gonna make a film based on an existing work, use more than the name.
Lesson #2: Don’t ride the coattails of achements you you earned from a previous hit. Do something new.
I am bewildered at the outporing of love and praise for the film on this site. Was there a secret phrase I needed to know? Would 3-D glasses provided a clue? I did not like the film because I did not understand it. That does not make it a bad film. What makes it a bad film is a lack of plot coherence, an anchor for the characters to tie up to and then jump from the boat and swim around. In my stupid opinion. Not to mention dialog that reminded me of the Cage/Jones film “Firebirds.”
That said, Evan, it is time for you to do a readers review month. You have so many excellent writers on this site (G is a fav) and I think you should let some of them review some films on DVD. I like “Secret Gems” as a title for th segmen. I love reading reviews on films I’ve not seen
Two quick things:
1. Christina Ricci has an overly large skull.
2. I suck, but I really love this site
“Go, Speed Racer, go!”
on Sep 19 2008 @ 10:10 am 10. Evan Derrick said …
Well, I did ask for it, so I probably shouldn’t complain that I got your honest, unvarnished opinion.
As to why there’s been so much love for it here, I think my review answers that, although I’m sure you’ve already read it. Sigh. I guess not everyone can love it like I do. I should probably just come to grips with that now.
As to the idea of doing reader reviews, that sounds great. I’ll probably wait on that a bit, as I am exhausted and coordinating another month-long effort right now sounds about as fun as wrestling a rabid badger. But that idea goes into the hopper (along with Uwe Boll month, no need to freak out Colleeny) for future reference.
on Oct 02 2008 @ 7:14 am 11. kAtievAmpire said …
Okay the germs were AMAZING, they were grate and Paul Beahm[Darby Crash] is my hero. He was an amazing guy, But I don’t think tha Shane West is the right guy to play Darby Crash, He trys to hard to be like him, Like he is trying to replace him. Which we can’t. Darby said on his last show “We did this show so you new people could see what it was like when we were around. You’re not going to see it again”. But the germs are around now and thats GRATE but its not the same with out Darby no matter who you put in the band or the movie.
on Nov 20 2010 @ 7:14 pm 12. fragrance outlet said …
This are probably the most outstanding blogs Ive go through in the extremely long term time. The amount of information in at this point is stunning, like you practically wrote the book in the topic. Your weblog is fantastic for any individual who wishes to understand this topic far far more. Fantastic things; please continue to keep it up!
on Aug 26 2011 @ 3:45 pm 13. Royce Rast said …
What a thought provoking article, can I set it up so I get an email every time you publish a new article?