What We Do Is Secret (film)
Encyclopedia
What We Do Is Secret is a 2008 American biographical film
about Darby Crash
, singer of the late-1970s Los Angeles
punk rock
band the Germs. Rodger Grossman directed the film and wrote the screenplay, based on a story he had written with Michelle Baer Ghaffari, a friend of Crash's and co-producer of the film. Shane West
stars as Crash, while Rick Gonzalez
, Bijou Phillips
, and Noah Segan
respectively portray Germs members Pat Smear
, Lorna Doom, and Don Bolles.
The film follows the formation and career of the Germs, focusing on Crash's mysterious "five year plan", his homosexual
relationship with Rob Henley (played by Ashton Holmes
), and his experimentation with heroin, culminating in his December 1980 suicide. The film is titled after the lead track on the Germs' (GI)
album.
There was almost a decade of production of the film, considering how it was beset by changes in production staff and adjustments in casting. Grossman stated that the extended process was "actually a blessing in disguise"; it provided him the chance to conduct “thousands of hours of original interviews,” and the time to come across the film’s lead, Shane West
, an actor he feels “did a masterful job capturing Crash on film.” The film was produced by Rhino Films, Picture Machine, Red Rover Films and King Records as well as being independently produced and financed. The film was released at the Los Angeles Film Festival
on June 23, 2007, and is being distributed theatrically and on video by Peace Arch Entertainment
beginning August 2008.
(Shane West
) grows up in Los Angeles
through a troubled childhood: He does not know his biological father, his mother is an alcoholic
, and his older brother dies from a heroin overdose. He is an avid reader and develops into a "frighteningly intelligent" student at University High School, where his antisocial behavior leads the administration to give him straight A's
if he agrees not to return. In December 1975, at age 17, he proposes to his friend Georg Ruthenberg
(Rick Gonzalez
) that they start a band, showing him potential lyrics and claiming to have a "five year plan" inspired by the David Bowie
song "Five Years
". They recruit Terri Ryan (Bijou Phillips
), Belinda Carlisle
(Lauren German
), and Becky Barton (Amy Halloran
) for the group and con
money for instruments. Jan Paul comes up with the name Germs, representing the germination
of an idea. He sings while Georg plays guitar
, Terri plays bass guitar
, and Becky plays drums
.
The Germs play their first gig April 16, 1977: As they are heckling The Damned outside the Whisky a Go Go
, Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy (Sebastian Roché
) of Slash
magazine suggests that they perform at an open mic
across the street. The Germs give an impropmtu performance of their song "Sex Boy", but do not know how to play their instruments and are heckled by the audience. Jan Paul responds by throwing flour
at them and dipping the microphone in peanut butter
; the band is thrown out but excited by the experience. Jan Paul comes up with pseudonym
s for the members: Georg becomes Pat Smear, Terri becomes Lorna Doom, and Becky becomes Donna Rhia, while Belinda bows out of the band. Jan Paul renames himself Bobby Pyn, but soon changes this to Darby Crash. Becky is soon kicked out and the band goes through a series of replacements. Chris Ashford (Keir O'Donnell
) becomes their manager and presses their "Forming" single
, the first punk rock
single from Los Angeles.
At The Masque
the Germs meet Don Bolles (Noah Segan
), who becomes their new drummer. Darby also meets Rob Henley (Ashton Holmes
), and the two begin a homosexual
relationship. Darby comes up with the Germs' logo, a blue circle, as well as the "Germs burn", a symbolic circular cigarette
burn on the wrist. The Germs build an audience at The Masque and advance to larger venues, playing a chaotic show at the Roosevelt Hotel on October 31, 1978. Tensions mount between Don and Rob over the band's direction, and Darby and Rob begin experimenting with heroin. The Germs appear on Rodney Bingenheimer
(J.P. Manoux
)'s radio program and convince Slash to fund their album, (GI)
. Tensions rise as Rob convinces Darby that Don's drumming is not fast enough, and when a woman named Amber (Missy Doty
) begins doting on Darby and declares herself his manager.
Darby's heroin use increases, as does violence at the Germs' shows, and they are banned from most clubs in Los Angeles. Darby is upset to learn that Don has started a side project. Penelope Spheeris
(Michele Hicks
) features the Germs in her film The Decline of Western Civilization
. The band plays at the Whisky a Go Go on December 23, 1979 under the name GI, for "Germs Incognito", and when Don is late Darby replaces him with Rob. Rob does not know how to play, however, and the show is aborted when the crowd riots. Finding Rob having sex with Gerber (Randi Newton), Darby effectively breaks up the Germs by taking off with Amber to London
for several months, where he becomes a fan of Adam and the Ants
.
Darby returns to Los Angeles with an Adam Ant
-inspired fashion and a tall mohawk
. He enlists Pat for his Darby Crash Band
, then organizes a Germs "farwell show" at the Starwood Club
in December 1980 with Pat, Lorna, and Don. The show goes well, with Darby telling the crowd "This is for the people who wanted to know what it was like when we were around. But this is the only one; you're not gonna see this again." Alone and despondent after the show, he enters into a suicide pact
with Casey Cola (Azura Skye
): The two intentionally overdose on heroin; Casey survives while Darby does not. Pat receives the news as he is watching reports of the assassination of John Lennon. Darby's funeral is sparsely attended, with Pat reading a poem titled "Astrid" that Darby had written near the band's outset.
Additional minor roles were played by Kylan James as The Damned's drummer Rat Scabies
, Chris Pontius
as Black Randy, Randi Newton as Germs fan Gerber, Anna Waronker
as Joan Jett
, Giddle Partridge as Dinah Cancer
of Vox Pop and 45 Grave
, and John Westernoff as Nickey Beat.
Two Los Angeles punk rock
bands of the 2000s perform in the film as bands of the late 1970s. The Mae Shi
perform as The Screamers
in The Masque scene, playing a cover version
of the Germs' "Sex Boy" with Rich Moreno playing the role of Tomata du Plenty
. The Bronx
perform as Black Flag
, opening for the Darby Crash Band by performing "Police Story". The Bronx members Matt Caughthran
, Joby J. Ford, James Tweedy, and Jorma Vik respectively play the roles of Black Flag members Dez Cadena
, Greg Ginn
, Chuck Dukowski
, and Robo.
' The Decline of Western Civilization
and the punk rock scene of Los Angeles, AFI Film School graduate and LA native Rodger Grossman, set out to create an authentic story about the formative years of The Germs.
Although The Germs project experienced several setbacks and false starts over a nine-year period, Grossman stayed committed to the film and ultimately cast Shane West as Darby Crash. West’s strong connection to the material, along with his own experience as the lead singer of a punk band, convinced Grossman to choose West over many other contenders. Grossman cast Bjiou Phillips, who was seventeen years old at the time, to play Lorna Doom. Phillips stayed committed to the project for the entire time it took to bring the film into production.
Pat Smear (the original guitar player in the band), who ultimately became a member of Nirvana, the Foo Fighters and many other bands, was the music producer for the film. With the exception of Phillips, who played guitar (but not bass guitar), and West, who had experience as a singer, none of the other cast members had ever played musical instruments. Intent on making the music in his film sound authentic, Grossman asked Smear to help his actors learn to play their instruments. Smear rehearsed with the band and produced all the pre-recordings that were used in the movie, utilizing the other original members of the Germs, Bolles and Doom. The new band of actors slowly came together. Pat Smear said: "These kids will be as good as we were when we were bad…which is good enough." Smear went on to affectionately refer to the cast as the "Baby Germs." The music in the film was recorded during pre-production, used by the cast as synch tracks during production, and finally married with West’s live vocals, which were recorded on-set. Pat Smear also produced the recordings of the other bands that perform in the movie—the Mae Shi performed as The Screamers
, and The Bronx
performed as Black Flag
.
The film was shot on location in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
, primarily at Occidental Studios, where Charlie Chaplin
and Mary Pickford
once made movies. The film was shot guerrilla-style in a total of twenty-one days and in three production periods over a two year period.
All wardrobe and makeup was supervised by Michelle Baer-Ghaffari, a friend of Darby’s, to ensure authenticity.
Grossman used multiple camera positions to convey the significance of the band in relation to the audience. For example, in a scene depicting one of the band’s first shows, the camera looks down on Darby, suggesting the lackluster effect that the band had on the audience. As the film progresses, Grossman changes the camera’s position to make the stage higher relative to the audience, illustrating the control Darby had over his audience.
After a stressful false start in production, the cast and crew held a wrap party to celebrate the un-shot film. At the party the actors who portrayed the band (the Baby Germs) entertained the crew by playing a few of The Germs’ tracks on stage. Then the original Germs, who were in attendance, joined the Baby Germs on stage. The Baby Germs handed their instruments over to the original Germs, who continued to jam with West on vocals. The result was an unexpected Germs reunion with Shane West as front man.
Heather Mallow, a personal friend of Mr. Grossman, was chosen and played the role of Darby's mother who was briefly discussed during one of the more documentary sequences during the start of the movie.
reports that 45% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 44 reviews, with an average score of 5.3 out of 10 making the film a "certified rotten" on the website's rating system. On Metacritic
it has a weighted score of 54 out of 100, based on 18 critics, which it ranks as "Mixed to Average Reviews".
Although the film received Mixed Critical Reviews many critics praised Shane West's Performance as Darby Crash many have even noted that West bears a strong resemblance to Crash. David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle
spoke highly of West saying that even though some of the supporting performances such a Bijou Phillips
and Rick Gonzalez
, are very strong, it is Shane West who lifts the film to a whole other level. Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer said that West had a terrific performance and noted he also bears an uncanny resemblance to Darby Crash. Nora Lee Mandel from Film-Forward.com said that West is magnetic trying to fill the gaps in the pop psychology insight into how the Germs' brief candle burned out so fast. John Hartl from the Seattle Times said that While What We Do Is Secret may not be remembered for much more than West's performance, it's an impersonation worth saluting. Phil Gallo from
Variety
praised both West and Gross man saying Actor Shane West and writer-director Rodger Grossman have a clear, unwavering perspective on Crash that should entice curiosity seekers and old punks. Pauline Pechin from Premiere
thought that West played Darby Crash to a tee and kept on saying in fact, his performance was so believable that he's currently on tour with the reformed Germs as the lead singer. Ken Fink from TV Guide
said Shane West does a pretty impressive impersonation of the on-stage antics of Darby Crash.
Some critics also praised some of the supporting actors' performances as well as the cast performances as a whole. This was seen with Jim Emerson from the Chicago Sun-Times
review with him saying "Where What We Do Is Secret succeeds is in the performances which sometimes expose a stilted, amateurish strain that's oddly in tune with the characters' D.I.Y. aesthetic." Sara Cardance of New York Magazine said "The amateur vibe suits the subject matter, and the young cast rises to the challenge." Eric Campos from Film Threat
said that "These actors and many more make What We Do Is Secret an absolute blast to watch and they do an undeniably perfect job of recreating this notorious scene."
also performs the Black Flag
song "Police Story". Additional songs used in the film that do not appear on the soundtrack album include:
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
about Darby Crash
Darby Crash
Darby Crash was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear , co-founded The Germs...
, singer of the late-1970s Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band the Germs. Rodger Grossman directed the film and wrote the screenplay, based on a story he had written with Michelle Baer Ghaffari, a friend of Crash's and co-producer of the film. Shane West
Shane West
Shane West is an American actor, musician and songwriter. West is best known for portraying Eli Sammler in Once and Again, Landon Carter with Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember, Darby Crash in What We Do Is Secret, and Dr...
stars as Crash, while Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture Coach Carter, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW supernatural drama television series Reaper.-Early life:...
, Bijou Phillips
Bijou Phillips
Bijou Lilly Phillips is an American actress, model, and singer. Phillips began her career as a model but soon transitioned herself into acting and singing. When she was 13, she started as a model and became one of the youngest people to grace the cover of Interview Magazine and Italian Vogue....
, and Noah Segan
Noah Segan
-Acting career:He has appeared in Brick, Adam & Steve, What We Do Is Secret , The Picture of Dorian Gray, Cabin Fever 2, All About Evil, an award-winning performance in Deadgirl, Chain Letter and others...
respectively portray Germs members Pat Smear
Pat Smear
Pat Smear is a rock musician who has been a guitarist in several well-known bands including The Germs and Nirvana. He is currently a guitarist for the Foo Fighters...
, Lorna Doom, and Don Bolles.
The film follows the formation and career of the Germs, focusing on Crash's mysterious "five year plan", his homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
relationship with Rob Henley (played by Ashton Holmes
Ashton Holmes
Ashton Holmes is an American film and television actor, best known for the role of Jack Stall in A History of Violence and Private Sidney Phillips in the HBO miniseries The Pacific. He currently appears as Tyler Barrol on the ABC drama series Revenge.-Personal life:Holmes was born in Albany, New...
), and his experimentation with heroin, culminating in his December 1980 suicide. The film is titled after the lead track on the Germs' (GI)
(GI)
is the only studio album from American punk band The Germs. The title stands for "Germs Incognito", an alternate name the band used to obtain bookings when their early reputation kept them out of Los Angeles-area clubs...
album.
There was almost a decade of production of the film, considering how it was beset by changes in production staff and adjustments in casting. Grossman stated that the extended process was "actually a blessing in disguise"; it provided him the chance to conduct “thousands of hours of original interviews,” and the time to come across the film’s lead, Shane West
Shane West
Shane West is an American actor, musician and songwriter. West is best known for portraying Eli Sammler in Once and Again, Landon Carter with Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember, Darby Crash in What We Do Is Secret, and Dr...
, an actor he feels “did a masterful job capturing Crash on film.” The film was produced by Rhino Films, Picture Machine, Red Rover Films and King Records as well as being independently produced and financed. The film was released at the Los Angeles Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
on June 23, 2007, and is being distributed theatrically and on video by Peace Arch Entertainment
Peace Arch Entertainment
Peace Arch Entertainment is a Canadian motion picture and television production company based in Toronto, Canada with offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver...
beginning August 2008.
Plot
Jan Paul BeahmDarby Crash
Darby Crash was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear , co-founded The Germs...
(Shane West
Shane West
Shane West is an American actor, musician and songwriter. West is best known for portraying Eli Sammler in Once and Again, Landon Carter with Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember, Darby Crash in What We Do Is Secret, and Dr...
) grows up in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
through a troubled childhood: He does not know his biological father, his mother is an alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, and his older brother dies from a heroin overdose. He is an avid reader and develops into a "frighteningly intelligent" student at University High School, where his antisocial behavior leads the administration to give him straight A's
Academic grading in the United States
Academic grading in the United States most commonly takes on the form of five letter grades. Historically, the grades were A, B, C, D, and F—A being the highest and F, denoting failure, the lowest. In the mid-twentieth century, many American educational institutions—especially in the Midwest —began...
if he agrees not to return. In December 1975, at age 17, he proposes to his friend Georg Ruthenberg
Pat Smear
Pat Smear is a rock musician who has been a guitarist in several well-known bands including The Germs and Nirvana. He is currently a guitarist for the Foo Fighters...
(Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture Coach Carter, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW supernatural drama television series Reaper.-Early life:...
) that they start a band, showing him potential lyrics and claiming to have a "five year plan" inspired by the David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
song "Five Years
Five Years
"Five Years" is a song written by David Bowie and released in 1972. It was the opening track on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars....
". They recruit Terri Ryan (Bijou Phillips
Bijou Phillips
Bijou Lilly Phillips is an American actress, model, and singer. Phillips began her career as a model but soon transitioned herself into acting and singing. When she was 13, she started as a model and became one of the youngest people to grace the cover of Interview Magazine and Italian Vogue....
), Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
(Lauren German
Lauren German
Lauren Christine German is an American actress, known for her role as the hitchhiker in the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as for starring in the 2007 film Hostel: Part II, in which she plays one of the lead characters...
), and Becky Barton (Amy Halloran
Amy Halloran
Amy Halloran is an American actress.Born in Massachusetts, she is known for her role as Ronnie in Disney Channel's original movie Go Figure.-External links:...
) for the group and con
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
money for instruments. Jan Paul comes up with the name Germs, representing the germination
Germination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
of an idea. He sings while Georg plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Terri plays bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Becky plays drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
.
The Germs play their first gig April 16, 1977: As they are heckling The Damned outside the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
, Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy (Sebastian Roché
Sebastian Roché
- Early life :Roché was born in Paris, France, on August 4, 1964; he is of Scottish and French ancestry. He is also fluent in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Italian. On General Hospital, he spoke in Russian, Spanish and French, and on the pilot episode of Odyssey 5, he spoke in French...
) of Slash
Slash (fanzine)
Slash was a punk rock-related fanzine published in the United States from 1977 to 1980.The magazine was a large-format tabloid focused on the Los Angeles punk scene, though it did not restrict itself to local acts: its first cover featured Dave Vanian of The Damned. It regularly covered such L.A....
magazine suggests that they perform at an open mic
Open mike
An open mike or open mic is a live show where audience members may perform at the microphone. Usually, the performers sign up in advance for a time slot with the host or master of ceremonies. These events can be focused on poetry and the spoken word, music, comedy, and the open format of open...
across the street. The Germs give an impropmtu performance of their song "Sex Boy", but do not know how to play their instruments and are heckled by the audience. Jan Paul responds by throwing flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
at them and dipping the microphone in peanut butter
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
; the band is thrown out but excited by the experience. Jan Paul comes up with pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s for the members: Georg becomes Pat Smear, Terri becomes Lorna Doom, and Becky becomes Donna Rhia, while Belinda bows out of the band. Jan Paul renames himself Bobby Pyn, but soon changes this to Darby Crash. Becky is soon kicked out and the band goes through a series of replacements. Chris Ashford (Keir O'Donnell
Keir O'Donnell
Keir O'Donnell is an Australian actor best known for his roles in the comedy films Wedding Crashers and Paul Blart: Mall Cop...
) becomes their manager and presses their "Forming" single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, the first punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
single from Los Angeles.
At The Masque
The Masque
The Masque was a small punk rock club in central Hollywood, California which existed intermittently from 1977 to 1979. It is remembered as a key part of the early L.A. punk scene.-History:...
the Germs meet Don Bolles (Noah Segan
Noah Segan
-Acting career:He has appeared in Brick, Adam & Steve, What We Do Is Secret , The Picture of Dorian Gray, Cabin Fever 2, All About Evil, an award-winning performance in Deadgirl, Chain Letter and others...
), who becomes their new drummer. Darby also meets Rob Henley (Ashton Holmes
Ashton Holmes
Ashton Holmes is an American film and television actor, best known for the role of Jack Stall in A History of Violence and Private Sidney Phillips in the HBO miniseries The Pacific. He currently appears as Tyler Barrol on the ABC drama series Revenge.-Personal life:Holmes was born in Albany, New...
), and the two begin a homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
relationship. Darby comes up with the Germs' logo, a blue circle, as well as the "Germs burn", a symbolic circular cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
burn on the wrist. The Germs build an audience at The Masque and advance to larger venues, playing a chaotic show at the Roosevelt Hotel on October 31, 1978. Tensions mount between Don and Rob over the band's direction, and Darby and Rob begin experimenting with heroin. The Germs appear on Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
(J.P. Manoux
J.P. Manoux
Jean-Paul Christophe Manoux is an American actor.-Life and career:Manoux is the oldest of seven and a native of Fresno, California. He is perhaps best known for his work in multiple Disney series: as S.T.A.N...
)'s radio program and convince Slash to fund their album, (GI)
(GI)
is the only studio album from American punk band The Germs. The title stands for "Germs Incognito", an alternate name the band used to obtain bookings when their early reputation kept them out of Los Angeles-area clubs...
. Tensions rise as Rob convinces Darby that Don's drumming is not fast enough, and when a woman named Amber (Missy Doty
Missy Doty
Missy Doty is an American actress. She grew up in Springdale, Ohio and graduated from Princeton High School in 1990. She also attended Stephens College where she received a BFA in Musical Theater.-Professional:...
) begins doting on Darby and declares herself his manager.
Darby's heroin use increases, as does violence at the Germs' shows, and they are banned from most clubs in Los Angeles. Darby is upset to learn that Don has started a side project. Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...
(Michele Hicks
Michele Hicks
Michele Hicks is an American screen actress and former fashion model who has worked in both film and television. On television, Hicks's appearances include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: NY, Cold Case, The Shield and Heist...
) features the Germs in her film The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The soundtrack was released in December 1980 by Slash Records on LP. In the late 1990s it was released on CD as well. It is currently out of print. Germs singer Darby Crash appears on the soundtrack album cover. He died shortly before the film was released, though the promotional images for the...
. The band plays at the Whisky a Go Go on December 23, 1979 under the name GI, for "Germs Incognito", and when Don is late Darby replaces him with Rob. Rob does not know how to play, however, and the show is aborted when the crowd riots. Finding Rob having sex with Gerber (Randi Newton), Darby effectively breaks up the Germs by taking off with Amber to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for several months, where he becomes a fan of Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
.
Darby returns to Los Angeles with an Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
-inspired fashion and a tall mohawk
Mohawk hairstyle
The mohawk is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair...
. He enlists Pat for his Darby Crash Band
Darby Crash Band
The Darby Crash Band was a music project started by Darby Crash and Pat Smear, founding members of the Los Angeles punk rock band, The Germs, formed after the band split in 1980. They recruited bassist David "Bosco" Danford and Circle Jerks drummer Lucky Lehrer and began playing shows in Los Angeles...
, then organizes a Germs "farwell show" at the Starwood Club
Starwood Club
The Starwood Night Club was a popular club in West Hollywood, California from early in 1972 to late 1981. Many punk bands and heavy metal bands started their careers playing at the Starwood....
in December 1980 with Pat, Lorna, and Don. The show goes well, with Darby telling the crowd "This is for the people who wanted to know what it was like when we were around. But this is the only one; you're not gonna see this again." Alone and despondent after the show, he enters into a suicide pact
Suicide pact
A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to commit suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed. Suicide pacts are important concepts in the study of suicide, and have occurred throughout history, as well as in fiction.Suicide pacts are generally...
with Casey Cola (Azura Skye
Azura Skye
Azura Skye is an American actress who first gained recognition for her role as Jane on The WB television sitcom, Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane...
): The two intentionally overdose on heroin; Casey survives while Darby does not. Pat receives the news as he is watching reports of the assassination of John Lennon. Darby's funeral is sparsely attended, with Pat reading a poem titled "Astrid" that Darby had written near the band's outset.
Cast
- Shane WestShane WestShane West is an American actor, musician and songwriter. West is best known for portraying Eli Sammler in Once and Again, Landon Carter with Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember, Darby Crash in What We Do Is Secret, and Dr...
as Darby CrashDarby CrashDarby Crash was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear , co-founded The Germs...
, the leader and singer of the Germs. The film focuses on Darby and his mysterious "five year plan", about which he gives only cryptic answers. The young Darby in the film's opening scenes is played by Jonathan Milliken. - Bijou PhillipsBijou PhillipsBijou Lilly Phillips is an American actress, model, and singer. Phillips began her career as a model but soon transitioned herself into acting and singing. When she was 13, she started as a model and became one of the youngest people to grace the cover of Interview Magazine and Italian Vogue....
as Lorna Doom, the Germs' bassistBassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and a close friend of Darby's. - Rick GonzalezRick GonzalezRick Gonzalez is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture Coach Carter, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW supernatural drama television series Reaper.-Early life:...
as Pat SmearPat SmearPat Smear is a rock musician who has been a guitarist in several well-known bands including The Germs and Nirvana. He is currently a guitarist for the Foo Fighters...
, the Germs' guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. He and Darby found the Germs together as high school friends, and he later also joins the short-lived Darby Crash BandDarby Crash BandThe Darby Crash Band was a music project started by Darby Crash and Pat Smear, founding members of the Los Angeles punk rock band, The Germs, formed after the band split in 1980. They recruited bassist David "Bosco" Danford and Circle Jerks drummer Lucky Lehrer and began playing shows in Los Angeles...
. - Noah SeganNoah Segan-Acting career:He has appeared in Brick, Adam & Steve, What We Do Is Secret , The Picture of Dorian Gray, Cabin Fever 2, All About Evil, an award-winning performance in Deadgirl, Chain Letter and others...
as Don Bolles, the Germs' most consistent drummerDrummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. He is accepted into the band after driving all the way from Arizona to join them and demonstrating considerable musical skill. - Ashton HolmesAshton HolmesAshton Holmes is an American film and television actor, best known for the role of Jack Stall in A History of Violence and Private Sidney Phillips in the HBO miniseries The Pacific. He currently appears as Tyler Barrol on the ABC drama series Revenge.-Personal life:Holmes was born in Albany, New...
as Rob Henley, Darby's homosexualHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
partner who longs to be the Germs' drummer and thus vies with Don for Darby's approval. - Tina MajorinoTina MajorinoTina Marie Majorino is an American film and television actress. She started her career as a child actor, starring in films such as Andre; When a Man Loves a Woman; Corrina, Corrina; and Waterworld...
as Michelle Baer Ghaffari, a close friend of Darby and the band. The real Baer Ghaffari was briefly the Germs' drummer, and co-wrote the story for What We Do Is Secret with director Rodger Grossman. - Lauren GermanLauren GermanLauren Christine German is an American actress, known for her role as the hitchhiker in the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as for starring in the 2007 film Hostel: Part II, in which she plays one of the lead characters...
as Belinda CarlisleBelinda CarlisleBelinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
, who is briefly a formative member of the Germs but bows out due to a fear of performing. In reality Carlisle was briefly instated as the Germs' drummer, using the pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Dottie Danger, but never actually played with the band due to a bout of mononucleosisInfectious mononucleosisInfectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
. She was replaced by Becky Barton and went on to front The Go-Go'sThe Go-Go'sThe Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
and become a solo artist. German had previously worked with West in the 2002 film A Walk to Remember. - Keir O'DonnellKeir O'DonnellKeir O'Donnell is an Australian actor best known for his roles in the comedy films Wedding Crashers and Paul Blart: Mall Cop...
as Chris Ashford, the Germs' manager. He reads Darby's lyrics while working at the record store Licorice Pizza and is impressed enough to manage the band, helping to get their debut singleSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Forming" pressed and negotiating gigs for them at The MasqueThe MasqueThe Masque was a small punk rock club in central Hollywood, California which existed intermittently from 1977 to 1979. It is remembered as a key part of the early L.A. punk scene.-History:...
. - Sebastian RochéSebastian Roché- Early life :Roché was born in Paris, France, on August 4, 1964; he is of Scottish and French ancestry. He is also fluent in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Italian. On General Hospital, he spoke in Russian, Spanish and French, and on the pilot episode of Odyssey 5, he spoke in French...
as Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy, a music journalist for SlashSlash (fanzine)Slash was a punk rock-related fanzine published in the United States from 1977 to 1980.The magazine was a large-format tabloid focused on the Los Angeles punk scene, though it did not restrict itself to local acts: its first cover featured Dave Vanian of The Damned. It regularly covered such L.A....
who becomes an avid supporter of the Germs. - Azura SkyeAzura SkyeAzura Skye is an American actress who first gained recognition for her role as Jane on The WB television sitcom, Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane...
as Casey Cola, who takes Darby in after his return from London and enters into a suicide pactSuicide pactA suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to commit suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed. Suicide pacts are important concepts in the study of suicide, and have occurred throughout history, as well as in fiction.Suicide pacts are generally...
with him, though she survives the attempt. - Ozzy Benn as Captain SensibleCaptain SensibleCaptain Sensible is a singer, songwriter, guitarist who grew up in Croydon, England, and co-founded the punk rock band The Damned in 1976. After leaving the band, he reinvented himself as an alternative pop singer with a rebellious, self-conscious image...
, bassist for The Damned. - Christopher Boyd as Dave Vanian, singer for The Damned. Sensible and Vanian are heckled by the Germs outside The WhiskyWhisky a Go GoThe Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
and are present for their first live performance. - Missy DotyMissy DotyMissy Doty is an American actress. She grew up in Springdale, Ohio and graduated from Princeton High School in 1990. She also attended Stephens College where she received a BFA in Musical Theater.-Professional:...
as Amber, a middle-aged woman who dotes on Darby and becomes his manager, to the detestment of the other band members. - Amy HalloranAmy HalloranAmy Halloran is an American actress.Born in Massachusetts, she is known for her role as Ronnie in Disney Channel's original movie Go Figure.-External links:...
as Becky Barton/Donna Rhia, the Germs' original drummer. In reality Barton replaced the ill Belinda Carlisle, played three shows with the Germs, and played on the "Forming" single. - Michele HicksMichele HicksMichele Hicks is an American screen actress and former fashion model who has worked in both film and television. On television, Hicks's appearances include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: NY, Cold Case, The Shield and Heist...
as Penelope SpheerisPenelope SpheerisPenelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...
, a documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
director who features the Germs in The Decline of Western CivilizationThe Decline of Western CivilizationThe soundtrack was released in December 1980 by Slash Records on LP. In the late 1990s it was released on CD as well. It is currently out of print. Germs singer Darby Crash appears on the soundtrack album cover. He died shortly before the film was released, though the promotional images for the...
. - J.P. ManouxJ.P. ManouxJean-Paul Christophe Manoux is an American actor.-Life and career:Manoux is the oldest of seven and a native of Fresno, California. He is perhaps best known for his work in multiple Disney series: as S.T.A.N...
as Rodney BingenheimerRodney BingenheimerRodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
, a KROQ-FMKROQ-FMKROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
disc jockeyDisc jockeyA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
who features the Germs on his program "Rodney on the ROQ". - Ray ParkRay ParkRaymond Park is a Scottish actor, stuntman and martial artist, best known for his playing the physical part of Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Toad in X-Men, Snake-Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Edgar on Heroes.-Early life:Park was born in Glasgow, Scotland...
as Brendan MullenBrendan MullenBrendan Mullen was born in Paisley, Scotland and moved to Manchester, England when he was 8. He spent his early teen years writing for various British music magazines. In 1973, Mullen moved to the United States where he remained for the remainder of his life. Mullen had just started working toward...
, manager of The Masque who allows the Germs to play there and later books them at the Roosevelt Hotel.
Additional minor roles were played by Kylan James as The Damned's drummer Rat Scabies
Rat Scabies
Christopher Millar , better known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known for his tenure as the drummer for The Damned....
, Chris Pontius
Chris Pontius
Christopher Andrew "Chris" Pontius is an American entertainer and daredevil. Pontius is a member of Jackass, and along with Steve-O, was the co-host of Wildboyz.-Life and career:...
as Black Randy, Randi Newton as Germs fan Gerber, Anna Waronker
Anna Waronker
Anna Jeanette Waronker is a singer/songwriter, composer, and producer best known as the former frontwoman of That Dog. She is the daughter of producer Lenny Waronker and actress/musician Donna Loren, the sister of session drummer Joey Waronker, and is married to Steven Shane McDonald of Redd...
as Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
, Giddle Partridge as Dinah Cancer
Dinah Cancer
Dinah Cancer is the stage name of Mary Simms. She is a vocalist, best known for her band 45 Grave, one of the founders of the genre of music known as "deathrock".-Biography:...
of Vox Pop and 45 Grave
45 Grave
45 Grave are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985 but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. 45 Grave are noted as one of the first bands to mix punk rock with horror-themed lyrics, thereby positioning them as...
, and John Westernoff as Nickey Beat.
Two Los Angeles punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands of the 2000s perform in the film as bands of the late 1970s. The Mae Shi
The Mae Shi
The Mae Shi are an experimental punk band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002.-History:The band was formed by Tim Byron and Ezra Buchla, who had known each other for years, having spent time growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of Claremont together—Jeff Byron and Buchla were classmates at...
perform as The Screamers
The Screamers
The Screamers were a punk rock group active in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1970s. The Screamers were pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk," and can also be classified as art punk....
in The Masque scene, playing a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Germs' "Sex Boy" with Rich Moreno playing the role of Tomata du Plenty
Tomata du Plenty
David Xavier Harrigan, aka Tomata du Plenty the singer of the late 1970s Los Angeles synthpunk band The Screamers. He was also founder of Seattle's counterculture troupe Ze Whiz Kidz...
. The Bronx
The Bronx (band)
The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...
perform as Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
, opening for the Darby Crash Band by performing "Police Story". The Bronx members Matt Caughthran
Matt Caughthran
Matt Caughthran is an American singer, best known as the frontman for Los Angeles based punk band The Bronx. In addition to The Bronx, Caughthran is involved in a side project, The Drips. Caughthran has also recorded a number of tracks with Bullet Treatment which can be found on the What More Do...
, Joby J. Ford, James Tweedy, and Jorma Vik respectively play the roles of Black Flag members Dez Cadena
Dez Cadena
Dez Paul Cadena is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag. Since 2001 Cadena has played guitar with the Misfits...
, Greg Ginn
Greg Ginn
Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
, Chuck Dukowski
Chuck Dukowski
Chuck Dukowski is an American punk rock musician, best known as a founding member and bass player for Black Flag. Dukowski wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "What I See," "I've Heard It Before" and "Spray Paint." He left the band before the release of My War, and...
, and Robo.
Development and production
Inspired by Penelope SpheerisPenelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...
' The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The soundtrack was released in December 1980 by Slash Records on LP. In the late 1990s it was released on CD as well. It is currently out of print. Germs singer Darby Crash appears on the soundtrack album cover. He died shortly before the film was released, though the promotional images for the...
and the punk rock scene of Los Angeles, AFI Film School graduate and LA native Rodger Grossman, set out to create an authentic story about the formative years of The Germs.
Although The Germs project experienced several setbacks and false starts over a nine-year period, Grossman stayed committed to the film and ultimately cast Shane West as Darby Crash. West’s strong connection to the material, along with his own experience as the lead singer of a punk band, convinced Grossman to choose West over many other contenders. Grossman cast Bjiou Phillips, who was seventeen years old at the time, to play Lorna Doom. Phillips stayed committed to the project for the entire time it took to bring the film into production.
Pat Smear (the original guitar player in the band), who ultimately became a member of Nirvana, the Foo Fighters and many other bands, was the music producer for the film. With the exception of Phillips, who played guitar (but not bass guitar), and West, who had experience as a singer, none of the other cast members had ever played musical instruments. Intent on making the music in his film sound authentic, Grossman asked Smear to help his actors learn to play their instruments. Smear rehearsed with the band and produced all the pre-recordings that were used in the movie, utilizing the other original members of the Germs, Bolles and Doom. The new band of actors slowly came together. Pat Smear said: "These kids will be as good as we were when we were bad…which is good enough." Smear went on to affectionately refer to the cast as the "Baby Germs." The music in the film was recorded during pre-production, used by the cast as synch tracks during production, and finally married with West’s live vocals, which were recorded on-set. Pat Smear also produced the recordings of the other bands that perform in the movie—the Mae Shi performed as The Screamers
The Screamers
The Screamers were a punk rock group active in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1970s. The Screamers were pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk," and can also be classified as art punk....
, and The Bronx
The Bronx (band)
The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...
performed as Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
.
The film was shot on location in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Silver Lake is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class.The...
, primarily at Occidental Studios, where Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
and Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
once made movies. The film was shot guerrilla-style in a total of twenty-one days and in three production periods over a two year period.
All wardrobe and makeup was supervised by Michelle Baer-Ghaffari, a friend of Darby’s, to ensure authenticity.
Grossman used multiple camera positions to convey the significance of the band in relation to the audience. For example, in a scene depicting one of the band’s first shows, the camera looks down on Darby, suggesting the lackluster effect that the band had on the audience. As the film progresses, Grossman changes the camera’s position to make the stage higher relative to the audience, illustrating the control Darby had over his audience.
After a stressful false start in production, the cast and crew held a wrap party to celebrate the un-shot film. At the party the actors who portrayed the band (the Baby Germs) entertained the crew by playing a few of The Germs’ tracks on stage. Then the original Germs, who were in attendance, joined the Baby Germs on stage. The Baby Germs handed their instruments over to the original Germs, who continued to jam with West on vocals. The result was an unexpected Germs reunion with Shane West as front man.
Heather Mallow, a personal friend of Mr. Grossman, was chosen and played the role of Darby's mother who was briefly discussed during one of the more documentary sequences during the start of the movie.
Reception
What We Do is Secret received Mixed Reviews. Review aggregate Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 45% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 44 reviews, with an average score of 5.3 out of 10 making the film a "certified rotten" on the website's rating system. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
it has a weighted score of 54 out of 100, based on 18 critics, which it ranks as "Mixed to Average Reviews".
Although the film received Mixed Critical Reviews many critics praised Shane West's Performance as Darby Crash many have even noted that West bears a strong resemblance to Crash. David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
spoke highly of West saying that even though some of the supporting performances such a Bijou Phillips
Bijou Phillips
Bijou Lilly Phillips is an American actress, model, and singer. Phillips began her career as a model but soon transitioned herself into acting and singing. When she was 13, she started as a model and became one of the youngest people to grace the cover of Interview Magazine and Italian Vogue....
and Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture Coach Carter, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW supernatural drama television series Reaper.-Early life:...
, are very strong, it is Shane West who lifts the film to a whole other level. Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer said that West had a terrific performance and noted he also bears an uncanny resemblance to Darby Crash. Nora Lee Mandel from Film-Forward.com said that West is magnetic trying to fill the gaps in the pop psychology insight into how the Germs' brief candle burned out so fast. John Hartl from the Seattle Times said that While What We Do Is Secret may not be remembered for much more than West's performance, it's an impersonation worth saluting. Phil Gallo from
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
praised both West and Gross man saying Actor Shane West and writer-director Rodger Grossman have a clear, unwavering perspective on Crash that should entice curiosity seekers and old punks. Pauline Pechin from Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
thought that West played Darby Crash to a tee and kept on saying in fact, his performance was so believable that he's currently on tour with the reformed Germs as the lead singer. Ken Fink from TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
said Shane West does a pretty impressive impersonation of the on-stage antics of Darby Crash.
Some critics also praised some of the supporting actors' performances as well as the cast performances as a whole. This was seen with Jim Emerson from the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
review with him saying "Where What We Do Is Secret succeeds is in the performances which sometimes expose a stilted, amateurish strain that's oddly in tune with the characters' D.I.Y. aesthetic." Sara Cardance of New York Magazine said "The amateur vibe suits the subject matter, and the young cast rises to the challenge." Eric Campos from Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
said that "These actors and many more make What We Do Is Secret an absolute blast to watch and they do an undeniably perfect job of recreating this notorious scene."
Soundtrack album
In addition to "Forming", which appears on the soundtrack album, the team of Shane West, Bijou Phillips, Lukas Haas, and Michael LeBlanc also perform the Germs songs "Circle One", "Lexicon Devil", "Richie Dagger's Crime", "Shut Down (Annihilation Man)", and "Lion's Share" in the film. The BronxThe Bronx (band)
The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...
also performs the Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
song "Police Story". Additional songs used in the film that do not appear on the soundtrack album include:
- "We Must Bleed" and "What We Do Is Secret" by the Germs, written by Darby Crash and Pat Smear
- "Queen BitchQueen Bitch"Queen Bitch" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. Bowie was a great Velvet Underground fan and wrote the song in tribute to the band and Lou Reed...
", written and performed by David Bowie - "Neat Neat NeatNeat Neat Neat"Neat Neat Neat" was the second single by The Damned, released simultaneously with their debut album Damned Damned Damned.The single was reissued in Stiff's mail order Damned 4 Pack mail-order set...
" by The Damned, written by Brian James - "Taliban", written and performed by Paul Roessler
- "Gidget Goes to Hell" by Suburban LawnsSuburban LawnsThe brainchild of CalArts students William "Vex Billingsgate" Ranson and Sue "Su Tissue" McLane, Suburban Lawns formed in Long Beach, California in 1978 out of the ashes of previous incarnations Art Attack and The Fabulons, recruiting Huntington Beach natives Richard "Frankie Ennui" Whitney and...
, written by William Ranson and Richard Whitney - "Adult Books" by X, written by John Doe and Exene Cervenka
- "Righteous Dub" by Mad ProfessorMad ProfessorMad Professor is a dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He is a prolific producer, contributing to or...
, written by Neil Fraser - "Just Like You" by Vox Pop, written by Don Bolles
- "New Dawn Fades" by Joy DivisionJoy DivisionJoy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
, written by Ian CurtisIan CurtisIan Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...
, Peter HookPeter HookPeter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
, Stephen Morris, and Bernard SumnerBernard SumnerBernard Sumner , also known as Bernard Dickin, Bernard Dicken and Bernard Albrecht is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer.... - "Bloodstains" by Agent OrangeAgent Orange (band)Agent Orange is an American punk rock band formed in Orange County, California in 1979. The band is one of the first to mix punk rock with surf music. They first gained attention with their song "Bloodstains" which they released on their own 7" E.P. An early demo of the song was presented to...
, written by Mike Palm