In the end, if you weren't already a believer, you're not going to leave with any kind of appreciation for the band's art.
Comment
08/19/08
What We Do Is Secret (2008)
43
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:42
Fresh:18
Rotten:24
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Despite its dynamic subject and reckless anti-glamor, this biopic about the legendary punk rocker Darby Crash fails to translate the excitement its subject generated.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Rodger Grossman’s decade of research led to this gem of movie which looks at the seminal band from the late 70’s LA punk rock scene, the Germs, and their enigmatic lead singer, Darby... [More]
Reviews for What We Do Is Secret
Despite its thorough attention to historical detail and the obvious love of all involved for their shattered subject, What We Do Is Secret is, in the end, awfully sterile for a movie about the Germs.
10/17/08
For all the explanation, the main problem with What We Do Is Secret is that [director] Grossman fails to adequately convey why The Germs mattered so much.
08/08/08
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04/23/09
A low-budget but stylish recreation of the brief life and times of a pioneering LA punk band, What We Do Is Secret is fast and funny enough to make you overlook the fact that you've seen variants of this story before.
08/08/08
Striving to become the definitive word on an explosion of raw musical and philosophical energy, Secret is mostly about lukewarm actors playing dress up, walking around in punk heritage boots they can't stand up straight in.
08/07/08
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.
08/21/08
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.
08/15/08
Top CriticThe best parts of Secret recall Sid and Nancy. The worst evoke the last, inferior A Star Is Born.
08/15/08
The movie does little to elucidate the experiences and suicidal personality of a singer who was more of a poseur than a musician.
08/02/08
It's a shame to see such vibrant material treated in such a routine, nostalgic manner, but the energy of the material and especially of the Germs music occasionally rescues the movie from its unimpressive, superficial stretches.
08/28/08
Not nearly as dramatic or visually captivating as last year's Control ... it does offer an interesting piece of the puzzle from the L.A. hardcore scene that hasn't been explored.
08/05/08
West does an earnest job, but that's the problem: He never conjures Crash's psychotic danger. Neither does this eager, flawed, scrappy biopic.
08/11/08
A thinly dramatized slice of music history better suited for broadcast on an MTV offshoot than cinematic release.
08/08/08
What We Do Is Secret should be kept as anything but a secret.
09/22/07
West is magnetic trying to fill the gaps in the pop psychology insight into how the Germs' brief candle burned out so fast, with performances, "interviews" and flashbacks.
11/01/08
Hits quick, hits hard and never lets go.
09/17/07
Feels distressingly familiar and never quite manages to elevate the material with the sufficient drama to make it of interest to those not already passionate about the subject matter.
08/08/08
The battering live shows prove West's dedication to the role, but as always there's too little insight into both music and musicians and too much period design
09/12/08
High School Musical with needles and dye jobs.
08/28/08
Latest News for What We Do Is Secret
November 03, 2008:
RT on DVD: Get Smart, Futurama: Bender's Game and the Obama DVD Controversy
This week, pick up Steve Carell's sweetly bumbling spy antics (Get Smart), the promising new Futurama movie (Bender's Game), a few early holiday treats (Shrek the Halls, A... More...
October 31, 2008:
The hyperactive emotional landscape begs for psychological insights and cultural revelations that were tied to that historical musical moment. 
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August 22, 2008:
The hyperactive emotional landscape begs for psychological insights and cultural revelations that were tied to that historical musical moment.
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August 10, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
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