West does an earnest job, but that's the problem: He never conjures Crash's psychotic danger. Neither does this eager, flawed, scrappy biopic.
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08/11/08
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What We Do Is Secret (2008)
43
%
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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.
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Reviews for What We Do Is Secret
Top CriticThe hyperactive emotional landscape begs for psychological insights and cultural revelations that were tied to that historical musical moment.
08/11/08
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.
08/08/08
An unsatisfying biopic of the Germs, the seminal LA punkers led by Darby Crash.
08/08/08
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
The reasons behind Crash's death might be the most relevant lesson to be learned from the Germs story, and one can only dream of what a filmmaker like Gus Van Sant might have made from the material.
08/08/08
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
A thinly dramatized slice of music history better suited for broadcast on an MTV offshoot than cinematic release.
08/08/08
A classic example of a biopic not understanding why its subject matters.
08/08/08
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
More amusing than tragic in its depiction of the band's infantile behavior.
08/08/08
Top CriticThe 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.
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
Some non-fans may find here a social document, but most should beware of a high-decibel obscenity assault on the ears -- precisely what that shock rock movement wanted.
08/07/08
While the singer’s descent into heroin abuse is meticulously detailed through exploitative shots of needles puncturing flesh, Crash’s greater emotional decay gets shrugged off with a sad childhood.
08/06/08
What We Do Is Secret is totally hermetic: With a crack crew of set dressers, the entire thing could've been shot in a studio apartment. The London of Crash's fashion-finding trip is identified by putting West in a red UK telephone box.
08/05/08
With all his devotion to getting the story right -- and that's a worthy goal, don't get me wrong -- Grossman never captures the insanity and terror, or for that matter the seductive allure, of nihilist L.A. punk in its early years.
08/05/08
Top CriticNot 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
The amateur vibe suits the subject matter, and the young cast rises to the challenge.
08/04/08
Infused with ragged unpredictability, What We Do Is Secret's wild concerts are its high points.
08/03/08
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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:
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