The "fake documentary" technique can
be a useful way for a biopic to cut to the chase, or it can be a cheat. In What
We Do Is Secret—Rodger
Grossman's dramatization of the life and death of The Germs frontman Darby
Crash—it's a little of both. Grossman tells the full Germs story, from
Crash persuading his friend Pat Smear that he had a "five-year plan" for world
domination to Crash overdosing on heroin the night before John Lennon was
murdered. In case anyone misses the point, Grossman inserts scripted
first-person interviews in which his characters tell the audience what The
Germs were about. And in case we miss that, Grossman has the characters converse in the most
pointed way possible, asking each other questions like "Is this what we wanted?"
and making pronouncements like "The Germs are the most unpredictable, the most
chaotic, the least-understood band in L.A."
And yet for all the explanation, the
main problem with What We Do Is Secret is that Grossman fails to adequately convey why The Germs mattered so much. Shane
West makes a convincing Darby Crash, especially when he launches into jittery,
charismatic rants about fascism and youth culture, but like too many biopics
about self-sabotaging musicians, What We Do Is Secret is far more concerned with Crash's
fall than his rise. Granted, in The Germs' case, destructive chaos was a major
part of the act. The band was barred from every major punk club in Los Angeles,
because after a while, their fans would show up expecting to see Crash stumble
around incoherently until a riot broke out. Still, amid the mayhem, The Germs
managed to record an entire album and some singles that are still considered
among the most significant products of the West Coast punk scene.
The context for The Germs'
accomplishments is missing from What We Do Is Secret, as is any legitimate explanation
for Crash's suicidal tendencies. The movie is exciting at times, moving at
times, and watchable throughout, but fans of The Germs and L.A. punk may start
to pine for what's missing around the time Michele Hicks shows up, playing
documentarian Penelope Spheeris. What We Do Is Secret is fine for what it is, but can we
get The Decline Of Western Civilization out on DVD now, please?