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What We Do Is Secret
Metascore
54 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
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  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Eric Campos
    80
    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.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Phil Gallo
    80
    Actor Shane West and writer-director Rodger Grossman have a clear, unwavering perspective on Crash that should entice curiosity seekers and old punks.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    75
    Grossman does a workmanlike job with the film, but his direction and script don't really offer any great insight into Darby's tortured soul.
  4. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Pauline Pechin
    75
    The aptly-named Crash is played to a tee by West; in fact, his performance was so believable that he's currently on tour with the reformed Germs as the lead singer.
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Chris Morris
    70
    Ex-Germs infect biopic with punk authenticity
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Michael Ordona
    70
    Grossman bangs out a visceral, energized biopic that captures the vibrant idiocy of punked-out youth and a tortured soul gaining his wish of cult status.
  7. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    What's lacking is a feeling for the heat and deafening chaos of actual club shows. The movie hangs back a little, folds its arms and nods its head, rather than rushing the stage or diving into the mosh pit. The tumult is depicted, not captured.
  8. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Sid Smith
    63
    Like so many earlier movie biographies, Secret suffers from bathetic storytelling and dialogue, some of it laughable.
  9. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    63
    One for the fans, even though writer-director Rodger Grossman and co-writer Michelle Baer Ghaffari labor mightily to spin it into something larger.
  10. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    58
    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.
  11. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    50
    An unsatisfying biopic.
  12. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    50
    Despite a terrific performance from Shane West, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Crash, Secret is a chronology, not a biopic.
  13. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    50
    Shane West does a pretty impressive impersonation of the on-stage antics of Darby Crash...Unfortunately, little else in this clunky, half-baked biopic rings very true.
  14. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    50
    This isn't a boring movie or a dishonest one. But it's a relentlessly literal-minded one, light on vision and atmosphere, that moves through the history of the Germs with a checklist.
  15. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    50
    The movie offers too little of Crash's justly revered lyricism and too much of his self-mutilation and manufactured chaos.
  16. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Philip Kennicott
    50
    You are left with the feeling that either Grossman hasn't done justice to the Germs or the justice they deserved was to spend eternity as a historical footnote.
  17. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    50
    Entertaining if superficial.
  18. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nick Pinkerton
    20
    The worst kind of bastard adaptation, Secret subtracts without adding.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. CandaceT.
    10
    this film stays so true to the story and really makes the audiance feel like they are apart of the circle too. Shane West does a hands down amazing job as Darby… Full Review »
  2. JW.W.
    10
    I recommend the film for both nostalgic and young audiences alike to sneak a peek into the rise of hardcore punk in LA. "Fast forward 29 years. Crash, the infamous Germs singer, has been dead longer than he ever lived, but his mystique lives on in a new movie by Rodger Grossman" --Denise Hamilton… Full Review »
  3. GP
    8
    It's refreshing to see a movie that accurately depicts the punk scene. Also, Shane West's performance is superb!
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