still, this is a good flick
Added 9/23/2009
i know there are those----probably correct---in saying this movie was not what it could and should have been. still, this is a good flick. i think it captures the KIND of kids who liked punk as fans and performers and gravitated towards it as a means of self expression, originality and as a way of having something of their own that most in their own generation didn't even acknowledge. i remember talking to my classmates in 77, 78 about the ramones, clash, pistols, etc. and getting looks like i was from another planet. punk was, as it says in this film, for those inside the circle.
the one thing i didn't care for was that a lot of the germs' best songs were left off---"american leather" still sounds fresh and dangerous even today------and i still think crash was under appreciated as a vocal stylist. i remember getting this album and thinking, "so, america finally has it's own punk band who can be just as brutal as the english". without the germs, i'm not sure if anyone would have listened to or cared about fear, black flag, etc. in his way, his phrasing was more original than joey ramone, joe strummer, or even johnny rotten himself. with few exceptions who are only pale imitators, there's still no one who does what he did. hey, for 10 bucks??? see this movie.
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AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL
Added 9/3/2009
IT'S A SHAME REALLY. I SO SO WANTED THIS TO BE A GREAT (OR AT LEAST GOOD) MOVIE. IT REALLY COMES OFF AS NOTHING MORE THAN AN AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL "LIFETIME" TYPE OF MOVIE. THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD MEREDITH BAXTER BIRNEY PLAY A PART AND IT WOULD BE COMPLETE. IT'S VERY HARD TO BELIEVE THAT PAT SMEAR, LORNA AND DON HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE PRODUCTION OF THIS MOVIE. ALL THREE OF THEM COME OFF AS THESE MINDLESS "FOLLOWERS" OF DARBY CRASH, INSTEAD OF HIS FRIENDS AND BAND MATES. MAYBE THAT'S HOW IT REALLY WAS. LUCKILY I WASN'T THERE. BUT I WAS AROUND THE NYC CITY SCENE DURING THE EARLY 80'S AND I SAW "THE DARBY CRASH" STORY OVER AND OVER A HUNDRED TIMES WITH DIFFERENT BANDS. I DON'T SEE WHY THEIR STORY IS SO IMPORTANT. THE GERMS WERE JUST AROUND AT A TIME WHEN IT WAS STILL POSSIBLE TO SHOCK PEOPLE. HELL,THEY DIDN'T EVEN TOUR. I DON'T THINK THEY EVER PLAYED OUTSIDE THE BORDERS OF CALIFORNIA. THE TRAILER FOR THE MOVIE IN ONE PART SAYS "IT'S MUSIC THAT CHANGED THE WORLD." NOW PUNK ROCK IN GENERAL MAY HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD...SLIGHTLY. BUT THE GERMS MUSIC DID NOT CHANGE THE WORLD. LET'S BE REALISTIC. DARBY WAS A GREAT LYRICIST, BUT THAT'S WHERE THE INTERESTING PART OF THIS BAND ENDS. I'VE SEEN THE LIVE VIDEOS OF THE ORIGINAL GERMS (NOT THE SHANE WEST BAND) THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT "I GUESS YOU HAD TO BE THERE." I GET THE FEELING THAT A BIG REASON FOR THIS MOVIE WAS TO ROMANTICIZE PAT, LORNA AND DON'S YOUTH AND FOR THEM TO TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. I WAS IN A BAND IN THE EARLY 80'S AND I'D LOVE FOR SOMEBODY TO MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THOSE DAYS. BUT IT SEEMS THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING, THIS MOVIE WAS MADE TO CAPITALIZE ON THE POPULARITY OF "PUNK ROCK" AND TO MAKE THE X-GERMS MEMBERS A FEW BUCKS....AND THAT'S O.K. THIS MOVIE HONESTLY SEEMS LIKE IT WAS MADE BY THE SAME PEOPLE THAT WORK AT HOT TOPIC. IT WAS COOL 30 YEARS AGO. NOW IT'S MAIN STREAM AND BORING. THEY COULDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO FIND GUITARS AND AMPS FROM THAT TIME PERIOD. THE LIVE SCENES OF THE GERMS HAD EQUIPMENT THAT WASN'T EVEN MADE YET IN THE LATE 70'S/1980.
I READ THE BOOK "LEXICON DEVIL" (THE STORY OF DARBY CRASH AND THE GERMS) WHICH WAS WRITTEN BY THE GERMS' DRUMMER, DON BOLLES. ALL THE IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT DARBY AND THE GERMS AND THAT WHOLE TIME AND SCENE WERE COMPLETELY GLOSSED OVER IN THIS MOVIE.
THE ONLY BAND FROM THE L.A. PUNK SCENE THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED "IMPORTANT" IS BLACK FLAG. THEY DESERVE TO HAVE A MOVIE MADE ABOUT THEM. IF YOU WANT TO SEE A GREAT GREAT BIOPIC ABOUT A BAND, CHECK OUT "CONTROL", THE STORY OF IAN CURTIS AND JOY DIVISION.
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Not the "Disaster Movie" I expected!
Added 7/6/2009
I Heard about this Germs/Darby Crash Film for Years. I never really thought the Story was Much for a Hollywood Film. Since its release I Only heard how Bad it was!! I Am here to say its Really Not bad at all, a little Dreary, But not Terrible!
I liked the Interview segments, the Flashbacks & Forwards. I Liked Especially how the sense of "Family" was shown. I Always Loved That aspect of the Year One Hollywood Kids, how these Outcasts came together & Formed Their Own Community. It Is a Sad Druggy story, but that was Part of their world. Not as Colorful as I would have Liked to see, But I Think it is a "Success" Great Early Masque/Show Excitement. The Guy playing Don Bolles, Totally On Point! He's Still Like That!!
One Weird aspect, that I might have Misinterpreted. Wasn't Michelle Baer the Germs Manager for Most of their lifetime?? They had showed Chris from What? Records as their Long term Manager, & Michelle Co-Produced the Movie!
Anna Waronker As Joan Jett: AMAZING Performance!! she did the Music too!
Now Onto A Screamer's Movie!
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What We Do Is Secret
Added 6/5/2009
I've seen WWDIS three times, and I'm giving it four stars. This is why:
The first star is for tenacity. This movie took something like ten years to make, years of believing in the project, searching for funding, not taking 'no' for an answer -- and all done by outsiders to the movie system. That takes some balls, you know? So kudos to Roger Grossman and Michelle.
The second star is for integrity. This is a labor of love. It isn't tainted by the exploitation that infected other punk movies from the past. It also helps that the original band members were apparently involved, to a degree, in the making of the film. But I would have liked to have seen more of the importance of Malissa in Darby's life, as well as Bosco.
Third star goes to the acting, most particularly Bijou Phillips and Shane West. Nice job.
Fourth star is for portraying the L.A. punk scene, period. Just as then it was ignored by the music industry, today it's apparently of little interest to the film industry. That's too bad, because the energy and originality of that time was amazing. The soundtrack, by the way, is terrific.
The weaknesses: the movie is too short (perhaps due to financial considerations), and I wish they had focused much more on what it must have been like to have been a young, closeted gay man in a scene that was becoming increasingly macho and intolerant. Darby also comes off in the film as a sort of generic, misunderstood rebel... it would have been truer and more affecting to see the darker, more insecure and controlling side of Darby.
Look, if you love the Germs music, you should definitely see this movie. If you're curious about the L.A. punk scene, see this movie. For further info, I'd recommend the book Lexicon Devil, and if you can find a copy of The Decline of Western Civilization (Part 1), do so. And of course, buying the Germs album. I think a lot of Darby's secrets are answered in his lyrics.
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A far better true punk rock story than Sid and Nancy!
Added 5/28/2009
I remember when I first heard The Germs back in late 1979,80. That was my first time hearing punk rock music and it bewildered me. I was 14 and a resident of Los Angeles. But it left me with the memory of the band, wandereng what is this is all about. Well, 30 years later, and more diverse and mature, I finally decided to see what the hype was all about. The Germs were very brilliant, and their leader Darby Crash was a madman/genius! This movie does it's best to capture that era when The Germs were around and the wild stories and rumors that surrounded them. There is a lot of performances by The Germs throughout the movie. The actors do a great job portraying the true life characters. The live performances are very good too. Sad to say, this is another rock and roll tragedy if you haven't heard. But this movie is very real is life gets when you are trying to accomplish something that you believe in. I recommend this movie to any punk rock fan or the curious who would like to see a true story of a legendary punk rock band that gave The Sex Pistols a "run for the money"!
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what we edit is secret
Added 1/26/2009
I love the Germs and Darby Crash but...I totally despise films that cut back and forth in time. Its distracting,not artsy. Especially when you repeat a scene. I've read a biography about Darby Crash which I consider very good (I can't say excellent because that would imply--to me-- that I was actually there). The link with Joan Jett could have been longer than a quick 1 second shot of a woman zoned out on the floor. How much was spent on that bit of "acting"? Anyway, it gets four stars just for the subject matter but loses one for editing. Worth renting but unless you are a major Germs fan, spend as little money as possible on this.
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