What We Do Is Secret (film) - Plot

Plot

Jan Paul Beahm (Shane West) grows up in Los Angeles through a troubled childhood: He does not know his biological father, his mother is an alcoholic, and his older brother dies from a heroin overdose. He is an avid reader and develops into a "frighteningly intelligent" student at University High School, where his antisocial behavior leads the administration to give him straight A's if he agrees not to return. In December 1975, at age 17, he proposes to his friend Georg Ruthenberg (Rick Gonzalez) that they start a band, showing him potential lyrics and claiming to have a "five-year plan" inspired by the David Bowie song "Five Years". They recruit Terri Ryan (Bijou Phillips), Belinda Carlisle (Lauren German), and Becky Barton (Amy Halloran) for the group and con money for instruments. Jan Paul comes up with the name Germs, representing the germination of an idea. He sings while Georg plays guitar, Terri plays bass guitar, and Becky plays drums.

The Germs play their first gig April 16, 1977: As they are heckling The Damned outside the Whisky a Go Go, Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy (Sebastian Roché) of Slash magazine suggests that they perform at an open mic across the street. The Germs give an impropmtu performance of their song "Sex Boy", but do not know how to play their instruments and are heckled by the audience. Jan Paul responds by throwing flour at them and dipping the microphone in peanut butter; the band is thrown out but excited by the experience. Jan Paul comes up with pseudonyms for the members: Georg becomes Pat Smear, Terri becomes Lorna Doom, and Becky becomes Donna Rhia, while Belinda bows out of the band. Jan Paul renames himself Bobby Pyn, but soon changes this to Darby Crash. Becky is soon kicked out and the band goes through a series of replacements. Chris Ashford (Keir O'Donnell) becomes their manager and presses their "Forming" single, the first punk rock single from Los Angeles.

At The Masque the Germs meet Don Bolles (Noah Segan), who becomes their new drummer. Darby also meets Rob Henley (Ashton Holmes), and the two begin a homosexual relationship. Darby comes up with the Germs' logo, a blue circle, as well as the "Germs burn", a symbolic circular cigarette burn on the wrist. The Germs build an audience at The Masque and advance to larger venues, playing a chaotic show at the Roosevelt Hotel on October 31, 1978. Tensions mount between Don and Rob over the band's direction, and Darby and Rob begin experimenting with heroin. The Germs appear on Rodney Bingenheimer (J.P. Manoux)'s radio program and convince Slash to fund their album, (GI). Tensions rise as Rob convinces Darby that Don's drumming is not fast enough, and when a woman named Amber (Missy Doty) begins doting on Darby and declares herself his manager.

Darby's heroin use increases, as does violence at the Germs' shows, and they are banned from most clubs in Los Angeles. Darby is upset to learn that Don has started a side project. Penelope Spheeris (Michele Hicks) features the Germs in her film The Decline of Western Civilization. The band plays at the Whisky a Go Go on December 23, 1979 under the name GI, for "Germs Incognito", and when Don is late Darby replaces him with Rob. Rob does not know how to play, however, and the show is aborted when the crowd riots. Finding Rob having sex with Gerber (Randi Newton), Darby effectively breaks up the Germs by taking off with Amber to London for several months, where he becomes a fan of Adam and the Ants.

Darby returns to Los Angeles with an Adam Ant-inspired fashion and a tall mohawk. He enlists Pat for his Darby Crash Band, then organizes a Germs "farwell show" at the Starwood Club in December 1980 with Pat, Lorna, and Don. The show goes well, with Darby telling the crowd "This is for the people who wanted to know what it was like when we were around. But this is the only one; you're not gonna see this again." Alone and despondent after the show, he enters into a suicide pact with Casey Cola (Azura Skye): The two intentionally overdose on heroin; Casey survives while Darby does not. Pat receives the news as he is watching reports of the assassination of John Lennon. Darby's funeral is sparsely attended, with Pat reading a poem titled "Astrid" that Darby had written near the band's outset.