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Susan Berman, Richard Hell, Roger Jett, Nada Despotovich, Kitty Summerall ... see more see more... , Joel Brooks , Cookie Mueller , Brad Rijn , Paul Dunlap , Amos Poe , Chris Noth , D.J. O'Neill , Joel Rooks , Joni Ruth White , Pamela Speed

Written, produced, directed, and edited by Susan Seidelman in true student film fashion, Smithereens is the story of Wren (Susan Berman), an independent spirit from New Jersey trying to self-promote h... read more read more...erself into the New York punk scene. She meets Paul (Brad Rijn), who ran away from Montana and lives out of his van in a parking lot. Paul seems to offer genuine friendship, however, Wren is only interested in forming meaningless relationships in hopes of bolstering her nonexistent career. She has no musical talents or industry skills, yet she aggressively pursues a pathetic spot for herself in places like the Peppermint Lounge. She drops Paul for Eric (Richard Hell, who also performs on the musical score), who has a record deal, and they work out a plan to escape to California, which requires Wren to pose as a prostitute in order to scam money from a prospective john. Things don't work out, and Wren finds herself hitting one wall after another, eventually getting kicked out of her apartment. With no place to go, Wren seeks out everyone she knows in the city, only to find herself left alone. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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60% liked it

474 ratings

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Susan Seidelman

Release Date: January 1, 1982

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DVD Release Date: December 14, 2004

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Flixster Reviews (44)

  • ajv2688
    March 14, 2011
    ajv2688
    The main character of this movie reminds me of the main character of Cabaret, they're both self destructive women looking for love in the wrong places. The whole movie, especially the end, is really sad, but inevitable. This movie doesn't get very far into exploring this charac... read moreter, it just kinda lingers. It's not bad, though, it's just okay.
  • fb1142797643
    May 7, 2012
    fb1142797643
    A worthwhile, if depressing, debut film from writer/director Susan Seidelman.

    Susan Berman (IMDB indicates she has just seven acting credits in her career, stretched across 25 years) plays Wren, a feisty, curly-haired scenester. She seems somewhat tied to New York club culture (... read morethe Peppermint Lounge is prominently used as a location), but has no real commitment to the music and people beyond how much she can exploit them for financial support.

    She has no income, drifts from friend to friend (whoever will take her) and unconvincingly lies about her homeless poverty. The heart of the plot is her pursuit of two men: a sweet newcomer from Montana who's living in his decrepit van (Brad Rinn) and a struggling rocker (real-life musician Richard Hell, who's quite solid as an actor).

    It's interesting to view "Smithereens" in the context of other early-'80s films about young, trendy women (including Seidelman's big-budget follow-up, "Desperately Seeking Susan"). Wren's initial entrance (confidently plastering flyers with her face around the subway) suggests a spunky, independent, charismatic John Hughes heroine. Someone we'll fall in love with. So, it's a disturbing twist to discover that she's basically, well, a jerk. The girl is going nowhere fast, and there's no reason for anyone to care.

    Underground legends the Feelies dominate the score, though two Hell songs appear too. A forgotten group called the Nitecaps also performs on camera. In the closing minutes, a young, skinny Chris Noth appears for a split-second as a transvestite hooker.
  • muesli2005
    March 31, 2012
    muesli2005
    i watched this film because I read that the feelies did the score, but ended up with the feeling that this is what rock and roll is all about really, a hierarchy of cool where bottom feeding is everyone's favorite pastime. I can imagine this film being "reimagined" today across t... read morehe bridge in Williamsburg.

    Worth seeing.
  • JennyDevilDoll
    January 15, 2011
    JennyDevilDoll
    I know this SEEMS like the kind of thing I would cream myself over right? Old school-New-York-LES-punk rock-Richard Hell-art-blah blah blah. But ultimately it was just kinda sorta okay. I think my main problem with it was that there weren't any characters I liked well enough to r... read moreoot for. Wren was the sort of obnoxious girl who wants to be famous, but doesn't really seem to DO anything to be known for. I mean, she sort of messes with collage, but even this doesn't develop into anything--art piece, zine, mail art, nothing. She's ultimately one of those people who seeks notoriety more for who she's sleeping with than what she does. Cue Richard Hell's character, the big flavor-of-the-month in the local punk rock scene whom she fawns over. He's just the standard arrogant bad boy rocker. Not a terribly intriguing or memorable character. And the "sensitive" artist who lives in his van by the West Side Highway is just as bad in his own way. He comes in to the film all but stalking her, and spends the rest of the film being pissy, controlling, and otherwise exhibiting every red flag for an abusive personality psychologists can muster. The audience is expected to see him as the "better" choice for Wren, but seriously, ditch both of them and get a dildo chica! I guess this movie does have a point to make since I've known people in real life like all of these characters (or at least in the case of the cliche bad boy rocker, attempting to appear like them.) but since such kinds of people annoy me in real life, why would I want to spend time with them in a movie?
  • thesouthernlady
    May 31, 2008
    thesouthernlady
    This was a stupid movie. I don't know what to say about this one. Its was blah. I never want to see it again.
  • zumsted07
    May 26, 2008
    zumsted07
    This is the ultimate "nice guys finish last" story. The main character, a completely self-absorbed impoverished woman named Wren, consistently makes bad choices about men. She bull-headedly pursues a punk rocker who treats her like a disposable object, while only occasionally s... read morehowing her anything that even resembles affection. As she chases this punk, she blatantly ignores the "good guy" who really likes her, but reaches a point where he realizes that she is a lost cause and will never be satisfied with him.
  • blueowlboy
    September 4, 2007
    blueowlboy
    This was like a guide to life for me at one point... the basic story holds up and holds true. The rest is blissful nostalgia.

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
February 29, 2008
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Serves as a time capsule for NYC's punk rock scene in the '80s. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
February 8, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Susan Seidelman's feature debut, the first American indie to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, put New York's East Village sensibility onscreen by examining issues of identity, desire and self-ful... Full Review

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Philip Martin
February 8, 2005
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Derek Adams
February 9, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

Click to read the article Full Review

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