Smithereens

I don't care what the naysayers below think. I like this little film.

And I think the soundtrack blows the pants off of Penelope Spheeris' "Decline of Western Civilization" that was released not too long before this one. I'd love to find the "Smithereens" soundtrack on CD!

Both this and "...Civilization" deal with the U.S. punk culture of the early 80s with this film clearly being the better of the two, imo. Saw 'em both at the same time.

Great little story with a good feel for New York of the early 1980s, and the shallowness of the scene during that time. It really depicted what a loserville the place really was.

I really felt for the Wren character and the rejection she continually faced, much of which was her own doing. She should have went back to New Jersey and made something of herself.

Btw, whatever happened to Susan Berman, anyway? Why hasn't she done more films?

my imbd rating: 7 out of 10

i quite disagree with "dehlia"'s comment, this movie is anything but dull. It is an excellent film that does seemingly document the early new york style of punk/new wave rock and it's main character Wren who is as mentioned on a road to nowhere. The film comes off as a really excellent student feature, and it was the first film by the director of Desperately Seeking Susan and She -Devil. You can definitely see remnants of the Wren character in the character Madonna plays in "susan" and the film doesn't have a big sappy ending which is what makes it so interesting, it starts off like a comedy and then reveals itself as a more serious drama. It reminded me a great deal of the films of the French New Wave. Definitely worth seeing.

There's something about black and white checkered miniskirts in 1982 that sums up an entire era.

"Smithereens" documents a brief history of an archetype that many are familiar with: the Hip Urban Street Punk on a Path to Nowhere.

What makes this film superb is that it treats the subject with a frank honesty rarely seen in such a genre. No happy endings, convoluted plot points or moral judgments are imposed upon Wren as she bumbles about New York trying to make her way.

She is neither likable nor despicable. Belonging to no demographic, she creates her own. She has vague desires, but no goals. And as such an aimless character, the film's closing shot is quite perfect.

"Smithereens" is an engaging, refreshingly stark 'documentary' that does not gloss over its themes with the glitz and glitter otherwise prevalent in the early 80's. It successfully encapsulates a time and a lifestyle rarely portrayed correctly, except maybe in "Sid & Nancy".

I watched this film probably about 2 years ago at some very early hour of the morning. The Smithereens was one of those films which was strangely compelling in an empty sort of way, there is this incredibly overpowering early 80's economically, socially and artistically bleak skew on everything. This feeling alone makes the film worth watching, and the completely disconnected and irrelevant life of the main character evokes strange emotions of sympathy and intense loneliness. I can't tell you much about the story-line other than it is following the life of a young woman who is a bit of a miscreant and is getting nowhere incredibly fast. Desolation, vacuity and depression at its best!

This is a cult classic no wave New York slice of life kinda film. If you like early Jarmusch you'll did this. Siedleman directs this no-budget flick between the excellent Decline of Western Civilization punk documentary and just before the mainstream Desperately Seeking Susan. Wren is proto-"Susan", if you want a glimpse of the world the Madonna character came from you'll get a good idea here. If you want a look at the run down abandoned New York City of the early 80's you'll get a good idea here.