the audience applauded

One of my all time favorites.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Things to be aware of: This movie is a downer.This movie is interminably slow at times. Feel free to skip forward with the remote. There is not a lot of plot to miss.Having offered those two disclaimers, this movie is definitely worth watching if you are inclined towards depressing tales of urban outcasts. Like most, this one centers around a subculture, but is really about the kind of tragic dreamers that seem drawn to failure like moths to a porch light.What makes this story so compelling in spite of the rather amateurish acting and film-making is the gradual, offhand, and absolutely realistic ways in which the different characters casually dig themselves into ever more inescapable holes.This is a story not about the 80s or punk rock, it's a story about young people with unfocused ambition who are sucked in by the glamor of the scene, whatever it may be. These are the fashion victims we've all known: people who have a new best friend every week, with whom are going to write a screenplay, go on a road trip, start a band, whatever. The people who are too busy and too cool to be cared about unless you're going to make them famous, people who do not realize that the glittering lights of the city at night are just stores and bars, who keep thinking that one of them is going to turn out to be magic, who see everyday life as some kind of hoax that they won't be conned into falling for.What is beautiful about "Smithereens" is the perfect depiction of the blind, frantic pursuit of a better, purer, more exciting life that leads to the opposite. The sad, romantic naiveté that looks for rescue in a bar at 2am is a target for every kind of leech whose belief in magic has burned out and turned to cynical opportunism. The neophyte victims gradually and seamlessly become predators themselves, preying on others who are looking for late-night magic. Dreams of romance, fame, and adventure become grubbing squabbles over sex and money and these dreamers don't even see it happening until, disdainful of everything, they end up with nothing.

Terrific poverty-row character study about Wren(Susan Berman)a young woman who reckons herself a possible punk-rock manager, desperately latching onto Eric(Richard Hell), a supposed rock "star" who she sees as a future success in the making. Paul(Brad Rijn), a kind-hearted portrait artist from Oklahoma, living out of his van, leaves his "home"(..and heart)open to Wren. Wren has always been the type to use those willing to treat her with kindness, and Paul only realizes this all too well when she often takes his treatment towards her for granted often retreating back to him when Eric rejects her advances. Wren sees an opportunity(..basically in her own naive mind)to represent Eric when he mentions possibly heading for LA with the goal of rock stardom seemingly in reach. But, as we see through this little film, dreams are just that..dreams.I think this film gets it's point across well with director Susan Seidelman's camera sticking it's nose into the ugly, garbage streets of Greenwich village where dreams go to die. Wren is a casualty of her own making..she sees a bright future which, sadly, will never be because her head's in the clouds instead of reality. How long would Paul put up with her antics, using his many good traits(..especially his van)because she has nowhere else to go. Wren has no prolonging wish to go back to where she came, New Jersey, because that would ultimately mean failure. There are others, besides Paul, she tries manipulating for the betterment of her own condition..a family member for money and a pal for a place to stay(she's often confessing that Paul's van is a bummer to sleep in). She is primarily an intruder, she only swarms into the lives of others when they can benefit one person..Wren herself.Some interesting things occur to Paul, an outsider, such as a hooker who offers him a sandwich and a pimp who really wants his van. Paul has designs on leaving New York as this just isn't his kind of place. Where will Wren retreat to(..and, better yet, what will she resort to)if Paul leaves and Eric rejects her once and for all? The ending freezes the screen with Wren confronted with a question by some stranger looking for a good time..with nothing at all, what would be her answer? There's an element of sadness and bleakness to this slice-of-life that I think makes it a really great gem for discovery..you add the very low budget camera work right on the streets and this film feels all too real.

"Smithereens" is the kind of worthless flick which just hangs out among the cable channels taking up space like a cheesy dime novel in the public library. A worthless bit of tripe and first effort for mediocre director Seidelman, the film is fraught with bad acting, bad sound, bad camera work, and poor quality in all aspects of the film. Many better films never make it to market and why junk flicks like this one do and never seem to go away is one of life's great mysteries. (D-)

We know people like this: rootless, aimless, self-absorbed, and using. This is a realistic portrait of such a young woman who, when everything smashes to "smithereens," may or may not have an epiphany, in an ending reminiscent of the last frame in 400 Blows. Great directorial debut.