KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Aspen Orson There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

moonspinner55 Susan Berman plays young woman named Wren who hangs out in New York City's punk underground, but who is unable to translate her interest in the burgeoning music scene into a lucrative form of work. Director Susan Seidelman, who also conceived the original story with co-screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, understands this gritty milieu exceptionally well, and the film's low-end budget works for her scenario. Still, "Smithereens" isn't an edgy film, nor a particularly dangerous one. It gives us a rather inept heroine who's locked in a hopeless situation, with no avenues available for a personal or professional redemption. As a result, the finale represents a dead-end rather than the thoughtful or provoking portrait Seidelman clearly intended this to be. ** from ****

preppy-3 Wren (Susan Berman) is a restless young woman trying to break into the music scene in NY of the early 1980s. A young, handsome and trusting man named Paul (Brad Rijn) falls for her--but she just uses him and tries to hook up with self-centered Eric (Richard Hell) who says he has contacts to get a career going.This was a very impressive directorial debut by Susan Seidelman. It was made on a very low-budget and had mostly nonprofessional actors. It was surprisingly a favorite with critics and a success with art house college audiences of 1982. However it's pretty much disappeared since then. It's easy to see why. The clothes, music and attitudes are all clearly from the early 1980s. Most college kids today wouldn't know what to make of this. Still it's a good movie and, as a college kid from that era, I can honestly say this caught the look and feel of that time expertly. Purportedly this is also a pretty accurate portrayal about how the Village was way back then--hard to believe it was 25 years ago.The film itself is gritty and negative and looks cheap--but that's because it was and it actually helps the movie. Seidelman's direction was actually pretty assured considering it was her first feature movie. Also, for the most part, the acting is good--Rijn in particular stands out. The only negatives I can think of is that is a depressing movie and Berman is miscast. She's a good actress but seems far too intelligent for the character she's playing.Worth catching--especially for men and women who were in college in the early 1980s. It will really take you back! I give it an 8.

Peter Hayes In the era of Punk rock (well when America caught on anyway!) a sensitive would-be artist (Brad Rijn) and a female street hustler (Susan Berman) have an uneasy relationship in the less fashionable part of NYC.Susan Seidelman had a surprise hit with Desperately Seeking Susan straight after this and then she took a career nose dive. Maybe she doesn't have the ability to shout cut or somehow or some way falls in love with her own work. Or maybe she is too in love with off-beats and losers.This shows some power of observation (all street cliché boxes ticked), but little narrative drive. Just a semi-documentary about a time and a place that I'd rather not have been in or (given a time tunnel) want to go back to.With no money, no major talent and a script that looks like it was written in a week there isn't much hope for it - unless you are so in love with the punk rock scene that anything that references it counts as entertainment.

JZvezda Wren is a dirty birdie. A vagrant punkette skumbag who wears a checkered vinyl mini-skirt with blue pantyhose and pink hi-top Converse. Her only possessions are a busted-up portable TV and a trash bag full of really scary dipsy-dumpster punk fashions (think Pat Benatar 1981 or Punky Brewster 1984). She looks stupid, acts stupid, and is stupid. She's my hero.Wren inadvertently wins the affection of this dorky kid with a big heart, who lives in his van and has really bad hair. This relationship functions because:A) She's a filthy homeless mess, and he's got a van she can sleep inB) He's into filthy homeless messes, and he's got a van she can sleep inThe dork doesn't understand why Wren lets him buy her drinks and then leaves the bar with other dorks. He keeps buying the drinks and pouts a lot. What a dork! Wren can't be bothered with the dork's unwanted advances and so she goes about stalking this skuzzy douche-bag who has a punk-band. And really bad hair.All kidding aside, there are some touching moments in this film that kind of reach inside of you and warm your heart. Like when the dork lets the cracked-out hooker sit in his van because it's chilly outside, and in return she offers him a bee-jay and the tuna-sandwich her mom packed as a between-trick snack. That scene almost made me cry.I love this movie so much that I had to go out and buy it. And I'm glad I did because now my sofa doesn't tip forward on that one side.