Themes: Down on Their Luck, Twentysomething Life, Inner City Blues
Main Cast: Susan Berman, Richard Hell, Roger Jett, Nada Despotovich
Release Year: 1982
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
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 herself 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, All Movie Guide
Review
Susan Seidelman's independent debut Smithereens marks the filmmaker at her unconventional best. Like a crudely executed retelling of Truffaut's The 400 Blows, the story is a self-analyzing character study of Wren (Susan Berman), a struggling would-be star trying to make a name for herself in New York. With minimal skills and no support structure, Wren lives by her own witty, lighthearted efforts to validate her existence. She spouts off cynical lines that could be in any early-'80s dialogue, but her underlying hopelessness is uniquely presented. In failure after failure, Wren continues to persist in brightly colored fishnets and sneakers, only to meet with an enigmatic freeze-frame ending. The images are too dark and the sound is pretty bad, however, the lack of technical polish doesn't detract from the emotional impact. The New York punk soundtrack, featuring Richard Hell, is especially effective in capturing Wren's bleak desperation combined with her frantic survival. Seidelman creates in Wren a tragic hero, who is both funny and sad in her attempts at self-promotion. After the release of Smithereens, Seidelman would move away from personal drama for a more mainstream and profitable career in comedies. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Cast
Susan Berman - Wren
Richard Hell - Eric
Roger Jett - Billy
Nada Despotovich - Cecile
Kitty Summerall - Blonde; Joel Brooks - Xerox Boss; Cookie Mueller; Brad Rijn - Paul; Paul Dunlap - Bouncer; Amos Poe - Hustler in Bar; Chris Noth
Credit
Franz Harland - Art Director, Alison Lances - Costume Designer, Susan Seidelman - Director, Susan Seidelman - Editor, Glenn Mercer - Composer (Music Score), Bill Milliion - Composer (Music Score), Lilly Kilvert - Production Designer, Chirine El Khadem - Cinematographer, Susan Seidelman - Producer, Peter Askin - Screenwriter, Ron Nyswaner - Screenwriter, Susan Seidelman - Screenwriter
Smithereens is a 1982 film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Susan Berman, Brad Rinn, and punk rock icon Richard Hell.
The movie is about Wren (Berman), a self-promoting Jersey girl desperate to break into the downtown Manhattan music scene. But with no money or talent, she bounces between a nice guy artist (Rinn) who lives in his van and an arrogant musician (Hell) who lives off of anyone who will let him.
