Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Thehibikiew Not even bad in a good way

Executscan Expected more

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

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 ****

iftba So many indie films want you to believe New York is this bleak, dirty place where everyone lives on the street. In reality, there must be dozens of film crews running into each other in any given vacant lot trying to hide the fact that it's the center of a bustling film culture. If there were so many kids offering shell games, they wouldn't have to hire actors to play them.This particular street life saga shows nothing new, and remarkably nothing punk. Nothing happens for 90 minutes. The main character is the same at the end as in the beginning. Why does she put up flyers of herself if she's not in a band? Why do hookers and street vendors proposition a guy who couldn't be more clearly broke if he was naked? As 'likeable' as Wren is, and as much as you want to see her do something with her life, or heck, even become a stripper, this movie just doesn't pay off. Watching this is like playing a slow pinball game with no noise. Why would you?

macabro357 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

George Parker "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-)