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Wren to collect her things from Paul's van. Returning to Eric's apartment, Wren learns from Billy that Eric has taken all of their money and gone to Los
Angeles by himself. Confronting the nameless, blonde woman in the stairwell, Wren learns that she is Eric's wife and that he has a history of picking up vulnerable women to exploit for his own financial gain. Attempting to reunite with Paul, Wren learns that he sold his van to a local
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punk group from one decade earlier. Although he's now unemployed and living in the apartment of another punk named Billy, Eric professes to be putting together a new group that will be headed to Los
Angeles. Wren leaves Paul to move in with Eric, but she’s forced to leave after a confrontation with a
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gets off to a fast start, thanks to Susan Berman's feisty performance and the vitality with which her story is told...Although willful inactivity seems a crucial part of the characters' way of life, it's carried too far; everyone here stays put a little longer than is believable, particularly Paul,
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Eric finds Wren and tells her that they are set to go to Los
Angeles, but that they need money to afford transportation and food en route. With Wren’s help, Eric robs a wealthy man, Ed, at gunpoint after trapping him in a taxi. Finding that they've made enough money to go to Los Angeles, Eric sends
265:
Wren runs across Paul, a young man from
Montana in the middle of a road trip who has briefly taken up residence in the city before heading to New Hampshire. Although he sleeps in the back of his dilapidated van, Paul has saved enough money to otherwise live comfortably. When Paul expresses interest
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scene, only to find that the movement is now centered in Los
Angeles. Wren finds herself relegated to sneaking into the city's remaining punk hot spot, the Peppermint Lounge, to ingratiate herself with the bands that play there, in the hopes that one of them will take her on as a groupie. She also
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Returning to her apartment, Wren discovers that her roommates have fled in her absence and that her landlady has locked her out. Wren visits her brother and sister-in-law in an attempt to get a loan, but they decline on the grounds that Wren has cheated them in the past. With nowhere to go, Wren
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Film critic
Emanuel Levy wrote "Susan Seidelman's feature debut, the first American indie to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, put New York's East Village sensibility onscreen by examining issues of identity, desire and self-fulfillment from a distinctly female perspective."
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Now homeless, Wren wanders the city until she's propositioned by a man in a convertible. Although she initially dismisses the man's advances, his admonishment that she has nowhere else to go causes her to stop and look back toward his car.
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returns to Paul and coaxes him into helping her break into her old apartment to retrieve her things. The two resume an uneasy relationship, and Paul allows Wren to sleep in the back of his van at night.
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Susan Berman fell off a fire escape on the 44th floor during rehearsal on the fifth day of filming. She broke her ankle and was in a plaster cast for four months, during which filming was delayed.
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wrote "Wren, in her self-delusion, manipulativeness, and superficiality, easily ranks as one of the most obnoxious characters in film history, and she exerts a strange fascination."
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engages in a campaign to litter the city with photocopied pictures of herself bearing the legend "WHO IS THIS?" in an attempt to generate mystique. Although she works part-time at a
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shop by day, Wren nominally uses her position there surreptitiously to print her fliers, and she supplements her lifestyle by mugging women in the subway.
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in Wren, she agrees to date him, but she’s emotionally abusive and makes it clear to Paul that she’s more interested in the stability he can offer her.
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and used the money to continue his road trip. Looking inside the van, Wren discovers that Paul left behind a watercolor portrait he'd done of her.
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it has a score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 7 critics, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
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who remains parked by the highway for what feels like weeks, with nothing to do but wait for Wren to appear."
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handing the script supervisor a prop gun and the script supervisor was arrested.
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of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. On
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DVD/Blu-ray edition, it was released on VHS by Merlin Video in the UK.
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Seidelman, Susan (2024). "Once Upon A Time On The Lower East Side".
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Smithereens (1982) trailer by The Duke
Mitchell Film Club on YouTube
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and starring Susan Berman, Brad Rijn (billed as "Brad Rinn"), and
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On a date, the couple meet Eric, former member of
Smithereens, a
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nameless, blonde woman who also lives in the apartment.
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an essay by
Rebecca Bengal at the Criterion Collection
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205:marked the debut of Oscar-nominated screenwriter
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183:is a 1982 American drama film directed by
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1029:English-language independent films
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979:Films directed by Susan Seidelman
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523:"Festival de Cannes: Smithereens"
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768:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
712:. Vol. 32, no. 4.
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219:. It was the first American
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994:Films shot in New York City
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1004:1982 independent films
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18:Susan Berman (actress)
573:(November 19, 1982).
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300:Susan Berman as Wren
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315:Roger Jett as Billy
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833:Films directed by
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579:The New York Times
493:. August 26, 2018.
361:The New York Times
324:D.J. O'Neill as Ed
235:is a precursor to
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152:Running time
129:Release date
96:Richard Hell
91:Susan Berman
79:Joanne Gross
68:Ron Nyswaner
847:Smithereens
780:Smithereens
762:Smithereens
746:Smithereens
729:Smithereens
700:Works cited
430:DIY culture
406:Before the
365:Smithereens
233:Smithereens
217:The Feelies
203:Smithereens
180:Smithereens
76:Produced by
64:Peter Askin
50:Directed by
33:Smithereens
999:Punk films
964:1982 films
958:Categories
676:January 4,
670:Metacritic
649:January 4,
603:January 1,
532:2009-06-12
471:January 1,
436:References
402:Home media
396:Metacritic
340:Production
334:Chris Noth
249:Wren is a
225:Palme d'Or
156:89 minutes
140:1982-09-11
60:Written by
917:The Ranch
879:She-Devil
709:Filmmaker
624:IndieWire
355:Reception
255:punk rock
110:Edited by
93:Brad Rijn
44:DVD cover
1014:New Wave
751:AllMovie
449:AllMovie
414:See also
386:website
169:Language
88:Starring
783:at the
765:at the
382:On the
363:wrote "
309:as Eric
251:runaway
227:at the
172:English
161:Country
138: (
944:(2013)
936:(2011)
928:(2005)
920:(2004)
912:(2001)
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896:(1995)
890:(1994)
882:(1989)
874:(1989)
871:Cookie
866:(1987)
858:(1985)
850:(1982)
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466:Vogue
260:Xerox
734:IMDb
678:2024
651:2024
605:2022
473:2021
392:100%
294:Cast
284:pimp
245:Plot
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