I’d always wanted to see Smithereens (1982), directed by Susan Seidelman, a low budget New York cult movie about punk/DIY subcultures. The headstrong protagonist Wren (Susan Berman) is brilliantly introduced stealing a pair of zebra patterned shades on the subway and handing out photocopied flyers of her face with the cut-out text “Who is this?” Working at a copy shop, overdue on rent and desperate to get in with the punker “in crowd”, Wren’s attention eventually becomes divided between the nice guy hayseed from Montana (Brad Rijn) who lives in a van and the languid, disaffected singer (played perfectly by musician Richard Hell) from the band where the movie gets its title, his eye set on moving to LA. With its street shooting and low-down locations, Smithereens feels authentic, balancing its observations with funny moments between the characters and other oddballs they encounter. Berman is great as the desperate, pushy heroine, and there’s a great soundtrack with a lot of tunes by The Feelies in key moments. Recently it was released by the Criterion Collection, but I watched it on Kanopy thanks to my Uni library account. Seidelman, the director, went on to make more mainstream comedies like Desperately Seeking Susan and She-Devil (as well as the Sex And The City pilot). Recommended.
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