The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Smithereens
Drama · Music · Romance · 1982
A narcissistic runaway engages in a number of parasitic relationships amongst members of New York's waning punk scene.
Movie details
Smithereens
“She was a legend in her own mind.”
1982 Drama · Music · Romance 1h 34m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
A narcissistic runaway engages in a number of parasitic relationships amongst members of New York's waning punk scene.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Smithereens?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Fire with Fire
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XOXO
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XOXO follows six strangers whose lives collide in one frenetic, dream-chasing, hopelessly romantic night.
Wander Darkly
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New parents Adrienne and Matteo are forced to reckon with trauma amidst their troubled relationship. They must revisit the memories of their past and unravel haunting truths in order to face their uncertain future.
Newness
Romance · 2017
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
G
Drama · 2002
A young Hip Hop star named Summer G falls for a middle to upper class sister while in college. After she rejects him for a fellow social climber, Summer G spends ten years building a Hip Hop empire, then moves to the Hamptons where he finds the object of his affections.
A Star Is Born
Drama · 1976
Drunken, has-been rock star John Norman Howard falls in love with unknown singer Esther Hoffman after seeing her perform at a club. He lets her sing a few songs at one of his shows and she becomes the talk of the music industry. Esther's star begins to rise, while John's continues to fall. She tries desperately to get John to sober up and focus on his music, but it may be too late to save him.
CBGB
Drama · 2013
A look at New York's dynamic punk rock scene through the lens of the ground-breaking Lower East Side club started by eccentric Hilly Kristal in 1973 which launched thousands of bands.
After Ever Happy
Romance · 2022
As a shocking truth about a couple's families emerges, the two lovers discover they are not so different from each other. Tessa is no longer the sweet, simple, good girl she was when she met Hardin — any more than he is the cruel, moody boy she fell so hard for.
Hounddog
Drama · 2008
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Times Square
Drama · 1980
When a 13-year-old girl befriends a defiant antisocial child of the streets, the mismatched runaways set off to the Big Apple to find their own adventure.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Susan Seidelman
Written by
Ron Nyswaner · Susan Seidelman · Peter Askin
Susan Berman
Wren
Brad Rijn
Paul
Richard Hell
Eric
Nada Despotovich
Cecile
R
Roger Jett
Billy (Eric's Roommate)
K
Kitty Summerall
Eric's Wife
J
Joni Ruth White
Landlady
Court is in session
Put Smithereens on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.