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I see your Smithereens, and raise you Variety (lol; jk). or Born in Flames (Lizzie Borden).
Both 80s feminist films filmed on location in gritty NYC, pre-Disney, pre-Koch. The NYC of Sam Delaney's Times Square Red, Times Square Blue.
Thank you, I'll check those out. Honestly, I don't think I'd want to go to 80s or Disneyfied New York. Seems like there were a lot of interesting female directors working there around this time.
The first feature film by Susan Seidelman, who later directed Desperately Seeking Susan and the first episode of "Sex and the City." It follows a young woman, Wren, who wants to be a star despite having no talent or follow-through. Wren is not particularly likable or intelligent, her attempted hustles and manipulations always blow up in her face. It's still weirdly compelling to watch her fail over and over again. Not that the people around her are much better.
This is also filmed/set in NYC in the 80s. The city looks bombed out. There are lots of buildings falling apart and empty lots full of rubble. And in true bohemian fashion, everyone is trying to get to LA, since New York punk is "dead." The party's always somewhere else...
Another weird thing: drugs are not really mentioned. You see people drinking, and I think there's a guy smoking weed in the bathroom at one point, but it's not a big part of the movie. I think they're obliquely hinted at when the character Eric "falls asleep" before he and Wren can hook up. Same deal with Paris is Burning, drugs are clearly involved but they're just not talked about.
I thought this was the band of the same name at first - great band, The Smithereens! Thank you for the film rec!
Unfortunately, a comparable film, 200 Cigarettes, is not available streaming anywhere. It is a film by women: directed by Risa Bramon Garcia; written by Shana Larson. This was a rarity then--is now as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ieEszV3TAU
Great soundtrack and a who's who of young talent.