While Wren tries to win Eric's attention and affection, she strings along the charmed Paul into assisting her through her troubles while barely treating him as much more than an annoying lost puppy. The film builds to a climax where the tables are turned and Wren soon discovers that she is not immune to being manipulated just as she manipulates others.
Smithereens contains examples of:
- Establishing Character Moment: Paul is instantly charmed by Wren the moment he sees her in a subway train. Enough to follow her after she leaves it. Wren gets three of these within the first four minutes of the film. She ignores Paul, she puts up posters of herself around the city, and then she cons her way into the Peppermint Lounge by lying about being on the guest list without waiting for the bouncer to speak to her.
- Jerkass: Wren. Who spends her time leading Paul on, forcing herself into music lounges uninvited, and skimping out on paying the rent for her apartment. Eric is introduced snatching his girlfriend's (actually his wife's) purse before treating Wren passive aggressively when she approaches him. He then starts acting nicer later in the film but it's an act to manipulate Wren into helping him get the money he needs to get to LA.
- Manipulative Bastard: Wren herself. Eric also proves himself to be an even better one at the film's climax.
- Nice Guy: Paul. This comes to his detriment when he gets involved with an exploitative Wren.
- No-Sell: Wren's guest list trick does not work the second time she tries it at the film's end. Leading to her being forcibly thrown out of the Peppermint Lounge by the same bouncer she tricked at the beginning of the film.
- One-Hit Wonder: An in-universe example with Smithereens. The punk group Eric used to play in. So much so apparently that he lives in a pretty divey apartment.
- Small Name, Big Ego:
- Wren. Who puts up stylized posters of herself around the city captioned with "WHO IS THIS?" and tries to ingratiate herself into punk bands as a groupie. Despite being told that LA is where the real punk scene is in the current era.
- Eric also shows shades of this. Though he is at least aware that Smithereens is dead and gone, and he will have to re-invent himself for a shot in LA.
- Stalker with a Crush: Paul is introduced this way when he tails Wren after spotting her in a subway train. Though he later proves himself to not be the malicious kind like most examples of the trope.
