Review of Butterflies Are Free (1972) by Jeffrey C — 02 Oct 2010

The romantic comedy Butterflies Are Free is directed by Milton Katselas and stars Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, and Eileen Heckart. The film takes place in modern day San Francisco, almost completely in one apartment.

The film starts out with Jill Tanner (Hawn) in her apartment and seeing a young man, Don Baker (Albert), staring at her. She flashes him to show her annoyance at his stare and then walks away. A few moments later he hears Don on the phone with his mother (Heckart) and finds out that Don has a month left to stay in the apartment alone to see if it is a good fit for him. Jill puts the radio on loudly so that she is unable to hear the rest of his conversation. Don asks her to turn down the radio and then she invites herself over to his apartment for coffee. There she discovers that Don is actually blind and begins to be so interested in him she becomes attracted to him. The rest of the film is about the relationship between the two and how the mother tries to split them apart.

The screenplay for this film I thought was really excellent. It takes place almost entirely in Don's apartment yet it remains constantly interesting. All the characters were very likable and the dialogue was some of the best I have ever heard in a romantic comedy. It is rare that I laugh during a film but the wit from this one made me multiple times. The character of the mother was extremely strong and believable as was the rest of the characters. I liked the ending a lot and all the twists and turns, just a very well made screenplay.

The direction was very good for this film. Katselas was able to get fine performances from his entire cast and kept the film interesting. It is hard to make a film that is in an apartment this entertaining. I really think he was able to get some great shots of Albert acting blind, for most of it I though he actually was. Unfortunately Katselas never became a big name director, but I will always remember him for this film.

The acting by the whole cast was superb. Goldie Hawn was just adorable as Jill and I can see why any person could fall in love with her. I never understood why Goldie Hawn was such a big superstar but this film showed me why. Edward Albert was excellent as Don, as I said earlier I actually thought he was blind. He was able to deliver his witty dialogue brilliantly as well. Eileen Heckart earned an Oscar and it was well deserved because I was extremely attached to her as the mother, especially towards the end. She conveyed the worry every mother feels for her child and she did so brilliantly.

Overall I give this film an 8/10 and I would recommend it to anybody who likes a smart romantic comedy with fine performances.