The first half is really tedious, full of fluffy dialog. Once the blind guy's mother walks in things liven up, and from then on things are more interesting, though at the price of being decidedly soap-operatic. Much of the dialog of conflict reminds of soap-operas; it's the same old lines and attitudes that we've heard and seen a million times before. The guy playing the bondman is okay but somewhat bland, and not really a match for a young, spunky Goldie Hawn. She is cute and charming, and does her best, but there is a limit to what she can do with her stereotypical character; she plays one of those free-spirited, cheerful, young hippie girls with a good heart - a moronic cliché in the movies of that era. There is also little that Hawn can do with the mediocre script; instead of creating a script that exploits the comedic possibilities by creating humorous exchanges between characters, the writer has opted for a safe and easier way: schmaltzy melodrama, with the dialog occasionally being somewhat witty, but never funny. The ultra-dated and annoying hippie-era clichés that creep in on a regular basis don't help, either; it's clear that this was written by some left-wing Hollywood bozo.

BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE is the delightful 1972 film adaptation of the Leonard Gershe play about a young man who has been blind from birth (Edward Albert)who moves into his own apartment and almost instantly falls in love with his kooky next door neighbor (Goldie Hawn), a flighty free spirit who has trouble with anything resembling commitment, which he turns a blind eye to but is picked up immediately by his clingy, over-protective mother (Eileen Heckart). This breezy comedy still holds up pretty well for a film that's over 30 years old, thanks to an enchanting performance from Hawn in one of her earliest roles and a flawless supporting turn from Eileen Heckart as the mother-from-hell, who swoops in to protect her baby boy from this evil woman. Heckart underplays her role so beautifully here, a perfect supporting performance that won her a richly deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I love when she first meets Jill, who is in her underwear, and Jill explains that she came over so her son could help her with her blouse to which Heckart replies, with the sweetest smile on her face, "Where is your blouse?" Edward Albert, son of GREEN ACRES' Eddie Albert, made an impressive screen debut here as Donny, the young man between these two women. Albert won a Golden Globe for Outstanding Newcomer for his work here but it is the work of Hawn and the divine Ms. Heckart that make this film worth watching.

This is an incredible movie. It has everything: great acting, an Oscar winning performance (Heckart as the mother), believable characters, and a young, hot Goldie running around for thirty minutes in her undies.The acting of the three principles deserved three Oscar nods, but only one was given (for the top performance). Mother Bird goes from being overprotective to having to push her son from the nest. The different emotions portrayed by the character are wonderful and we can all see ourselves as overprotective parents in her role.Edward Albert's performance makes us wonder why he never became an A list actor.With Goldies performance in this film, along with her other early performance and Oscar in Cactus Flower, I wonder why she lowered herself to the stupid comedies she made the next several years (Protocol, etc.). The ditsy, dumb blonde was and is a better actress, as is evidenced by her work here.Why does Paul Michael Glaser seem to show up in bit parts in all the great 60's and 70's films? He was also in Fiddler on the Roof! This is one of the great romantic comedies of all time.

I randomly put this movie on today, and I was pleasantly surprised. So much that I took the time to register and write the only review of a movie I've ever written. The movie feels more like a play, with a majority of the movie occurring in one space. The bulk of the movie is dialog, the main character Donny is blind. The movie is about his struggle for independence from his enabling mother and his interaction with his newfound roommate, Jill. I found all the actors delivery to be exceptional, and the interactions dynamic and entertaining. Most of the movie is conversations between the characters with quick replies and wit worthy of note. There's not much going on in the film outside of a simple plot, but the movie touches on some very serious, emotional moments as well as humorous. I think Donny's character is played excellently, and the other roles very convincing as well. Overall I found the movie to be really well done, entertaining and not at all bland, although it is definitely more like a play than a movie, so it might take a little more creativity and thought to make it as appealing, but that's what I enjoy anyway. Very impressed, haven't enjoyed a movie that much in a while. And it's 34 years old.