Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies and Goldie Hawn night, I have finally seen this movie. It is most impressive. Goldie Hawn is fantastic in this one, and not just her looks. She plays this role like she was meant for it even though she was not in the stage play.Edward Albert is great in the title role and the lady who plays his mom is perfect. This is a film where good dramatic writing is raised above that level by excellent acting. It is very much like the stage play but it is done so well, and the characters draw you in so well, that you wish you could have seen this play live.It is also a vivid reminder of how stupid being politically correct really is. The script and the actors point out so well at several points that it is not important if the words are right, but it is extremely important how you live with words that will not go away. This might just be the best film to reflect the hippie era.This movie should be put on any viewers list as it is one of the better films of it's type. The characters are deep and it is entertaining without being an action movie. This one is just before the action era dominated films the next few years.

Goldie Hawn received much attention as a dancing bikini-girl in "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" TV show (1968), the one with all of the parody and flying jokes. Goldie was covered with funny slogans written in body paint. She would often flub her lines and giggle in a dizzy way. Voila, a star is born! The "laugh-In" girl made some interesting pictures and did quite well on the big screen. At the very beginning of "Butterflies Are Free," the viewer gets the impression that Don Baker (Edward Albert) is a peeping Tom. Before long we understand that he is blind. Don had moved into his apartment building against the advice of his mother. Nearly the entire first hour of the movie is essentially a two-person play – with much dialog and little music – as neighbors Jill Danner (Goldie Hawn) and Don Baker (Edward Albert) get to know each other. Practically the entire setting occurs in Don's apartment (except when they go shopping for clothing). Goldie, as usual, is a delight to behold, with all of her zany expressions and sayings. She looks fine in her bikini, er, underwear, and comes across well as a freewheeling ex-hippy who falls for philosopher-neighbor Don. More than halfway through the movie, we have a three-person act, as Don's domineering mother, Mrs. Baker, (Eileen Heckart) walks uninvited into the apartment while Jill and Don are hanging out in their underwear. It is apparent that Jill will not be a big hit with Mom. She does not believe that the giddy Jill is right for her son, who has already had a failed relationship. Furthermore, she disapproves of Don's neighborhood, and still wants her son to move back into her house. Mrs. Baker takes Jill out to lunch to discourage her from seeing Don, but to no avail. Then Ralph, a playwright, enters Jill's life; she gets the part of a nude in his latest play, and the waif is excited.How will it all pan out with Don and Jill? No spoilers are given here. While it's not a "brainy" film it certainly is a charming and enjoyable romance feature. It's not too dated except that it does not contain the vulgarity of many recent films. Eckert and Albert won awards, the former the Oscar, and the latter the Golden Globe. The Golden Globe also nominated Goldie for Best Actress. Pleasant.

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 really enjoyed the movie, but one thing I noticed and appreciated was the long shots. Modern movies usually are changing angles and context every few seconds; while like a play, this movie will hold a shot for minutes at a time. I think it shows the strength of the actors, while most contemporary movies can mask poor acting with editing. This is especially true towards the end of the movie, in the scene where Don and Jill confront each other's feelings. I was amazed at how Goldie was able to hold the emotion of the scene and keep me drawn in for such an extended period. I've never been a big Goldie fan, but I had never seen this movie until recently. I have to say this movie changes my opinion and makes we wonder what other films of hers from this period are like.