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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 (so to speak) to but is picked up immediately by his clingy, over-tective 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?" Some were surprised by Heckart's Oscar win here, but for me this performance is the definition of "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role."
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.
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 (so to speak) to but is picked up immediately by his clingy, over-tective 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?" Some were surprised by Heckart's Oscar win here, but for me this performance is the definition of "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role."
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.