The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Butterflies Are Free
Comedy · Romance · 1972
Striving to be independent, the blind but determined Don Baker moves away from his overprotective mother. After settling into his new San Francisco digs, Don meets kooky neighbor Jill Tanner. Don's quick wit and good looks disarm the free-spirited Jill, and before long they're more than just friends. Will Mrs. Baker's incessant meddling destroy Don and Jill's budding relationship?
Movie details
Butterflies Are Free
“I Could Love You If You'd Let Me”
1972 Comedy · Romance 1h 49m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
Striving to be independent, the blind but determined Don Baker moves away from his overprotective mother. After settling into his new San Francisco digs, Don meets kooky neighbor Jill Tanner. Don's quick wit and good looks disarm the free-spirited Jill, and before long they're more than just friends. Will Mrs. Baker's incessant meddling destroy Don and Jill's budding relationship?
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Butterflies Are Free?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Starting Over
Comedy · 1979
After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.
F Valentine's Day
Romance · 2026
Gina hates her Valentine's Day birthday and travels to Greece to prevent her boyfriend's proposal. With help from vacationers Johnny and his sister Mickey, she schemes to delay it – while questioning her relationship.
Ricky Gervais: Mortality
Comedy · 2025
Ricky Gervais tackles life, death and the state of the world in a brutally honest special that spares no topic, even his own mortality.
Ricky Gervais: Armageddon
Comedy · 2023
Ricky Gervais dishes out controversial takes on political correctness and oversensitivity in a taboo-busting comedy special about the end of humanity.
Ricky Gervais Live 2: Politics
Comedy · 2004
A year after Animals, Ricky Gervais comes back with his second stand up comedy tour: Politics.
Poor Things
Sci-fi · 2023
Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years
Comedy · 2025
In what might be his most personal and introspective hour yet, Bill offers hilarious takes on everything from male sadness to dating advice.
Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable...
Comedy · 2025
Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special.
The Sweet East
Comedy · 2023
A picaresque journey through contemporary America, undertaken by a young woman granted access to the strange sects and cults that proliferate in this country by a series of gatekeepers eager to win her over.
Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer
Comedy · 2024
Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Milton Katselas
Written by
Leonard Gershe
Goldie Hawn
Jill Tanner
Edward Albert
Don Baker
Eileen Heckart
Mrs. Florence Baker
Paul Michael Glaser
Ralph Santori
Michael Warren
Roy Stradden
Charlene Jones
Girl in Mod Shop (uncredited)
J
Jessica Rains
1st Girl (uncredited)
Court is in session
Put Butterflies Are Free on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.