Butterfly Kisses

Butterfly Kisses is, according to Mike, "a tragic story of a girl coming of age in a family and world that has lost the ability to communicate." It features the relationship between a teenage girl and her parents and the disconnections between all three. The relationship between Nikki's father and mother is scarred although the love between the mother/daughter and the father/daughter seem real and honest. The dialogue is simple, moving, and often tense, filled with regrets about this lost family, often lost to each other. The title comes from a scene in which Nikki and her dad reminisce about butterfly kisses they once shared before bedtime, contrasted with the underlying sadness of a teenage girl, now more like a broken butterfly. The haunting music written by Mike himself helps join the scenes together and sets the plaintive tone. I may be prejudiced but I thought the performances by Robert Maples, Anne Klauke, and Marlee were first rate, believable, often understated, and emotionally powerful.