Southern Comforts

The legendary Bethel Buckalew, director of Country Cuzzins, Midnight Plowboy, and countless other Novak-produced, soft-core, corn-ball, hick-porn epics, brings us yet another reason to be eternally grateful to Something Weird Video, for all they've done for us who dig the B-entertainment. Southern Comforts is just an old fashion good time. That is, if you're partial to pointless, Drive-in Exploitation. I'm sorry, did I say pointless? A movie which can't go more than 5 minutes without showing full-frontal nudity obviously has a point. So, this time, a flesh-peddlin' con-artist, along with his best girls, are stranded in Hicksville. The gang set up shop in the barn of some old hayseed and his half-wit son, Junior (John Tull). What follows is a typically questionable story, involving plenty of dumb hicks, dumb chicks, not-so-well-thought-out humor, shine-drinkin, skinny-dippin', barnyard orgies, and other backwoods tomfoolery to entertain those of us who clearly have bad taste in cinema. As usual, the actual story almost seems to serve as the filler, as the "love scenes" make up about 2/3 of the run-time. An authentic backwoods charm is evident, despite the California shooting location. I don't know why they didn't just make these ridiculous little movies full-blown hardcore. That would have been pretty rad in my opinion, which is really the only gripe I could think of off the top of my head. Tobacco Roody is the only other one of these I've seen, and I can honestly say Southern Comforts is no better, or no worse. For some Hixploitation with a point, you might want to go for something like Herschell Gordon Lewis's This Stuff'll Kill Ya. Although, if soft-core is your thing, then I guess you've already found what you're looking for. 6/10

The early 70's saw a genre of film that involved rural America, country bumpkins, as it were. One of the best was Southern Comforts. These movies really exist as an excuse for the women to get naked, and get naked they do. There are 3 main girl characters who get stranded in the sticks when their car breaks down. See them skinny dip, see them rape the country bumpkin, see them strip in a barn and strut their stuff. One of the 3 women is Monica Gayle, and her fans will not be disappointed as she spends about 75% of the film nude. Another lead character, Judy Angel, would soon appear in hard core films.

As far as Southern skin flicks of the time go this one is average. Like the other ones produced by Harry "Nyquil" Novak, it often drags to a halt with lots of poorly shot sex/ nudity filler. In order to get naked you have to take off your clothes and this movie gives us the opportunity to watch every single piece of clothing as it comes off. It must hold a record in that regard. It is also clear that this movie was shot in a few days as the girls often looked confused or can be clearly seen looking up for guidance, no second takes here.

On the plus side we do get the humorous John Tull, once again playing his trademark roll as "Junior", who gives us a few good laughs in the movie. Sadly, he is heavily underused and takes a distant second stage to the endless supply of fully naked girls. But I will say that Monica Gayle is one of the girls and that alone should be enough to recommend it to certain B movie fans.

So in short, if you want to see lots of natural looking busty girls naked, or you like to watch the act of disrobing, or you want to see Monica Gayle nude, or just like to see John Tull as Junior then you can't go wrong. Others looking for a plot, acting or general movie competence should look for something else.