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Southern Comfort

Play trailer Poster for Southern Comfort 2001 1h 30m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Kate Davis's award-winning documentary chronicles the final four seasons in the life of Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual dying of ovarian cancer in rural Georgia. Striking a balance between Robert's biological family -- mother, father, sons and grandson -- and his "chosen" family of transgender friends including Maxwell, Cas and Lola Cola, his male-to-female transsexual partner, Davis documents Eads's final days at the Southern Comfort Conference, a national transgender gathering.
Southern Comfort

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Kate Davis candidly tracks the lives of multiple trans individuals, most notably that of Robert Eads, a life worth celebrating and witnessing in this revelatory exploration of finding Southern Comfort.

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Critics Reviews

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Catherine Dawson March Globe and Mail Mar 11
For many there's a voyeuristic fascination, especially when Max and Cori talk about their sex lives and inject themselves with hormones, but Southern Comfort is a poignant and engaging story. Go to Full Review Gene Seymour Newsday Mar 11
3.5/4
Davis takes you so far into the lives of these folks that maybe for a moment you wonder how they could permit such sustained disclosure of themselves. Then you remember the doctors. And you realize that there is still lessons to be learned. Go to Full Review Jami Bernard New York Daily News Mar 11
The ordinary travails of rural life get an Alice in Wonderland twist here. There is no easy way in this pigeonhole-happy society to consider Eads and his chosen family, but this compelling documentary guarantees you'll work at it. Go to Full Review Sonia Mansfield San Francisco Examiner Mar 12
Focuses on the sweet and loving relationship of Robert and Lola. Southern Comfort is a compassionate and intimate look at these people's lives. Go to Full Review David Sterritt Christian Science Monitor Mar 11
3/4
This capably made HBO documentary takes an understated and compassionate look at a subject that is often sensationalized in other contexts. Go to Full Review Marshall Fine Journal News (Westchester, NY) Mar 11
3.5/4
And who are they? In essence, people like anyone else, with the kind of goals in life we all have: happiness, connection, a sense of self, and a feeling of belonging in the world. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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05/08/2013 Intimate look at a very tough subject. See more 07/17/2012 Kate Davis' documentary shines a light on a corner of the world that turns out to be no different than that of the mainstream. See more 02/20/2012 This film felt more like a love story with tribulations than an activist documentary. I wish more people made documentaries like this. Sometimes just letting a story tell itself has a much deeper impact than preaching. See more 11/21/2010 Extremely sad film about a transman dying of ovarian cancer and his small adopted family of trans people. the film lacks context- about how these people survive in the conservative rural south and how they attain (or are rejected) medical treatment. lola remains an enigma as well. the film's generosity towards its subjects is appropriate given the sensitive, painful subject matter. See more 07/16/2010 Heartbreaking story about the female-to-male transsexual Robert Eads that suffered from ovarian cancer and was refused treatment by 20 different doctors only becuase of his transsexuality. Instead of worrying about his cancer he lives the remainder of his life with his two families - his biological family with parents, two sons and a grandson and his manufactured one consisting of his two female-to-male "sons" Max and Cass and his girlfriend Lola, a male-to-female transsexual that he's, ironically, falling head over heels in love with. I don't know how to express how sad it is that everyone can't be accepted as they are and for who they are. You know what the worst thing is? This is a documentary. This happened. See more 03/11/2010 Had to watch this for a comm class. It was sad in parts, but very offensive to me. I wouldn't have watched this in any other situation. I don't know quite what to say. See more Read all reviews
Southern Comfort

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Cast & Crew

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Kate Davis

Director

Robert Eads

Self

Maxwell Scott Anderson

Self

Corissa Anderson

Self

Cas Piotrowski

Self

Lola Cola

Self
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Southern Comfort

Southern Comfort (2001) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Kate Davis's award-winning documentary chronicles the final four seasons in the life of Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual dying of ovarian cancer in rural Georgia. Striking a balance between Robert's biological family -- mother, father, sons and grandson -- and his "chosen" family of transgender friends including Maxwell, Cas and Lola Cola, his male-to-female transsexual partner, Davis documents Eads's final days at the Southern Comfort Conference, a national transgender gathering.
Director
Kate Davis
Producer
Kate Davis
Distributor
HBO Theatrical Documentary
Production Co
Q-Ball Productions
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 21, 2001, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 3, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m