The Road To Wellville (1994)

This wrong-headed adaptation of the very funny (and scatological) novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle was written and directed by Alan Parker, who doesn't seem to have much of a clue. It's not a botch, just a movie that hammers its efforts at humor too hard. The focus is split between three story lines: the life of cereal tycoon John Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins with buck teeth), who has created a health spa for the wealthy that focuses on regular cleansing of the digestive tract (as well as applications of electricity); the troubles of an unhappy young couple (Matthew Broderick and Bridget Fonda), who come to the spa hoping to cure their marital ills (Broderick gets the worst of the deal); and the efforts of a young hustler (John Cusack), who is trying to break into the breakfast-cereal business but gets taken by an even bigger hustler (Michael Lerner). There are subplots about Kellogg's children but they add little. For all the doo-doo and enema jokes, the joys of this movie are distinctly scattered. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com

MNovie is great, but BEWARE OF ASPECT RATIO!

I gave a 5 star rating because the movie is that good, but this is the FULL SCREEN version of the film, not the widescreen version. Amazon really need to start labelling their movies a bit clearer. I'm no big movie buff, but I am quite into movies and when I saw the "1:33:1" aspect ratio, I assumed it was a widescreen version of the movie since I've always know the aspect ratio for full screen to be 4:3. It's not hard to put "The Road To Wellville (Full Screen Edition)" in the header of their movies. I feel pretty ripped off as this movie was 18 bucks, pretty expensive for a standard full screen DVD. What's odd is the movie doesn't seem to be released in the U.S. on DVD in widescreen. Really odd since they too the time to remaster the video.

Also, a note to movie companies... full screen versions of movies are outdated, have been for a while, and will be more and more outdated as time goes on. There's no reason at all to release a DVD ONLY in full screen format. August 5, 2008

A regular commedy

This movie is a commedy.Even using a good cast, this movie misses the target, many times.Using a real caracter - Dr. John H. Kellogg- as a source to a fiction, this movie is a regular commedy, but fat from amomg the best commedies available, to see.This movie was made, following a book with the same name.I didn't read the book, but this movie is just regular. July 19, 2008

Adventures in enemas.

This is not a review based on the DVD as I own the VHS. I will more then likely order the DVD in the near future.

The movie is based on the happenings of the Battle Creek sanitarium - a sort of 'health spa' for the elite. Kellogg - a devout Seventh-Day Adventist - believed that the key to health was a vegitarian diet, fresh air, exercise, enemas, and abstinence (unless one is trying to procreate).

While this film had a bit of flare added, it does a good job of demonstrating the activities that took place at the sanitarium. All of the 'treatments' shown in the movie were performed at the sanitarium as they were also performed by many doctors during the Victorian era... not exactly a time known for its medical ingenuity.

Very entertaining and hilarious. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes slightly off the wall comedy or simply laughing at crazy healthnut Victorians.

If you enjoy this film, you may want to check out the movie The Cat's Meow which is about the murder that happened in 1924 aboard William Randolf Hearst's private yaht. June 9, 2008

sleeper extraordinare

Criminal this film was not a successful as it should have been. Rich environments, charming characters and an inspired score, It's fun just to look at. The wicked humor is only topped by the fact that it's all true! History has rarely been so much fun! January 20, 2008

With Friends Like You, Who Needs Enemas?

Based on the novel by T.C. Boyle, THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE is a delightful lark of a film that wickedly spoofs the health fads of the early 1900s--and in particular those set forth by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, co-inventor of the famous Kellogg cornflake and proponet of numerous "healthful" ideas that seem calculated to make moderns squirm.

The film presents a triple story line. William and Eleanor Lightbody (Matthew Broderick and Bridget Fonda) are a young married couple in trouble: Eleanor has accidentally poisoned William and hopes a trip to Dr. Kellogg's sanitorium can set him right. Charles Ossining (John Cusack) has come to Battle Creek in the hope of striking it rich by creating a breakfast ceral to cash in on America's fitness craze--only to find himself involved with various thieves and scoundrels. These include George Kellogg (Dana Carvey), who seems to live to make the life of his adoptive father Dr. Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins) unmitigated hell.

The various stories are extremely entertaining as they intertwine--but most of the laughs come at Dr. Kellogg's expense as he advocates yogurt enemas, electric baths, and other bizarre treatments that seem to arise primarily from his idea that sex "is the sewer drain of a healthy body." Patients are humiliated, harrassed, and haranged about their sex lives even as they remain largely ignorant of their own sexual natures, which was typical of many Americans in this era. Much of it is crude, bad taste, bathroom humor--but it is expertly, hilariously handled. Any one who can sit through THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE without hooting out loud doesn't simply lack a sense of humor: they're probably dead.

The performances are sharp, clever, and make the most of the various outlandish situations into the characters are forced. Broderick carries the film with tremendous charm and Fonda follows suit, but the real acting awards go to Anthony Hopkins, Dana Carvey, and a supporting cast that includes outrageously funny performances by the likes of Camryn Manheim, Traci Lind, Colm Meaney, and John Neville. The DVD has nothing in the way of bonus features and is, alas, only available in pan-and-scan, but don't let that stop you. Laugh your way to health the Kellogg way!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

January 4, 2008

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