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

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

Review 600!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Road to Wellville is a movie that's kinda slipped through the cracks. It didn't play long at the theater(I actually took a date to this movie!), and the reviews weren't favorable. Not alot of people know about this film, but those who do are split into two camps: Those who wish they hadn't heard of it and those who think it's hilarious. I think the biggest problem with this movie is that it didn't attract any audience of any kind. I mean, what crowd was this film directed towards? A lot of the humor is very below the belt stuff consisting of endless enema/fart/poop, and sex humor. Basically the kind of humor you would expect from an American Pie or Larry the Cable Guy kind of movie. Needless to say this is a crowd that wouldn't get within ten feet of a film that was a period piece set at the turn of the century. More high falootin filmgoers who like costume dramas and films set at the turn of the century probably wouldn't be too hot on the toilet humor. So, who was it aimed at? Apparently the small population of folks who like films set in the 19th century and get a chuckle out of massive amounts of yogurt being administered anally. The plot is simple, consisting of a married couple going to John Kellog's wacky health spa and being subjected to his insane philosophies and bowel obsessions, and ridiculous and pointless contraptions and "cures"(one of my favorites consists of a vertical wooden pole, fixed with either rubber or leather straps, that rotates around and seemingly has no other purpose than to slap you silly. Broderick is pretty funny as he walks around the pole covering his face as he's slapped by the contraption). Meanwhile, John Cusack is trying to get a cereal company up and running with a con man(Michael Lerner is great) and Kellog's son. It turns into a case of Murphy's law. Sex at the sanitarium is taboo and it's only a matter of time until a few folks succumb to their urges. The arrival of Colm Meany as a nudist/vegeterian/free love advocate doesn't help. To be honest, I'm not sure what the point actually is to this movie, but I find it very funny. It's bizarre to see this many high profile actors engaging in such goofiness, especially Hopkins. The film was directed by Alan Parker who's career has included many films very different from one another. He did the excellent Midnight Express, the musicals Pink Floyd The Wall and Evita, Mississippi Burning, and the supernatural thriller Angel Heart(you know, the one where Robert Deniro plays the devil and Mickey Rourke has sex with Lisa Bonet with all the chicken blood dripping on them) to name a few. Parker also wrote the script. I've read the book and I must say that Parker really adapted from this pretty freely. I don't know what his reasons were for so many changes and additions(the book is considerably less sexual), but I guess he had his reasons. So, if there is indeed such a thing as intelligent or classy toilet humor, I guess this is the example. I would certainly recommend it if you're looking for something a bit different, or just to see A-list actors doing stuff you probably won't ever see them doing again. October 21, 2007

Clever...clever...and clever! Battle Creek,corn flakes,enemas and fun!

If you have seen the A&E BIOGRAPHY THE KELLOGG BROTHERS,CORN FLAKES KINGS, then you will all the more appreciate the hilarity of THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE, a comedic but also very sobering look at the wealthy person's search for illness cures and the seemingly bizarre and revolutionary medical practices of Dr.John Kellogg ( a bucktoothed Anthony Hopkins in a rare comedic role!) of Battle Creek, Michigan.The late nineteenth century was positively a time of "anything goes" fads that swept this country. The wealthy flocked to every new word on the wind. People wanted answers about life after death and medical cures for their ills (enter husband and wife played by Matthew Broderick and Bridget Fonda). Thus we come to the enigmatic John Kellogg whose Battle Creek Sanitarium became the Mecca for the upper classes to spend their money and brag that they were in on the latest craze; laughing cures, enemas,no meat, electrical shock, fresh air rest cures and all done in grand style and at exorbitant prices!

Kellogg founded the corn flake as the miracle food of his Sanitarium. This started a mad rush for other entrepreneurs to cash in on this new fad. Battle Creek became a nuthouse of self seekers seeking honest patrons waiting to be victimized.(Here enters a scheming John Cusack with excellent comic timing!)

THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE examines this odd piece of American history with great comic relief and accuracy. If the movie seems silly that is because the whole Battle Creek craze WAS SILLY! It was full of eccentric and self absorbed people willing to try anything. This is nothing new as history is full of "revolutionary thinkers" who got some things right and got many things wrong! The unfortunate thing is that well meaning people got caught in the crossfire through blind trust.

This is a fascinating and very interesting,accurate and downright funny film. Who else but soundtrack composer great Rachel Portman could add her notes of genius to such a film of a quirky subject matter.

Excellent companion films would be THE KELLOGG BROTHERS,CORN FLAKE KINGS, MESMER,and BEAUTIFUL DREAMERS for contrast. June 16, 2007

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