121 opiniones
It probably happens to everybody: one comes across a review on IMDb, looking for some info on a movie that one considers a personal favorite, and what does one find? A rating that points more toward the lower end of that rating spectrum and numerous devastating reviews, that point both thumbs (and probably the big toes as well) downwards. Of course everybody is entitled to their own opinion and taste, but in the case of "The Road to Wellville" I cannot help but to break a lance for a film that deserves a little better than what it has gotten thus far.
The actors shine throughout. Matthew Broderick has never played a more likable character since his "Ferris Bueller's Day Out", Tracy Lind and Bridget Fonda sparkle with feminine beauty and although one can tell that Anthony Hopkins was not altogether comfortable with his role, comedy being clearly not his first line of work, he makes the best of what he's given to work with. Same goes for all the supporting cast, who are throughout quirky and likable (including Colm Meany, who has never played a slimier character), and often look, as if they had stepped out of a "Asterix"-comic-book.
Before the disastrous "The Master of Disguise" technically ended his career (and, yes, later associating himself later with Adam Sandler wasn't a good idea either; not for Carvey or anybody else on this planet), you basically couldn't go wrong with Dana Carvey. A virtual chameleon of his trade, Carvey's various roles and guises only had one thing in common: they were always funny as hell and usually stole the scene. Such is the case in this movie. Carvey's George Kellogg is an epitome of grime, sloth and human rot (though not without the vulnerable child at the core), which keeps the viewers emotions of utter revulsion and amusement at a 50/50 level.
Special praise must go to Jacob Reynolds, playing the young George Kellogg. I say it as I see it: he's uglier than a blind horse. But not in a repulsive way, but rather so ugly, that one could stare at his strange features and over-shaped head for hours without getting tired or repulsed. Though his retrospective scenes are rather short, he steals every one of them.
So, why the low rating and plenty negative reviews, I wondered. Well, for one I can understand that some people might not feel comfortable with the scatological humor (of which there is galore). Without having done any research on it, I could imagine that this kind of film would have been more popular in Europe than it might have been in the United States. Often I found myself reminded of French comedies a la Claude Zidi and, since we're speaking of potty-humour, of course Monty Phyton. The main criticism I would place on the director himself. No doubt, Parker is a master of his trade but you can always tell that he was uncomfortable to let his comedy (a field which Parker isn't exactly at home, perhaps with the exception of "Bugsy Malone") deteriorate into slapstick or farce – which the movie is essentially, and there is nothing wrong with that. Parker seems to have aimed more in the direction of biting satire, throwing in moments of seriousness (as in the story of Fonda's dead baby or the troubled history of Kellogg with his adopted son), which seem unnecessary, out of place, almost forced.
And now, more than 20 years down the "Road to Wellville", the movie has aged exceptionally well and is just as enjoyable as it was when I first saw it. The story and message is still as contemporary as it was, perhaps even more so. Think self-appointed health-gurus, militant vegans and fitness crusaders, who'll argue that you'll die healthier if only you forsake all earthly pleasures. In fact, not too long ago, I found myself involved in a random conversation with a vegan. I listened silently, as he told me about his excellent health – and of course that I, as a "meat-eater", was clearly on the doorstep to death. While he prattled on, I measured his skeleton-like appearance, the hollow eyes and a skin-tone that had already a slight hue of greenish (no doubt due to a lack of Vitamin B12). By the time he had seemingly finished his sermon, I nodded in agreement – I mean, what else can you do? – then moved on. And while I contemplated which steak-house I was going to visit now, I found myself subconsciously whistling the movie's title-melody. And don't try to tell me, if you're a friend of the culinary world and well-being, that you don't have a distinct desire for a hearty piece of meat after watching "The Road to Wellville".
Technically a 7/10, though it ranks among one of my personal Top-50 comedies.
The actors shine throughout. Matthew Broderick has never played a more likable character since his "Ferris Bueller's Day Out", Tracy Lind and Bridget Fonda sparkle with feminine beauty and although one can tell that Anthony Hopkins was not altogether comfortable with his role, comedy being clearly not his first line of work, he makes the best of what he's given to work with. Same goes for all the supporting cast, who are throughout quirky and likable (including Colm Meany, who has never played a slimier character), and often look, as if they had stepped out of a "Asterix"-comic-book.
Before the disastrous "The Master of Disguise" technically ended his career (and, yes, later associating himself later with Adam Sandler wasn't a good idea either; not for Carvey or anybody else on this planet), you basically couldn't go wrong with Dana Carvey. A virtual chameleon of his trade, Carvey's various roles and guises only had one thing in common: they were always funny as hell and usually stole the scene. Such is the case in this movie. Carvey's George Kellogg is an epitome of grime, sloth and human rot (though not without the vulnerable child at the core), which keeps the viewers emotions of utter revulsion and amusement at a 50/50 level.
Special praise must go to Jacob Reynolds, playing the young George Kellogg. I say it as I see it: he's uglier than a blind horse. But not in a repulsive way, but rather so ugly, that one could stare at his strange features and over-shaped head for hours without getting tired or repulsed. Though his retrospective scenes are rather short, he steals every one of them.
So, why the low rating and plenty negative reviews, I wondered. Well, for one I can understand that some people might not feel comfortable with the scatological humor (of which there is galore). Without having done any research on it, I could imagine that this kind of film would have been more popular in Europe than it might have been in the United States. Often I found myself reminded of French comedies a la Claude Zidi and, since we're speaking of potty-humour, of course Monty Phyton. The main criticism I would place on the director himself. No doubt, Parker is a master of his trade but you can always tell that he was uncomfortable to let his comedy (a field which Parker isn't exactly at home, perhaps with the exception of "Bugsy Malone") deteriorate into slapstick or farce – which the movie is essentially, and there is nothing wrong with that. Parker seems to have aimed more in the direction of biting satire, throwing in moments of seriousness (as in the story of Fonda's dead baby or the troubled history of Kellogg with his adopted son), which seem unnecessary, out of place, almost forced.
And now, more than 20 years down the "Road to Wellville", the movie has aged exceptionally well and is just as enjoyable as it was when I first saw it. The story and message is still as contemporary as it was, perhaps even more so. Think self-appointed health-gurus, militant vegans and fitness crusaders, who'll argue that you'll die healthier if only you forsake all earthly pleasures. In fact, not too long ago, I found myself involved in a random conversation with a vegan. I listened silently, as he told me about his excellent health – and of course that I, as a "meat-eater", was clearly on the doorstep to death. While he prattled on, I measured his skeleton-like appearance, the hollow eyes and a skin-tone that had already a slight hue of greenish (no doubt due to a lack of Vitamin B12). By the time he had seemingly finished his sermon, I nodded in agreement – I mean, what else can you do? – then moved on. And while I contemplated which steak-house I was going to visit now, I found myself subconsciously whistling the movie's title-melody. And don't try to tell me, if you're a friend of the culinary world and well-being, that you don't have a distinct desire for a hearty piece of meat after watching "The Road to Wellville".
Technically a 7/10, though it ranks among one of my personal Top-50 comedies.
- t_atzmueller
- 25 sep 2016
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When I saw this movie years ago in the theater, I hated it. I just watched it again (2002) and loved it. It has several laugh out loud jokes and is a running smirk movie. If you've ever had any experience with alternative meds - you'll love it to. It is so self effacing it is wonderful. Don't expect The Godfather cinema type and you won't be disappointed. It is wonderful to see Hopkins & Broderick playing it straight.
Kudos.
Kudos.
- gnxfan
- 7 mar 2002
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I've recommended this film to countless friends, and the reviews are always mixed. I lived in Battle Creek for 3 years so perhaps it just means more to me.
This film was in fact shot in NY and NC, not Battle Creek, but they still did a great job portraying the romance of the early 1900's.
The performances are top notch and the actors in this film are give their best. It's a great film, but not a critically acclaimed movie.
Dana Carey could've had more lines, but what I want to know is what happened to the character actor who played him as a child, this kid was really great and could've been huge.
The one liners in this movie are classic. It's one of those films that you think is funny, but when you recall it at a later date, its even funnier.
So get a big, buttered bowl of popcorn and enjoy it for what it is! A hilarious tale of the wacky health craze of the early 1900's.
This film was in fact shot in NY and NC, not Battle Creek, but they still did a great job portraying the romance of the early 1900's.
The performances are top notch and the actors in this film are give their best. It's a great film, but not a critically acclaimed movie.
Dana Carey could've had more lines, but what I want to know is what happened to the character actor who played him as a child, this kid was really great and could've been huge.
The one liners in this movie are classic. It's one of those films that you think is funny, but when you recall it at a later date, its even funnier.
So get a big, buttered bowl of popcorn and enjoy it for what it is! A hilarious tale of the wacky health craze of the early 1900's.
- shawnchittle
- 15 ene 2005
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- wyldwezl
- 28 oct 2003
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Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!! This movie is for fans of sick men! Lots and lots of insanity. Hopkins give an awesome performance as Kellogg and everyone else does a pretty good job. Hard to believe that Alan Parker directed this. Lots and lots of poop, farts, and boobies.
- jklein8787
- 5 nov 2003
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Based on T. C. Boyle's novel of the same name, The Road to Wellville tells the story of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his famous Sanitarium at Battle Creek, Michigan. It is a very broad satire, freeing mixing fact and fiction to create a humorous take on American health practices around the turn of the century, as well as the Battle Creek cereal boom, which lasted from 1900 to 1905. Many wonder if this is based on real history, and indeed elements of it are, but as usual, the real history turns out to be far more interesting than the Hollywood version (see, for example, the new book, "Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Religion of Biologic Living" for an lively overview of the true story). Anthony Hopkins does a bizarre, but entertaining turn as the Dr. Kellogg, and the supporting cast (including Matthew Broderick and Bridget Fonda) gamely run through the frequently scatological and sexual situations of a rather untidy script. For those who like their historical movies broad and colorful and full sophomoric humor, this movie is for them. (By the way, The Road to Wellville was actually a pamphlet written not by Kellogg, but by C. W. Post, who for years inserted it in every box of Post Toasties.)
- wilsonb2-157-805477
- 10 nov 2014
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Saw this movie twice. The first time I thought it was tasteless and boring, except for Bridget Fonda's bathtub scene. I recently saw it again after several years and it didn't seem nearly so bad. Maybe I was able to get past the initial feeling that the writers and the director thought that gags about enemas and the like were themselves laugh-worthy.
It now seems that the folks behind this production were trying something a little more ambitious than "Porky Goes to a Health Club." Maybe it's really meant as a seriocomic Martian's eye view of the current bizarre goings on regarding our own health.
A few years ago we were told to avoid butter (high in calories and cholesterol). So we switched to margarine. Oops. The health police have now thrown up their hands and pointed to the trans-fatty acids ("partially hydrogenated vegetable oil") which knocks your internal cholesterol-producing apparatus into a cocked hat. When I was a kid we were admonished to consume the health foods du jour -- whole milk and liver. (Liver was supposed to supply the body with abundant iron but I really think it was recommended so highly because nobody liked it, therefor it must be good for you.)
Of course that's all history, right? We now know so much better, which is exactly what Dr. Kellog and his colleagues thought in 1895. Each generation believes it stands on the pinnacle of knowledge and science has nothing left to do but fill in a few missing dots. What colossal arrogance.
I suspect that a hundred years from now our current hysteria will seem as deranged to scientists as Kellog's theories seem to us now. If the movie is seen from this perspective, it's a lot funnier than if you look at it simply as a series of jokes about sex and excretion.
The score is enjoyable too. The composer has matched her talents to the visuals with a deftness that's hard to describe. The performances are good, as you might expect from such a cast. But Sir Anthony ("call me Tony") Hopkins is more than merely good. He's been kind of careless in his choice of roles and one might think he's an actor of little range, his métier being the thoughtful, sensitive, quiet, quietly suffering man of reticence. But here he's great. He's got a set of false buck teeth on him that turn his every utterance into a comic statement. Not that he relies entirely on such props. Notice the scene in which he informs Mathew Broderick that his wife, Bridget Fonda, is being regularly masturbated by Dr. Spitsvogel. "It's her womb," he says confidentially, "it's being ma-NIP-ulated!"
And some of the scenes, regardless of any resonance they may have with the present concern with health, are funny in themselves. The scene in which Dr. Kellog's children are all singing Christmas carols in what appears to be a church -- all except one dopey looking kid (who grows up to be Dana Carvey). The kid stands there in the line of singers, sullenly silent, except for the occasional but highly audible rectal zephyr. It seems the perfect response to the health police who have forced Olestra from the store shelves because it causes "anal leakage."
I worked in this scene as an extra in the audience. It was filmed in the attic of one of Wilmington, North Carolina's old mansions and it was a rather spooky experience. The floor was clearly not designed to hold dozens of people and several long tons of cinematic hardware. It was like walking on a trampoline. The director kept pausing and trying to redistribute the weight but it was no use. All I could think of was the scene in Nathaniel West's "Day of the Locus" in which Napolean's army or something crashes through the fake mountain and tumbles to its death. PS: It didn't happen here.
It now seems that the folks behind this production were trying something a little more ambitious than "Porky Goes to a Health Club." Maybe it's really meant as a seriocomic Martian's eye view of the current bizarre goings on regarding our own health.
A few years ago we were told to avoid butter (high in calories and cholesterol). So we switched to margarine. Oops. The health police have now thrown up their hands and pointed to the trans-fatty acids ("partially hydrogenated vegetable oil") which knocks your internal cholesterol-producing apparatus into a cocked hat. When I was a kid we were admonished to consume the health foods du jour -- whole milk and liver. (Liver was supposed to supply the body with abundant iron but I really think it was recommended so highly because nobody liked it, therefor it must be good for you.)
Of course that's all history, right? We now know so much better, which is exactly what Dr. Kellog and his colleagues thought in 1895. Each generation believes it stands on the pinnacle of knowledge and science has nothing left to do but fill in a few missing dots. What colossal arrogance.
I suspect that a hundred years from now our current hysteria will seem as deranged to scientists as Kellog's theories seem to us now. If the movie is seen from this perspective, it's a lot funnier than if you look at it simply as a series of jokes about sex and excretion.
The score is enjoyable too. The composer has matched her talents to the visuals with a deftness that's hard to describe. The performances are good, as you might expect from such a cast. But Sir Anthony ("call me Tony") Hopkins is more than merely good. He's been kind of careless in his choice of roles and one might think he's an actor of little range, his métier being the thoughtful, sensitive, quiet, quietly suffering man of reticence. But here he's great. He's got a set of false buck teeth on him that turn his every utterance into a comic statement. Not that he relies entirely on such props. Notice the scene in which he informs Mathew Broderick that his wife, Bridget Fonda, is being regularly masturbated by Dr. Spitsvogel. "It's her womb," he says confidentially, "it's being ma-NIP-ulated!"
And some of the scenes, regardless of any resonance they may have with the present concern with health, are funny in themselves. The scene in which Dr. Kellog's children are all singing Christmas carols in what appears to be a church -- all except one dopey looking kid (who grows up to be Dana Carvey). The kid stands there in the line of singers, sullenly silent, except for the occasional but highly audible rectal zephyr. It seems the perfect response to the health police who have forced Olestra from the store shelves because it causes "anal leakage."
I worked in this scene as an extra in the audience. It was filmed in the attic of one of Wilmington, North Carolina's old mansions and it was a rather spooky experience. The floor was clearly not designed to hold dozens of people and several long tons of cinematic hardware. It was like walking on a trampoline. The director kept pausing and trying to redistribute the weight but it was no use. All I could think of was the scene in Nathaniel West's "Day of the Locus" in which Napolean's army or something crashes through the fake mountain and tumbles to its death. PS: It didn't happen here.
- rmax304823
- 14 may 2005
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I remember anticipating a really entertaining, fun movie after I read the VHS box describing the story and then read the list of actors in here. Wow, very impressive: Anthony Hopkins, John Cuscak, Matthew Broderick, Bridget Fonda, Dana Carvey, Colm Meaney, Michael Lerner, on and and on.
Wrong.
"Bathroom humor" or discussing bowel movements, etc., didn't bother me. In fact, I can laugh at that. What disappointed me about this film was that (1) - it simply wasn't funny and (2) the acting - mainly by Cusack - was brutal (3) the story was not put together well; just a mess. Cusack's loud over-acting was extremely annoying. What was he thinking? Normally a fine actor, he was the worst part of this movie, just grating. As for the classy Hopkins to be in this picture....well, all I can say is look at his resume: this wasn't the first time he wasn't very discerning about roles to play. It is disappointing, though.
As for the crude humor, you make the lines funny if you're going that route or you'll just turn people off, which is what happened to this movie. I actually gave this movie two chances, thinking I missed something.
For those few elitist critics here who think the rest of the folks "don't get it," well, maybe it's you who are full of crap, in addition the people in this movie.
Wrong.
"Bathroom humor" or discussing bowel movements, etc., didn't bother me. In fact, I can laugh at that. What disappointed me about this film was that (1) - it simply wasn't funny and (2) the acting - mainly by Cusack - was brutal (3) the story was not put together well; just a mess. Cusack's loud over-acting was extremely annoying. What was he thinking? Normally a fine actor, he was the worst part of this movie, just grating. As for the classy Hopkins to be in this picture....well, all I can say is look at his resume: this wasn't the first time he wasn't very discerning about roles to play. It is disappointing, though.
As for the crude humor, you make the lines funny if you're going that route or you'll just turn people off, which is what happened to this movie. I actually gave this movie two chances, thinking I missed something.
For those few elitist critics here who think the rest of the folks "don't get it," well, maybe it's you who are full of crap, in addition the people in this movie.
- ccthemovieman-1
- 13 nov 2006
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I can't believe some of the reviews I've read on this site about The Road to Wellville. Some people complain that it was crude and disgusting, others complain that it didn't have a coherent plot, and still others whine that it wasn't historically accurate (concerning Dr. Kellogg's methods). Those reviewers clearly missed the boat.
As for those who thought the movie was crude and disgusting, what did you expect from a comedy set in a turn-of-the-century health sanitorium run by a well meaning but eccentric doctor? Such a movie is bound to contain scenes of patients vomiting, getting enemas, and having a sexual tryst or two, just as undoubtedly occurred in many health sanitoriums at that time. Furthermore, none of those scenes were graphic, so I don't understand anybody being offended by them.
As for complaints that the movie didn't have a coherent plot, it didn't need one. It was a comedy, not a drama! The health sanitorium setting was a perfect vehicle for satirizing turn-of-the-century attitudes about health, and it was the dialogue and comedic situations that held the movie together and kept it moving, not its plot.
Finally, for those who complain that the movie wasn't historically accurate about Dr. Kellogg's actual methods (such as his character's use of electric-powered machines for health therapy), the movie was a comedy, not a biography! It was meant to elicit laughs, and in that respect it was a smashing success. I haven't laughed so much during a movie in a long time.
Some people should take Sargeant Hulka's ("Stripes") advice and "lighten up." Good comedy is not dependent on plot or historical accuracy to be entertaining; all that matters is that it's funny, and Wellville was one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen.
As for those who thought the movie was crude and disgusting, what did you expect from a comedy set in a turn-of-the-century health sanitorium run by a well meaning but eccentric doctor? Such a movie is bound to contain scenes of patients vomiting, getting enemas, and having a sexual tryst or two, just as undoubtedly occurred in many health sanitoriums at that time. Furthermore, none of those scenes were graphic, so I don't understand anybody being offended by them.
As for complaints that the movie didn't have a coherent plot, it didn't need one. It was a comedy, not a drama! The health sanitorium setting was a perfect vehicle for satirizing turn-of-the-century attitudes about health, and it was the dialogue and comedic situations that held the movie together and kept it moving, not its plot.
Finally, for those who complain that the movie wasn't historically accurate about Dr. Kellogg's actual methods (such as his character's use of electric-powered machines for health therapy), the movie was a comedy, not a biography! It was meant to elicit laughs, and in that respect it was a smashing success. I haven't laughed so much during a movie in a long time.
Some people should take Sargeant Hulka's ("Stripes") advice and "lighten up." Good comedy is not dependent on plot or historical accuracy to be entertaining; all that matters is that it's funny, and Wellville was one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen.
- barnfife-1
- 4 mar 2005
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"The Road to Wellville" was sort of silly, but quite neat. Focusing on a health spa in Michigan in the early 20th century. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins) is a little too obsessed with health, to the point where everything relates to sex. I really liked everything that they did to William Lightbody (Matthew Broderick), and when Eleanor Lightbody (Bridget Fonda) snapped at the people wearing animal skin. After watching this movie, anyone is likely to feel weird about being a health-freak (although there are some good lessons about health). Dana Carvey, John Cusack, and John Neville also have great roles. It all just goes to show why the people involved in "The Road to Wellville" are so well-regarded. Cool.
- lee_eisenberg
- 30 dic 2005
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"With friends like these, who needs enemas." is the funniest line in the movie.
If you laugh when you hear the words "shit", "poo", "enema" or "masturbation" you will enjoy this movie. Reliance on pompous people saying these words wore thin for me.
I would have made a nice 30 minute short. It dragged on and on repeating the same elements.
The actors shout as if they were on stage trying to emote to the back rows in some melodrama. I just wanted them to shut up.
The musical score reminded be of an endlessly extended frantic Wendy's commercial.
It is visually interesting with all the Victoriana, and the crazy health machines created by Dr. Kellogg.
Lots of nudity of ugly people. The extras are a bizarre looking crew, picked for their grotesqueness.
If you laugh when you hear the words "shit", "poo", "enema" or "masturbation" you will enjoy this movie. Reliance on pompous people saying these words wore thin for me.
I would have made a nice 30 minute short. It dragged on and on repeating the same elements.
The actors shout as if they were on stage trying to emote to the back rows in some melodrama. I just wanted them to shut up.
The musical score reminded be of an endlessly extended frantic Wendy's commercial.
It is visually interesting with all the Victoriana, and the crazy health machines created by Dr. Kellogg.
Lots of nudity of ugly people. The extras are a bizarre looking crew, picked for their grotesqueness.
- roedyg
- 14 oct 2006
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I just can't believe the comments I read here. Pure crap? Come on! One of the worst films ever? Pah!
This film is good, well written, well directed, and really funny. What else can I say? It seems like whenever a film with real humour is made by a well-known director, it's viewed as bullsh...! While plain stupid comedies (Pretty Woman etc..) are praised by many, elegant and clever ones like "Road to Welville" are considered as crap... I just can't believe it.
I feel saddened that such a good work is being flamed. Maybe it's because it didn't reach its public... Or that the whole purpose of the film is being missed by the majority of the public... Or that people think Parker should only make serious movies... I don't know.
It's not the first time I'm so deeply amazed by the way a film is perceived by others, but gee...
This film is good, well written, well directed, and really funny. What else can I say? It seems like whenever a film with real humour is made by a well-known director, it's viewed as bullsh...! While plain stupid comedies (Pretty Woman etc..) are praised by many, elegant and clever ones like "Road to Welville" are considered as crap... I just can't believe it.
I feel saddened that such a good work is being flamed. Maybe it's because it didn't reach its public... Or that the whole purpose of the film is being missed by the majority of the public... Or that people think Parker should only make serious movies... I don't know.
It's not the first time I'm so deeply amazed by the way a film is perceived by others, but gee...
- Soysoy
- 4 nov 2001
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I like jokes about toilets and defecation, and I also like some (not all) books of T.C. Boyle. I dont like Matthew Broderick that much. The problem of this movie is that it has no clear plot: Should it concentrate on the Lightbodys, on Wellville-Founder Kellogg or on the story of the hospital? So the scenes follow in a very unmotivated order; the story lacks any dramatic highs and lows. So we have a sligthly satiric, sometimes funny, but mostly boring movie.
- Ehrgeiz
- 25 feb 2003
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Huge cast...big production and lavish sets...fantastic performance by the great Anthony Hopkins...then it all went down the toilet with lazy vulgarity.
- docm-32304
- 18 ene 2021
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I also can not fathom the low rating. One of only a small handful of comedies that I will watch repeatedly. As other reviewers have said, George young and old is great. It's a superb ensemble though. Hopkins performance as Dr. Kellogg easily rivals Dr. Lecter. For me Cusack's second best work. Colm Meaney's best without a doubt. Camryn Manheim's small but pivotal role always brings on a smile:)
I only gave it 9 stars, but that's because I'm a tough critic. It's a spectacularly good movie. It just isn't at that stratospheric ten level. IE Star Wars IV combined with being seven years old, or Clerks. If you haven't seen it yet, do so.
I only gave it 9 stars, but that's because I'm a tough critic. It's a spectacularly good movie. It just isn't at that stratospheric ten level. IE Star Wars IV combined with being seven years old, or Clerks. If you haven't seen it yet, do so.
- borleyalpha
- 8 sep 2011
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I have come to realize that my sense of humor is very much out of sync with mainstream film tastes. Frequently, I have seen a comedy that leaves me in hysterics, only to discover that it is loathed by the mainstream media and masses alike. "The Road To Wellville" is one of these films.
When I first saw "The Road To Wellville" on Cinemax in the mid-nineties, I could not believe just how much crass and bawdy humor was packed into this film, and I could not stop laughing. Up to that time, I could not recall any other film so unashamedly filled with scatological references. I especially enjoyed the great Anthony Hopkins voicing the eccentric views of Dr. John Kellogg while defining a very strange but memorable character.
Of course, the critics panned this film for the very reasons I initially loved it. Seeing it again, I can understand their revulsion. While the film is packed with many hilariously tasteless gags, the overall story is very erratic. The main plot involving Matthew Broderick's bizarre medical treatments is rather entertaining, but John Cusack's subplot is neither very funny nor well-written. By the three-quarters mark, the film loses momentum and becomes just another tedious romantic comedy. Such a shame, considering the outrageously satirical nature of the first few acts of this film. The laughs are there, but the story is not.
When I first saw "The Road To Wellville" on Cinemax in the mid-nineties, I could not believe just how much crass and bawdy humor was packed into this film, and I could not stop laughing. Up to that time, I could not recall any other film so unashamedly filled with scatological references. I especially enjoyed the great Anthony Hopkins voicing the eccentric views of Dr. John Kellogg while defining a very strange but memorable character.
Of course, the critics panned this film for the very reasons I initially loved it. Seeing it again, I can understand their revulsion. While the film is packed with many hilariously tasteless gags, the overall story is very erratic. The main plot involving Matthew Broderick's bizarre medical treatments is rather entertaining, but John Cusack's subplot is neither very funny nor well-written. By the three-quarters mark, the film loses momentum and becomes just another tedious romantic comedy. Such a shame, considering the outrageously satirical nature of the first few acts of this film. The laughs are there, but the story is not.
- dannylectro-1
- 30 ene 2007
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Despite some good production values and the performance of Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Kellogg, I thought that "The Road to Wellville" was a major embarrassment.
As it has been proved more than a few times, just because there's a strong cast doesn't mean that the movie will be a success. I guess the mention of enemas as a punchline in almost every other joke in the movie made it such a low-grade, sophomoric comedy. Perhaps it should have been a low-budget, college campus comedy instead of an expensive, health farm comedy.
"The Road to Wellville" was one of the worst films in director Alan Parker's career.
As it has been proved more than a few times, just because there's a strong cast doesn't mean that the movie will be a success. I guess the mention of enemas as a punchline in almost every other joke in the movie made it such a low-grade, sophomoric comedy. Perhaps it should have been a low-budget, college campus comedy instead of an expensive, health farm comedy.
"The Road to Wellville" was one of the worst films in director Alan Parker's career.
- GMJames
- 30 may 2001
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"The Road to Wellville" satirizes the early 1900's Battle Creek, Michigan sanatorium operated by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (Hopkins) of corn flakes fame. What this raucous rampage of silliness lacks in story it makes up for with an aggregation of comical stereotypes who subject themselves to all manner of quackery and contraptions in the interest of promoting good health. Featuring a good cast, good production value, and flush gags about biological functions below the waste, "....Wellville" will be enjoyed most by those who can find the humor in toilet talk, farting, purging, enemas, and anything and everything having to do with the alimentary canal. (B)
- =G=
- 20 mar 2004
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- mnpollio
- 13 abr 2011
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Battle Creek, Michigan is hometown to me and several generations of my family. So, maybe I appreciated 'The Road to Wellville' more than most. After all, anyone living in Battle Creek either works for the Kellogg Company or is close to someone who does. Kellogg's and Post cereal companies have affected nearly every level of Battle Creek's evolution for 100 years or more.
The great cereal boom of the early 1900s is still talked about today. And tales of the legendary Dr. Harvey Kellogg (artfully played by Anthony Hopkins), Seventh Day Adventists, and the famous (or infamous) Battle Creek 'San' are fondly retold by some of the town's elder residents. The health regimens practiced at the B.C. Sanitarium led to a host of other health-related businesses in Battle Creek which made everything from dubious exercise equipment to nearly tasteless all-veggie soybean burgers.
This film is a lively, tongue-in-cheek rendition of the intriguing story about an era when entrepreneurship in the U.S. was at its peak. The cast, featuring Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda and Dana Carvey, is excellent and the humor as wacky as it gets.
Bon appetit!
The great cereal boom of the early 1900s is still talked about today. And tales of the legendary Dr. Harvey Kellogg (artfully played by Anthony Hopkins), Seventh Day Adventists, and the famous (or infamous) Battle Creek 'San' are fondly retold by some of the town's elder residents. The health regimens practiced at the B.C. Sanitarium led to a host of other health-related businesses in Battle Creek which made everything from dubious exercise equipment to nearly tasteless all-veggie soybean burgers.
This film is a lively, tongue-in-cheek rendition of the intriguing story about an era when entrepreneurship in the U.S. was at its peak. The cast, featuring Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda and Dana Carvey, is excellent and the humor as wacky as it gets.
Bon appetit!
- comquest
- 28 mar 2001
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As Des'ree sang in one of her tunes "you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser...". That's the case with RTW too. I have been surprised by people seeing this as a comedy, as it seems to me totally the opposite. Indeed human frailty, stupidity and weakness may seem ridiculous, hilarious. It has a Balzac touch this movie, "la comedy humaine". Typical start of the 2oth century atmosphere. People are fascinated and abide all kinds of theories even if proposed by insane or charlatan doctors. There are also vegetarians, health nuts, hedonists, entrepreneurs, and animal rights defenders. Health is a thing of great regard, and tons of nonetheless respectable gents immerse into doubtful treatment practices. This movie covers a surprisingly vast amount of character types: the businessman looking to succeed by all means, the young dreamer, the abused, love-lacking child, the concerned housewife, the leader(Kellogg), the woman complexed with her looks, the man with a sex appetite and a whole range of very influential and easily manipulable persons. The conclusions are bitter: better a businessman without scruple than a silly leader, better suffer from a middle age crisis than from abiding stupid theories, better think with your own head as incapable it may be than borrow opinions from others... Have you seen Hopkins' face with those mouse-like teeth? My rating 7/10
- Andrei_Ciprian
- 27 jul 2005
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Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins) invented corn flakes. Along with his other believes in health, he opened a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. William (Matthew Broderick) is a new patient following his wife Eleanor Lightbody (Bridget Fonda) who is a Kellogg devotee. On the train there, they encounter Charles Ossining (John Cusack) who is trying to profit from the health food craze with partner Goodloe Bender (Michael Lerner). George (Dana Carvey) is Kellogg's disappointing adopted son who is always looking for money.
This is a lot wacky turn-of-the-century health ideas. The problem is that the movie is in love with them. They take the place of a compelling story. The vast cast of characters keep the plot scattered and unfocused. It tries to be a screwball comedy but it's not funny. Alan Parker seems happy to let the plot lines drift while he pays more attention to the unusual health practices. It doesn't help that almost every character is played odd and broad.
This is a lot wacky turn-of-the-century health ideas. The problem is that the movie is in love with them. They take the place of a compelling story. The vast cast of characters keep the plot scattered and unfocused. It tries to be a screwball comedy but it's not funny. Alan Parker seems happy to let the plot lines drift while he pays more attention to the unusual health practices. It doesn't help that almost every character is played odd and broad.
- SnoopyStyle
- 20 may 2015
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Not having seen this film before, it came as a total surprise the other night when it was shown on cable. Alan Parker, the director, has adapted the T. Coraghessan Boyle's book into a hilarious comedy that evidently, judging from some of the comments to this forum, is not a crowd pleaser, yet, the film rewards those with an open mind to enjoy this hysterical take of a mad scientist, a spa, and the people that tend to patronize those places.
The story about the use of cereals, championed by Dr. John Henry Kellogg, is the basis of the story. This revolutionary doctor's methods were amazing in the way they were applied to patients going for the cure of their bad stomachs caused by the prevailing eating habits of the time.
This farce is great fun because of the cast assembled for the movie. Anthony Hopkins plays the mad Dr. Kellogg with glasses and false teeth that distort his face. We have to look hard into this mad man to realize the transformation Mr. Hopkins achieves with his character.
John Cusack, as the enterprising Charles Ossining, travels to Battle Creek, Michigan in search of riches, trying to capitalize on the cereal craze. He finds a partner in the devious Bender, played with great panache by Michael Lerner, one of the best character actors in the American cinema.
As the patrons of the spa, we encounter a young couple, the Lightbodies that go for a treatment. Briget Fonda and Matthew Broderick play the Lightbodies, a pair that is separated at their arrival and who encounter satisfaction in more ways than one, as they discover their sexuality. Lara Flynn Boyle, Camryn Manheim, Traci Lind, John Neville, Dana Carvey, Colm Meany and Jacob Reynolds are all good in their small roles.
This film, with its different kind of humor, will make anyone laugh.
The story about the use of cereals, championed by Dr. John Henry Kellogg, is the basis of the story. This revolutionary doctor's methods were amazing in the way they were applied to patients going for the cure of their bad stomachs caused by the prevailing eating habits of the time.
This farce is great fun because of the cast assembled for the movie. Anthony Hopkins plays the mad Dr. Kellogg with glasses and false teeth that distort his face. We have to look hard into this mad man to realize the transformation Mr. Hopkins achieves with his character.
John Cusack, as the enterprising Charles Ossining, travels to Battle Creek, Michigan in search of riches, trying to capitalize on the cereal craze. He finds a partner in the devious Bender, played with great panache by Michael Lerner, one of the best character actors in the American cinema.
As the patrons of the spa, we encounter a young couple, the Lightbodies that go for a treatment. Briget Fonda and Matthew Broderick play the Lightbodies, a pair that is separated at their arrival and who encounter satisfaction in more ways than one, as they discover their sexuality. Lara Flynn Boyle, Camryn Manheim, Traci Lind, John Neville, Dana Carvey, Colm Meany and Jacob Reynolds are all good in their small roles.
This film, with its different kind of humor, will make anyone laugh.
- jotix100
- 24 abr 2005
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This one is over the top--a long, loony tale, purportedly connected to the true story of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and that great American invention, perhaps our most significant contribution to la cuisine du monde: the dry, crunchy breakfast cereal meant to be consumed with milk and sugar. According to this yarn, it was originally intended as a therapeutic food for those with digestive difficulties.
The film is entertaining and wacky, but not at all credible. For some reason I liked this a lot when I saw it back in the 90s, it struck me as wacky but smartly done, while today some of it is pretty cringeworthy and other sections suffer from hammy acting and foolish writing. I guess I am giving it a 7 for sentimental. Based on a novel by T. C. Boyle.
The film is entertaining and wacky, but not at all credible. For some reason I liked this a lot when I saw it back in the 90s, it struck me as wacky but smartly done, while today some of it is pretty cringeworthy and other sections suffer from hammy acting and foolish writing. I guess I am giving it a 7 for sentimental. Based on a novel by T. C. Boyle.
- wavecat13
- 2 may 2025
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The Road to Wellville
The key to getting fit is wearing athletic apparel everywhere you go in public.
Others, like those in this dramedy, maintain exercise and diet is the key.
Breakfast cereal magnate Dr. Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins) operates a wellness center in the Michigan woods where the world's wealthiest (Matthew Broderick, Bridget Fonda) come for treatment for an assortment of ailments.
Surprisingly, most of the cures come from sexual and business liaisons with a hodgepodge of eccentrics (Lara Flynn Boyle, John Cusack, Dana Carvey) instead of coming from Kellogg's brand of abstinence and colon cleansing.
But it's those extracurricular activities that threaten the retreat's existence.
A star-studded affair that was both a critical and financial flop, this perverted depiction of Kellogg's clean living criteria from 1994 is more lecherous than humorous. And that includes Hopkins' cringe worthy turn as the cornflake maker.
Besides, who wants to swim in a pool full of milk?
Red Light
vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca
The key to getting fit is wearing athletic apparel everywhere you go in public.
Others, like those in this dramedy, maintain exercise and diet is the key.
Breakfast cereal magnate Dr. Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins) operates a wellness center in the Michigan woods where the world's wealthiest (Matthew Broderick, Bridget Fonda) come for treatment for an assortment of ailments.
Surprisingly, most of the cures come from sexual and business liaisons with a hodgepodge of eccentrics (Lara Flynn Boyle, John Cusack, Dana Carvey) instead of coming from Kellogg's brand of abstinence and colon cleansing.
But it's those extracurricular activities that threaten the retreat's existence.
A star-studded affair that was both a critical and financial flop, this perverted depiction of Kellogg's clean living criteria from 1994 is more lecherous than humorous. And that includes Hopkins' cringe worthy turn as the cornflake maker.
Besides, who wants to swim in a pool full of milk?
Red Light
vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca
- capone666
- 3 jun 2017
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