Morti di salute

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.

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 judge the worth of a movie by how many times I want to watch it and I never seem to get tired of this one. An outstanding cast coupled with a delightful mix of period and real history add to the enjoyment. In addition, the director has an excellent sense of timing, the movie is well costumed and the music often lends itself well to comic moments. Of course, an overwhelming element of sex adds to its irreverent charm. The leads read(pardon the cliché)like a who's who of fine acting. Anthony Hopkins, John Cusack, Mathew Broderick, Dana Carvey and Bridgette Fonda head an excellent cast of character actors. If you look closely, you might recognize one of the "cookoo cookoo" Pigeon sisters from the original Odd Couple playing John Cusack's aunt. If you have any more doubts just remember the words of Nurse Graves " An erection is a flagpole on your grave".

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!

At the time of the release of "The Road to Wellville," I was the opinion page editor for the Battle Creek, Michigan, newspaper. I also had written a history of the life of work of Will K. Kellogg, founder of Kellogg Co. and brother of the film's hero, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (played by Anthony Hopkins). I had read and published a review of T.C. Boyle's novel (which I enjoyed, but questioned for its historical inaccuracies). So I suppose I was a natural to be asked by the newspaper and to review the film. As a result, I was in the front row of an audience of Battle Creek residents during the "Michigan premiere" of the movie. To put it mildly, the audience was at times shocked and bemused, but overall they were pretty entertained. The most blatant fictions that should be corrected are that the old Battle Creek Sanitarium was *not* a coed facility, that female nurses *never* gave enemas to male guests (or males to females, for that matter), that Dr. Kellogg did *not* die while diving in his 70s (he was 91 and died in bed), and that George Kellogg -- a very real human being -- was *not* a wayward drunk. In fact, the only blatantly factual material is stated in the first five minutes, and then the film becomes fiction. Much is changed from the original novel (particularly how Dr. Kellogg deals with George), and the serio-comic tone of the novel is transformed into stupid, juvenile titillation over bodily fluids and sexual escapades. However, the movie *does* capture the mood and atmosphere of Battle Creek in the first few years of the 20th century -- the charlatans, the fly-by-nights and the ne'er-do-wells are shown for pretty much what they were. The faddists who took advantage of sincere Seventh-day Adventist health doctrine are extremely well depicted, as are there gullible "patients." And -- despite the phony rabbit teeth -- Hopkins is awfully fun as Dr. Kellogg. The satire is well-taken and in many ways successful. Overall, I recommend reading Boyle's novel over seeing this film, but I also recommend reading a serious history of the cereal industry and its antecedents before believing a word of the fictional creations in both the movie and the novel. If you want to watch a great Parker film, rent "Pink Floyd The Wall" and skip this one. But if you want to get a feel for Anthony Hopkins' incredible acting range, this is worth seeing. Not for much else, though!