The Road to Wellville

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DeAnna M It seemed like it was tying too hard to be an old tymie slapstick comedy. But it just ended up being painfully over acted. A waste of a good cast. It’s a good subject matter. It could have been a really a good move. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/21/24 Full Review j-charles d Sans doute a reevaluer en 2023 , compte tenu de nos debats sur l emprise medicale et les faje meds . Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/24/23 Full Review Adam S I'm surprised by the negative reviews. Well, then again, it doesn't surprise me because I bet a lot of those negative reviews are Seventh Day Adventists or those that fear reprisals from that religious cult. You see, the film is based on the lives of one of their members that exposes the craziness of most religious denominations in the USA. It's a genius film. This timely movie was released when many folks were engaged in yet another health fad. These health nuts, including myself, would become obsessive about their routines. They thought they possessed the secret the others were too stupid to practice. Not to mention, people were already seeing the detrimental effects of the obsession with aerobics classes of the late 1980s and early 1990s. They felt like no other generation before knew how to stay healthy. This movie may have exaggerated some of the trends at the time but the upper classes did indeed travel to these sanitariums, eat these foods and engage in many of these crazy approaches over the years. This movie also aged well, as we can see the crazy startups and worship of capitalism in the news today. A sucker is born every day. It is as true now, as it was then. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon of copycat business ideas. Through a period piece, this film cleverly becomes an exercise in self reflection. This film turns the mirror back upon our current obsessions with sex and health. I may be biased but since I know the historic venue where this was filmed. Lake Mohonk, in New Paltz, NY is a beautiful spot where I have spent many a week during all four seasons. It added an extra thrill to the film and helped me visualize what life may have been like during that time. I highly recommend this comedy. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/06/23 Full Review Steve O UNDER-VALUED . . . Poor Ratings due to Kellogg's cereal actually being about this absurdly funny approach to health. The expansive cast jam pack every scene with funny moments -- Comedy Genius -- yet a True Story & period piece. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautifully filmed and with an authentic-seeming historic feel. This is not Battle Creek, Michigan, though. You can tell because there is no lake next to the san, nor are there the sorts of interesting rock formations shown in the outdoor scenes as being on the san property. I wondered about this while watching the film since I once worked in the former sanatarium, which is now a federal government building on the west side of downtown near the Seventh Day Adventist tabernacle. According to Wikipedia, the "northeast US scenes" (I don't know of any other locations; it was all supposedly Battle Creek) were primarily filmed at Mohonk Mountain House, an historic stick-frame hotel in New Paltz, New York. I'll keep that in mind as I'd love to visit it some day. The cast was excellent, from Anthony Hopkins as Kellogg to John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Bridget Fonda and others. Broderick and Cusack are both great at the moderate slapstick required to pull off those roles. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review ronald h _The Road to Wellville_ belongs on the "10 Most Tasteless Movies" list, along with _The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover_ and others of that ilk. It's abundant with scatological and sexual jokes, and it's just shamelessly crude. But with a cast that includes Anthony Hopkins (in the most absurd role imaginable), Bridget Fonda, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Dana Carvey, and Michael Lerner, along with beautiful period costumes, glorious cinematography, and a fantastic musical score by Rachel Portman, it can't be entirely dismissed. Endured perhaps, but not dismissed. It's a savage satire about John Harvey Kellogg's famous health sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan in the early 1900's. Kellogg (Hopkins) rants at his patients about cleansing their colons with daily enemas and avoiding meat and sex. A month at his sanitarium is not exactly a picnic (although the "no sex" mandate is violated frequently). Fonda and Broderick play a married couple who want to improve their health (her more than him). Cusack and Lerner are business partners who are in Battle Creek to cash in on the new corn flake craze. There isn't much of a plot, just lots of madness. Apparently, director Alan Parker periodically gets in a mood to make an offensive film. Consider the dismal 1980's _Angel Heart_. Here, he again seems intent on offending his audience, but this time while making them laugh uncomfortably. If you like that kind of thing, you'll probably like this movie. There are plenty of scenes that made me cringe, but the whole thing is so ridiculous, I couldn't help but chuckle. I will never watch it a second time, though. Once is enough. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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