The Road to Wellville [Blu-ray]

When I first saw this film, I thought it an allegory on current medical faddishness, which it could be, certainly. It is actually based in part on the actual Battle Creek Sanitarium headed by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Many of the activities are depicted as shown in contemporary movies of the “patients” at the turn of the 19th century. The cast is outstanding, but Anthony Hopkins just kills as Kellogg, with Dana Carvey’s performance outstanding as the adult George Kellogg, one of J. H. Kellogg’s many adopted children. Two stories center around Matthew Broderick's and John Cusack’s characters, with able support by a terrific cast. This film has been missing from the "decent disc” inventory until June of 2020 and the Blu-Ray release, and I stumbled across it by accident. The Blu-Ray version is an excellent transfer. This film is a definite winner.

This is a psychological roller coaster, including all sorts of stages of development echoed again and again in treatment.Oral? Yes, eat healthy food, no filthy rotting disgusting meat. Bonus points for corn flakes and peanut butter, highly touted by Kellogg for his patients.Anal? So, so many enemas. Gallons upon gallons of fluids pumped into unsuspecting rectums in the desire to clean from the inside out.Sexual? As awful as filthy, rotting, disgusting meat. Don't do it, with anyone else or yourself, and don't even think about it.Despite the above stern treatments, a burger or steak still holds immense appeal to the patients. Sex seems more natural than breathing, including a spanking machine, electrically stimulating shocks, devices meant to titillate, and rogue doctors from outside the San cheerfully helping women heal their female hysteria.The language is suitably old fashioned, the costuming and sets phenomenal. Quite an interesting ride, though I'm certain I wouldn't book a vacation there.Side note: This may be my favorite Dana Carvey role ever. Party On!

With a great cast that doesn't end , I long have loved this movie to the fact I bought a German version to own it in blue-ray. I recently bought this movie in it's English version on blue ray and don't care about the money spent . It makes me laugh and laugh again It tells of an old hospital for the bowels ( called a sanitarium ) and the many zany people who visit it for " the cure " of their bowels or bad indigestion. It tells of many Quacks ( fake doctors ) and tells it in the most funny way .Anthony Hopkins once again proves his acting ability as the infamous Dr Kellogg of corn flake fame . His recipe for success is 15 gallons of yogurt , not to be eaten but delivered to a different orifice. While diagnosing enemas for his patients daily , he looks at sex as the killer of men( besides procreation). Matthew Broderick is a sans visitor with indigestion because of his wife s insistence to be there for the cure , which she had experienced before . Bridget Fonda plays the supportive wife. Broderick is great as the forever sexually aroused man . John Cusack plays a man they meet on the train to Wellville whose interests include getting rich in the breakfast food industry, Michael Lerner is the contriving schemer Cusack is looking for he has been burdened with his aunts money. All takes place in the 1800s.and the practices then were laughable now .All in all , one of my favorite comedies of all time....

Lake Mohonk Mountain House and Bridget Fonda in her prime, what's not to like? I first saw this back in 1994, when it first came out, and loved it. I never understood the negative reviews. It is not gut-busting laughable (unless you have a "kink" in your intestines); however, it is a light-hearted look at the historical non-fiction of the Battle Creek San. And yes, it did actually burn down in 1902. If you've ever had to put up with vegan food fanatics and the like you will appreciate this romp. A most pleasant diversion from today's pandemic health concerns. Hey George, throw another turd at Dr. Kellogg for me!

All context, no story. One senses this was intended as comedy. Obviously a lot of time was spent researching and recreating quack cures from 1900, but pretend shock and overplayed awkwardness from the actors subjected to them time and again quickly wears thin. Director Alan Parker has made a fatal error here: if creepy Dr. Kellogg's bizarre health resort is Oz, then the unwitting victims -- the guests -- must be Dorothy, ie, plain folks. Here the audience surrogates are as whacky as the nightmare -- hence there is no entree for us, nothing's relatable. The subplot of Kellogg's wayward son conspiring with cornflake con men is played in that broad way some call "played for laughs", but never gets any, because it is never based in anything like real behavior. The Three Stooges have more subtlety . . .

The Road To Wellville is a satire of health trends which are always coming and going in America. This story takes place at the turn of the century and shows how health trends are led by a mix of fanatics who believe they have found the answer to a better life and grifters looking to make a buck. Anthony Hopkins was the former and John Cusack was the latter. Into this mix is added Matthrew Broderick who has irritable bowl syndrome but finds his cure in sexual thoughts about the nursing staff and best of all Dana Carvey who plays Hopkins son and looks like a total nut. Laughs come in the form of exaggerations such as the patients doing a laugh exercise of putting Broderick through a water treatment that looks like torture. It’s a very weird, strange and over the top mix and very enjoyable as well.

The funniest thing in the world is Matthew Broderick running around screwing women at a turn of the century health resort....not. Surely a script that revealed more facts about Kellogg and the craze for good health that he was part of could have been more interesting and a heck of a lot more amusing.

The first couple minutes were entertaining. The rest seemed like a bunch of coked up actors pretending to be actors that were pretending to be funny.

Based on the quasi historical novel by T.C. Boyle, Alan Parker's adaptation tells of the hijinks up at the Battle Creek sanatorium at the end of the 19th century. It is a centre of health mania, headed up by the one and only Dr. Kellogg (Hopkins), who believes carnal impulses are dangerous, and clean bowels are the end all, be all of personal health and hygiene. A young couple enters (Broderick and Fonda) to seek healing of their own, while a young entrepreneur (Cusack) and a disgraced son of Kellogg (Carvey) attempt to launch their own breakfast cereal brand.A quirky & curious affair from the usually straight-laced veteran Parker, 'Wellville' boasts several enjoyable qualities. First off, we have a scene chewing Hopkins as Dr Kellogg, false teeth, cartoon accent and all, and he is a real treat to watch. The rest of the all-star cast all do satisfactory work, though none ever outshine Hopkins, with Broderick being mainly the suffering butt (pun very much intended) of the film's more anatomically-minded humour. Indeed, the playful contrast of period class and lowbrow gags does allow for a good few chuckles, and unlike your typical Sandler production, the sanatorium provides a decent context for the humour and is not gratuitous. This is all perfectly underscored by a zany soundtrack from romance veteran Rachel Portman, at points reminding me of Elfman's earlier works.However, the film's endgoal is not quite clear, and does sometimes undercut the fun; is it a health craze satire, a personal story of real human nature and how it shouldn't be suppressed, or just a wacky romp? It's all of that, and yet, no one element ever feels like the forefront of the film, with Parker more interested in seeing Broderick get pumped full of enemas and yoghurt than using it to make much of a point. Plus, the pacing does wind down by the end, and it feels like the film could wrap up sooner than it does.That being said, I rather enjoyed myself all the same. it's still perfectly watchable with enough strengths of its own to make for a unique title in Parker's distinguished catalogue.

Although the DVD is labeled as such on the disk and on the case it is NOT a Region 2 PAL disk. It will not play on any of my machines. I'm sending this back. I was sent a second disk which was also unplayable. The vendor refunded without question. Bit disappointed but they were very fair and I'd use them again. Obviously a bad batch.

This movie is, for me, one of the most wonderful entertainment I've ever had. Anthony Hopkins makes here an extraordinary performance. It has also a part of documentary as you can see how worked the old machinery used in the early 20th century wellness sanatoriums. The directing is brilliant and accurate. The music matches totally with what appears on the screen. The settings are beautiful and the coordination of all the extras, high numbered in this movie, is absolutely perfect, knowing how hard it is to achieve it. Bravo to Alan Parker and to all the cast and team. I love this movie and I watch it very often. No, no, no: no one paid me to write this review.

Alan Parker on good form directing a glimpse of life in early 20th century mid west America in a health spa sanitorium with a difference.Anthony Hopkins as Kellogg is on cracking comic form and the sub plots on sexual repression twist and turn intregingly and hilariously.Adult themes amusingly presented and played beautifully by an excellent ensemble cast.Film Buff 51

Funny film stars Anthony Hopkins as health fanatic doctor kelloggs .