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Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, Camryn Manheim, Colm Meaney, Dana Carvey ...( see more  see more... ) , John Cusack , John Neville , Lara Flynn Boyle , Matthew Broderick , Michael Lerner , Traci Lind

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...( read more  read more... ) 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

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41% liked it

5,378 ratings

Critics

44% liked it

16 critics

R, 2 hr.

Directed by: Alan Parker

Release Date: October 28, 1994

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DVD Release Date: September 10, 2002

Stats: 205 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (205)

  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    Great story, great cast! Another great Alan Parker film, it will have you laughing while eating your cornflakes!
  • bradwest
    November 21, 2008
    bradwest
    Interesting satire on the health craze.
  • stopitgoaway
    October 31, 2008
    stopitgoaway
    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'...( read more)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.
  • sapphirechaos05
    January 29, 2008
    sapphirechaos05
    i'm just sayin, lol...wow....take it how you want, lol
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 14, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    A charming comedy about the health fads which were sweeping America in the late 1800's. It kindof reminds me of all the crazes these days. The events are witnessed by Mr. and Mrs. Lightbody (Matthew Broderick and Bridget Fonda) when they visit the huge Battle Creek Sanitorium run...( read more) by the destined-for-fame Dr. Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins). A lot of gross and unusual health practices are exercised at the spa, and makes for a comic time. The Lightbody couple are separated for their individualized therapies, and meet very interesting and colorful characters. I found it a lot of fun, but I'd never actually go to a place like that; though I've been approached numerous times to do so. Meat and Potatoes!
  • jasontmartin3
    October 18, 2009
    jasontmartin3
    This is one of my top ten fav. If you have never seen it you must NOW! Such a good story with some truth behind it, org story with so meny things going on.I LOVE IT!!!
  • xcalibr377
    September 2, 2009
    xcalibr377
    uhhh..aka...The Road to Victorian Sex Camp. Anthony Hopkins fascination with bowl movements was awkwardly funny.
  • supernowhere
    August 13, 2009
    supernowhere
    Je ne me souviens plus de ce film, j'en ai seulement gardé une bonne impression.
  • DreamsofRidingThestrals
    May 24, 2009
    DreamsofRidingThestrals
    One of the weirdest films, that I have ever seen. Way too many "bowel" references, for my comfort!
  • sparrow4242
    May 1, 2009
    sparrow4242
    Very quirky, highly underrated. Not the best movie ever made, but original and clever, for sure.

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The Road To Wellville Trivia

  • Anthony Hopkins' "The Road to Wellville" took place in which city?  Answer »
  • Movie Trivia (Question 417318464) Anthony Hopkins Played the health zealot John W. Kellogg (real-life inventor of corn flakes) in which film?  Answer »
  • Who played Dr. Kellogg in the 'Road to Wellville'?  Answer »
  • What movie contains this quote? "Follow your heart. It is the one organ that will surely let you down one day so don't waste it while you are living?"  Answer »
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