The Road to Wellville (1994)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Alan Parker

Writers (WGA):

T. Coraghessan Boyle (novel)
Alan Parker (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 October 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | History

Tagline:

A comedy of the heart and other organs.

Plot:

A story about the ins and outs of one unusual health facility in the early 20th century, run by the eccentric Dr. Kellogg.

Plot Keywords:

Health | Sex | Patient | Diet | Adopted Son

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Dr. John Harvey Kellogg
Bridget Fonda	...	Eleanor Lightbody
Matthew Broderick	...	William Lightbody
John Cusack	...	Charles Ossining
Dana Carvey	...	George Kellogg
Michael Lerner	...	Goodloe Bender
Colm Meaney	...	Dr. Lionel Badger
John Neville	...	Endymion Hart-Jones
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Ida Muntz
Traci Lind	...	Nurse Irene Graves
Camryn Manheim	...	Virginia Cranehill
Roy Brocksmith	...	Poultney Dab
Norbert Weisser	...	Dr. Spitzvogel
Monica Parker	...	Mrs. Tindermarsh
Jacob Reynolds	...	Young George Kellogg

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-3 | Iceland:L | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, New York, USA

Company:

Beacon Communications

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Mr. Unpronounceable is dead, you can see him breathing.

Quotes:

Charles: You hooked me like a fish, Bender. You scaled me, you gutted me, you stuffed me and fried me, chewed me up, swallowed me, and shat me out again!

Soundtrack:

All Ungherese

Hilarious Fun!

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!