IMDb > The Road to Wellville (1994)
The Road to Wellville
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The Road to Wellville (1994) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
5.3/10   6,117 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alan Parker
Writers (WGA):
T. Coraghessan Boyle (novel)
Alan Parker (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Road to Wellville on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 October 1994 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | History more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
one of the best comedies I've ever seen more (91 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

Runtime:
118 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby SR | SDDS

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Mr. Unpronounceable is dead, you can see him breathing. more
Quotes:
Ida Muntz: Do you masticate, Mr. Lightbody? more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Action: Blowhard (#1.4)" (1999) more
Soundtrack:
Rigoletto more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
29 out of 34 people found the following comment useful.
one of the best comedies I've ever seen, 5 March 2005
9/10
Author: barnfife-1 from Hendersonville, North Carolina

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.

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