Rating: 
Summary: How's your health?
Review: Once again Anthony Hopkins takes his character over the top and into a hilarious trip into Battle Creek Michigan as the infamous Dr. John Kellog. Who cares if the story doesn't stick to the novel's, its simply non-stop comical sequences, peppering the eyes as one sits back and either shrieks in delight or is both appalled and embarrassed by the goings on. You'll never look at a doctor or nurse the same way again.
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Summary: Hilarious, but where's the big picture?
Review: Quite simply, this movie is hysterically funny. Well written, evenly paced and contains one of the most catchy soundtracks ever recorded. Chances are, if you're looking at this page for the DVD, you've seen the movie. If not, you can read the other reviews for the particulars because I'm going to focus on the technical aspects of the DVD. Besides, this is my second-favorite movie of all time, so any attempt to review the plot would be extremely biased and I know this movie isn't everyone's cup of tea.First of all, the movie itself looks beautiful. They did a great job on the digital transfer... the compression isn't all that noticeable and everything is crisp and clear. Audio is par for the course. Nothing too special here, but nothing lacking. However, one question begs to be asked: why, in these days of "Enhanced for 16:9 televisions," is a DVD being released containing ONLY a full screen version? The fact that they have "Full Screen Presentation" bulleted as a special feature shows just how far Columbia/Tristar missed the boat. The lack of widescreen is the only reason I've deducted a star from my rating. As for the other special features, don't be fooled by the "Bonus Trailers," which are all for other movies. Should you get the DVD? Certainly! If you love this movie, you'll enjoy watching it with a clean digital picture (especially if you've had the tape for years and it's getting worn out.) But if you've been waiting all these years for a widescreen version, you're going to have to keep waiting. This DVD can only be described as a visual and audio upgrade from the videotape, but not a definitive version of the film.
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Summary: just for the music alone
Review: sure the movie is great but i am getting this DVD for the musical background ! a rib tickler and a treat too !
Rating:
Summary: Hilariously historical, but not letterboxed
Review: The film itself is hilariously funny, for those who have an open mind and heart on the subject of body functions. However -- beware! This DVD boasts as one of its "special features" the fact that it's a FULL SCREEN version, not a letterboxed version. I doubt there will ever be another DVD edition, so pick it up, anyway. The film wasn't shot in 'scope, so it's hard to tell how much you're missing -- either you're losing a small amount from the sides, or you're actually gaining a little on the top and bottom. Anyway, a five-star feature goes down to four because of the unwise choice of a "full screen" presentation.
Rating: 
Summary: Blah. Not necessarily awful, just blah.
Review: The Road to Wellville (Alan Parker, 1994) I have thought for years that the novel upon which The Road to Wellville was based was written by the loathsome Garrison Keillor. Well, my copy showed up in the mail the other day, and I found out the novel was written by the far more easily-digested T. Coraghessan Boyle, so I decided I wouldn't exile the wife to the living room to watch this alone as I had planned. What a horrible mistake. The Road to Wellville chronicles, supposedly, the doings of a number of folks in the late nineteenth-century, all presided over by cornflake inventor John Harvey Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins). The story centers, if there can be said to be a center, around the Lightbodies, Eleanor (Bridget Fonda) and Will (Matthew Broderick), who come to Kellogg's sanitarium in order to recover from an unspecified disease of Will's (his wife confides in someone later what it is, and it's something of a major plot point). Also weaving through the tale is that of Charles Ossining (John Cusack), who gets involved with Kellogg's outcast adopted son George (Dana Carvey) and a crook named Bender (Michael Lerner, the "lost another loan to Ditech!" guy). And we haven't even begun to cover the principal actors yet, much less the cameos. You may already be able to see where I'm going with this. If so, feel free to skip to the end of the review. I've always considered Alan Parker an inconsistent director, but while mulling this travesty of a film over, I realized why. The movies he made early in his career that worked so very well (Midnight Express, Fame, The Wall, etc.) are movies where a lot of stuff is going on, and the viewer is being bombarded by stuff from every direction at all times. That's how the movies are written, and they succeed very well. The movies he's made since then have had scripts that are more focused (or, in the case of The Road to Wellville, were in desperate need of more focus), but Parker is still using the same technique. And we're still getting bombarded when we require focus. Simply put, there's too much going on in any two hours of Alan Parker celluloid, and whether or not it works has to do with the material rather than the director or the actors. After all, Parker has a history of getting fantastic actors to work on his films (perhaps another thing; in every movie Parker made until Birdy, he was working with a cast of unknowns. Starting with Mississippi Burning, he started getting the A-list) and do things that could very well destroy their careers. I'm amazed that, after this mess, Hopkins, Broderick, Cusack, and a number of others survived with their careers intact. Yes, this is a mess. Provides a few good one-liners here and there, but is basically the grown-up version of the unfunny teen sex comedy (and I can never say that without saying "American Pie and its sequels are not funny, and if you think they are, you're wrong"). Will probably be enjoyed by those who thought Scary Movie was a laff riot. Everyone else can safely stay away without feeling like they've missed anything. **
Rating:
Summary: The AMA'S Revenge Of The Naturopathic Doctor
Review: The Road to Wellville really down played Dr.John Harvey Kellog who really cared about people in real life who suffered with diseases caused by an incorrect way of eating. His healing practices are still alive and well today helping the rich and poor alike. If only the love of money didn't get in the way we would have a much better health care system then we presently have. Just hope that the movie doesn't do damage to those who are ignorant of natural healing. I enjoyed it with the exception of the things just mentioned and the nudity could of been cut out.
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Summary: Reeking of pork...
Review: This movie is a ribald and hilarious send-up of late nineteenth century ideas regarding health and how to maintain it. The unrelenting focus on exercise, clean bowels, vegetarianism, and holier-than-thou dogma propagators like Hopkins' Dr. Kellogg are eerily mirrored by today's focus on exercise, fiber, phytochemicals, and the "infomercial experts" propagating the diet and exercise culture of late-night cable TV. Watch this movie and think of it as the start of a great national industry. And eat a pork chop while you do it.
Rating:
Summary: PEARLS BEFORE SWINE?
Review: This movie is a tour-de-force for Mr. Hopkins...this movie is a satire of the highest order,and people who get hung up on the enemas are missing the point!To really appreciate what is going on in the movie,the viewer MUST have historical knowledge of the Kelloggs,the Posts,Battle Creek,and the overall context of the history of processed food,health,and nutrition in the US in the last century!Bridget,Matthew,et al are outstanding in this very entertaining film....Just as Gene Hackman counts "The Conversation" as his favorite[an excellent film nobody saw!],I am sure someday that Anthony and the crew will have very fond memories of a great movie that the"mass audiences" just could not appreciate....
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Summary: Give us a cuddle Daddy?
Review: This movie is genius. Anyone who says otherwise just doesn't get it.
Rating:
Summary: The Road to Wellville-Lots of Laughs
Review: This movie is what I would consider a cult-classic flick. The movie is all about John Harvey Kellogg who was a brilliant doctor but yet a bit eccentric in his own right. Massotherapists from the state of Ohio should love this movie because one of their Text books(The Art of Massage) for Massotherapy School was written by Kellogg himself, and it is a book full of brilliant information. The movie shows how eccentric Kellogg was and is full of laughs if you are familiar with him and his ideologies, even if you aren't familiar with Kellogg you will become a fan of his work after viewing this movie. I highly recommend it! It's a keeper!
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