The Road To Wellville

Rating:
Summary: An Overacted Mess of a Movie That Could've Been So Good
Review: I'd love to give this movie a great review, I really would. I read Boyle's book and looked forward to comparing it to the movie. The differences couldn't have been more striking. So many of the subplots were mishandled and sparsely explained in the movie, I was glad to have read the book beforehand just so I knew what they were talking about!

With the exception of Anthony Hopkins and Bridget Fonda, the acting was abyssmal. Everytime John Cusack went bouncing across the screen, shrieking over-animatedly about this and that, the impact of his words was throughly lost on me. I didn't feel the essence of any of the characters. I do realize that the movie is not supposed to be a deep exploration of the inner psyche, but it would have been nice to actually be able to believe anything these characters were saying or feeling.

All in all, great story, great concept, great effort, I'm sure, but "road to Wellville" hits so far off the mark, it's a wonder Cusack or Broderick ever worked again. Read the book instead.

Rating:
Summary: Does no one get this move?
Review: If you are a person like me, who grew up in a health conscious family that has the courage to laugh at themselves, this movie is great. It always gets OK reviews because either they don't understand what it is like to convict your life to eating healthy, or they are health nuts that don't have the guts to laugh at themselves.

This movie start off with one of the funniest openings in movie history (I will not tell you anything about it. It must be seen). It has an all-star cast, which is lead by a fantastic performance by Anthony Hopkins. It is one of those performances that didn't get the deserved recognition because he was so good at it that he convinces the audience that he actually talks and acts that way. I know it sound funny, but through the movie you'll start laughing because you'll realize that Hopkins is talking like a beaver/gym teacher, but he makes it work throughout the movie.

The lines and scenes that come out of this movie about eating right and being healthy are legendary. My favorite being: "Health! The open sesame to the suckers purse." Don't think I gave away the funniest line either, there are many more.

It must also be noted that stuff like where this movie was shot is breath taking. The costumes, the backgrounds, the buildings, and the scenery are superb.

This movie is well worth seeing especially if you: Eat healthy, work in a health food store, know people that are health crazy, or if you want to laugh at the people who make health a major part of their life.

Rating:
Summary: For Health Nuts (with a sense of humor)Only
Review: If you are a person like me, who grew up in a health conscious family that has the courage to laugh at themselves, this movie is great. It always gets OK reviews because either they don't understand what it is like to convict your life to eating healthy, or they are health nuts that don't have the guts to laugh at themselves.

This movie start off with one of the funniest openings in movie history (I will not tell you anything about it. It must be seen). It has an all-star cast, which is lead by a fantastic performance by Anthony Hopkins. It is one of those performances that didn't get the deserved recognition because he was so good at it that he convinces the audience that he actually talks and acts that way. I know it sound funny, but through the movie you'll start laughing because you'll realize that Hopkins is talking like a beaver/gym teacher, but he makes it work throughout the movie.

The lines and scenes that come out of this movie about eating right and being healthy are legendary. My favorite being: "Health! The open sesame to the suckers purse." Don't think I gave away the funniest line either, there are many more.

It must also be noted that stuff like where this movie was shot is breath taking. The costumes, the backgrounds, the buildings, and the scenery are superb.

This movie is well worth seeing especially if you: Eat healthy, work in a health food store, know people that are health crazy, or if you want to laugh at the people who make health a major part of their life.

Rating:
Summary: Boring and stupid
Review: If you like to watch people talk about enemas and eletric masturbaters then this is your movie. What a waste of talent. I thought it was 4 hours long, thats how boring it was.

Rating:
Summary: Wellville, a movie NOT for the weak of mind!
Review: If you like your movies to be a series of throughly masticated one liners, then the "Road to Wellville" is not for you. If you are looking for a movie that has incredible depth of history, and understanding of how the wealthy people tried to buy their way to good health and fitness, with a light touch of humor, than this is a movie for you. "The Road to Wellville" is like going fishing. Patience and sublety are the rules of the day when absorbing the lessons in this movie. Are rich people really this stupid? Will some people pay ANY price for good health? The answers in this movie are YES! Bottom line, if you are a lowbrow, you will definetly NOT like this movie. And, in order to get the full effect, you must watch it more than once.

I grew up no more than 25 miles from Battle Creek, and went to a school that was built and paid for by the Kellogg foundation. The commitment that the Kellogg family has made to West Michigan life is enormous. Dr. Kellogg and his Sanitarium in Battle Creek was long gone by the time I was born, but there are many stories that still float around about the "San". I am glad that someone actually had the foresight to record it for future posterity.

Rating:
Summary: A must see!
Review: It's my 1st Alan Parker's movie.After I saw it, I decided to know all the other this great director's works.The story is weired & funny, I just love it!

Rating:
Summary: This Flick is Wild!
Review: It's off-beat, and full of tongue-in-cheek humor, and I'd consider it more 'adult-oriented'... but it's funny. I've seen the editied version on TV, and decided to buy the 'full' version... I'm glad I did.
Note: You'll like it if you have a slightly twisted sense of humor.

Rating:
Summary: This Flick is Wild!
Review: It's off-beat, and full of tongue-in-cheek humor, and I'd consider it more 'adult-oriented'... but it's funny. I've seen the editied version on TV, and decided to buy the 'full' version... I'm glad I did.
Note: You'll like it if you have a slightly twisted sense of humor.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven, not for everyone, but still pretty good
Review: It's uneven because the movie can't quite figure out what it wants to be. It's a comedy, mostly--I burst into laughter several times. Yet, at times it's sad, and at other times it's almost horror, as when people start dying through electrical contraptions gone bad, and possibly through anorexia. It's also pretty scatalogical, what with all the enemas and obsessions with bowels (that's why it's not for everyone). It's a pretty good satire of John Kellogg, of Kellogg's Corn Flakes (who, by all accounts, was a thoroughly strange fellow), and it does a good job of sending up the kind of obsessive vegetarian anti-fur silliness that exists even today (there is an amusing scene when Kellogg shows the audience his "vegetarian wolf"). Anthony Hopkins, with buck teeth and glasses, is unrecognizable, as is Dana Carvey as his rotten-toothed adopted son. What the movie says clearly is that people who are this obsessive-compulsive over their health have sexual problems, and come from dysfunctional families. It's pretty funny, but certainly not for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Does no one get this move?
Review: Let me first say that the only reason this movies got made was because it seemed an interesting script to the Hollywood execs. Luckily enough it was shopped to enough big stars that it made at least a little splash in Hollywood. Part historical record, corrupted by the industrialism of America, and part comedy. Not one review I read captures the truth of this movie. I must admit I should read this book first, but having studied Eastern and Western medical practices for over a decade, I understand the premise behind the book, movie, and Dr. Kellog's, somewhat, misguided health practices themselves. The truth behind them is real, despite what your doctor wants you to belive, "become an slave to the pharmaceutical companies." I emplor all that read this to discover the power of "food combining" and a fitness related lifestyle. Your health and longevity depend upon it. Please read anything by Daniel Reid, and any author he recomends. I myself am working on writing a series of books that tackle this problem and many more. This movie is nothing more than Hollywood taking liberty with a, slightly, misguided idealist from almost a hundred years ago. He had the right idea, just a little early for what we really need in this day and age.