Amazon.co.uk Review
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 a movie that hammers its efforts at humour too hard. The focus is split between three storylines: 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 excrement and enema jokes, the joys of this movie are distinctly scattered. --
Marshall Fine
Synopsis
Based on the best-selling novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle, THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE satirises late-19th-century health fads and medical procedures. The story focuses on Will Lightbody (Matthew Broderick) and his wife, Eleanor (Bridget Fonda), guests at the health spa of eccentric and toothy cereal mogul Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins). The couple get more than they bargain for, however, when doctors separate them and force them to undergo an array of hilariously absurd medical treatments, often involving wacky and dangerous equipment. Meanwhile, con artist Charles Ossining (John Cusack) and Kellogg's adopted son (Dana Carvey) plot to steal the doctor's coveted recipe for corn flakes.
THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE's highbrow humour lies somewhere between the stinging ironies of Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL and the spontaneous, madcap wit of a comedy sketch show. As he displayed in ANGEL HEART and PINK FLOYD: THE WALL, director Alan Parker is wonderfully adept at combining magic and mirth to make movies that entertain while subtly pressing forth a pointed moral lesson. A whimsical film, THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE mocks modernity and industrialisation and warns viewers that sometimes even supposedly enlightened minds can lead society astray.
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