The Road to Wellville

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Cast & Crew

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

Alan Parker
Director

Alan Parker
Screenwriter

Armyan Bernstein
Producer

Robert F. Colesberry
Producer

Alan Parker
Producer

Marc Abraham
Executive Producer

Tom Rosenberg
Executive Producer

Peter Biziou
Cinematographer

Gerry Hambling
Film Editing

Rachel Portman
Original Music

Brian Morris
Production Design

John Willett
Art Director

Claudette Didul
Set Decoration

Penny Rose
Costume Design

Howard Feuer
Casting

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Audience Reviews for The Road to Wellville

• Oct 07, 2014

  Quirky comedy that suggests that most health fads are based, at root, on a desire for more sex, and further that most "professionals" in that game are willingly consenting. Except for the leader, here played with anal retentive glee by Anthony Hopkins, buck toothed, insistent on colonics for everyone, and strangely matched against Dana Carvey as his unhappy, rebellious, recaltrant adopted son. The star though is hapless Matthew Broderick as the outsider with whom we are introduced to the misguided cult and its adherents. John Cusack is in here too, though I'm unclear as to just why. It's kinda fun, but no more.
  Super Reviewer
• Mar 23, 2009

  Another extravagantly underrated film, Funny & fun, A wonderful satire & a pretty good comedy with great perfs, I still feel that I've rated it a bit low, Don't miss this movie
  Arash X Super Reviewer
• Oct 31, 2008

  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.
  Cassandra M Super Reviewer
• Jul 14, 2007

  A charming comedy about the health fads which were sweeping America in the late 1800's. It kindof reminds me of all the crazes these days. The events are witnessed by Mr. and Mrs. Lightbody (Matthew Broderick and Bridget Fonda) when they visit the huge Battle Creek Sanitorium run by the destined-for-fame Dr. Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins). A lot of gross and unusual health practices are exercised at the spa, and makes for a comic time. The Lightbody couple are separated for their individualized therapies, and meet very interesting and colorful characters. I found it a lot of fun, but I'd never actually go to a place like that; though I've been approached numerous times to do so. Meat and Potatoes!
  Lafe F Super Reviewer