The Road to Wellville Photos

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Cast

Matthew Broderick
as Will Lightbody

John Cusack
as Charles Ossining

Dana Carvey
as George Kellogg

Michael Lerner
as Goodloe Bender

Colm Meaney
as Dr. Lionel Badger

John Neville
as Endymion Hart-Jones

Lara Flynn Boyle
as Ida Muntz

Traci Lind
as Nurse Irene Graves

Camryn Manheim
as Virginia Cranehill

Roy Brocksmith
as Poultney Dab

Norbert Weisser
as Dr. Spitzvogel

Monica Parker
as Mrs. Tindermarsh

Jacob Reynolds
as Young George Kellogg

Michael Goodwin
as Dr. Frank Linniman

Marshall Erwin Efron
as Bartholomew Bookbinder

Alexander Slanksnis
as Mr. Unpronounceable

Carole Shelley
as Mrs. Hookstratten

Gabriel Barre
as Desk Clerk

Robert Tracey
as Ernest O'Reilly

Ann Tucker
as Hannah

Jemila Ericson
as Mrs. Kellogg

George Nannerello
as Reporter

Marianne Muellerleile
as Nurse Bloethal

Jean Wenderlich
as Ralph

Mark Jeffrey Miller
as Woodbine

Joanne Pankow
as Laughing Lady

Mary Jane Corry
as Pianist

Valliere Richard Auzenne
as 1st Reporter

George Nannarello
as 2nd Reporter

James Bigwood
as 3rd Reporter

David Kraus
as Laughing Instructor

D. Anthony Pender
as Waiter on Train

Mary Lucy Bivins
as Woman on Train

William Hempel
as Bellman

Richard H. Thornton
as Mr. Abernathy

Lisa Altomare
as Mrs. Portois

Jim Bath
as Bartender

Madeline Shaw
as 1st Waitress

Barbara Phillips
as 2nd Waitress

Lindsay Hutchinson Berte
as Breathing Instructor

Denise S. Bass
as Nurse

Charlotte H. Ballinger
as San Guest

John Henry Scott
as Bath Attendant

Richard K. Olsen
as Fox Fur Man

Ann Deagon
as Fox Fur Woman

Thomas Myers Jr.
as Process Server

Beth Bostic
as Miss Jarvis

Kerry Maher
as Doorman

Sam Garner
as Farrington

David Snell

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Critic Reviews for The Road to Wellville

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.
  Kevin M. W 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

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