What… Never heard of it? The Road to Wellville? Starring Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Dana Carvey, Colm Meaney, Lara Flynn Boyle and John Neville? Still No?
Directed by Alan Parker, it tells the fictionalised story of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg’s (the inventor of Corn Flakes) bizarro health club from the turn of the century… the last century, not this one.
Hopkins’ version of Kellogg is an eccentric health guru who believes in “biological living,” which involves everything from electric baths to the regular use of enemas and yes, things get hilariously scatological very quickly.
Fans of pitch-dirt-coloured comedy will have a lot of fun with this one, the quirky performances are all on-point and at times, you might be convinced you’re watching some early Terry Gilliam.
The movie didn’t garner much buzz on it’s original theatrical release, in fact the reception felt pretty soggy, but since it hit Home Video, it’s become a bit of a cult favourite among we more socially subversive.
Go grab a spoon, stick on some electrodes, and strap yourself in. It’s arty, it’s fartsy, but it’s not entirely out of place on the shelf with Freaked or Nothing But Trouble.
-Pop
The Road to Wellville arrived on Home Video this week in 1995, after an October 28th, 1994 theatrical release.