As Des'ree sang in one of her tunes "you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser...". That's the case with RTW too. I have been surprised by people seeing this as a comedy, as it seems to me totally the opposite. Indeed human frailty, stupidity and weakness may seem ridiculous, hilarious. It has a Balzac touch this movie, "la comedy humaine". Typical start of the 2oth century atmosphere. People are fascinated and abide all kinds of theories even if proposed by insane or charlatan doctors. There are also vegetarians, health nuts, hedonists, entrepreneurs, and animal rights defenders. Health is a thing of great regard, and tons of nonetheless respectable gents immerse into doubtful treatment practices. This movie covers a surprisingly vast amount of character types: the businessman looking to succeed by all means, the young dreamer, the abused, love-lacking child, the concerned housewife, the leader(Kellogg), the woman complexed with her looks, the man with a sex appetite and a whole range of very influential and easily manipulable persons. The conclusions are bitter: better a businessman without scruple than a silly leader, better suffer from a middle age crisis than from abiding stupid theories, better think with your own head as incapable it may be than borrow opinions from others... Have you seen Hopkins' face with those mouse-like teeth? My rating 7/10
Review of The Road to Wellville
