Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Documentary by Christopher Bell

As a sports fan (and one who admits watching professional wrestling at times as a guilty pleasure), I am well aware of what a prominent controversy steroids are in sports today. I went into Christopher Bell’s documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster expecting a polemic about the dangers of steroids. What I got instead was unexpected and insightful, as Bell probed a much deeper issue than steroids, namely America’s obsession with winning.

I could easily identify with the opening scenes in the movie. Like Bell and his two brothers, I was in my adolescent/teen years during the mid 1980s when the culture became dominated by the bare chested, ultra-macho images of Hulk Hogan, Sly Stallone as Rambo, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan/The Terminator/Commando. They were the Regan-era “America is back on top and kicking ass” mantra personified (the doc reminded me that Hogan burst onto the scene by demolishing a supposedly Iranian bad guy, The “Iron Sheik,” for the world title). Like Bell and his brothers, I saw these men as my heroes-I had a Hogan poster on the back of my bedroom door.

The film then goes on to cover Hogan having to publicly admit his steroid use, as well as Schwarzenegger’s admission in an interview of his use of the substances. I assumed then that the film would take the direction I was expecting, namely how dangerous abuse of steroids is and how many lives were destroyed by these substances.

Bell’s response is somewhat surprising, as well as profound: while the film is not “pro-steroid,” it rather passionately argues that the actual dangers of steroids have been somewhat overstated-it has claimed nowhere near the number of victims as have other drugs, particularly the legal drugs tobacco and alcohol. Furthermore, it rather courageously argues that steroids have been rather unfairly made a scapegoat and calls into question the previously unchallengeable position that using steroids is “cheating.” It is cheating, yet how is steroid use by an athlete different from 1) The US Olympic team training in high-altitude Colorado Springs in order to raise red blood counts? 2) A golfer such as Tiger Woods having Lasik surgery in order to obtain perfect vision? 3) Musicians who take beta-blockers to ease performance anxiety? 4) Fighter pilots who are required to use amphetamines when flying a mission? 4) Bodybuilders and athletes who use numerous other performance enhancement supplements? (As a fascinating side plot, Bell exposes the $24-billion supplement industry as an unregulated scam. He and two assistants concoct a fully legal supplement, mainly rice powder, in Chris’s kitchen. Furthermore, for the ad for his “supplement” Chris has “Before” and ultra-buff “After” pictures of himself taken-on the same day.)

The film’s argument that steroids have been demonized beyond their actual danger (a clip from a 1990s after-school special, in which a young Ben Affleck destroys himself on steroids, is hilariously bad on a Reefer Madness level) uncovers an even more ambitious and profound argument, that America itself is “on steroids” and that steroid abuse is simply a byproduct of our obsession with winning at all costs.

This “win at all costs” mentality has affected Bell’s own family. Bell admits that he used steroids-and his brothers still do. His older brother, Mark, is a former WWE “jobber” (i.e. a wrestler paid to lose), who never realized his dream of becoming a wrestling headliner. Touchingly, Christopher notes how his brother, who has a decent job, a home and a loving wife, somehow considers himself a loser because he was not one of the very few who achieved superstardom. His younger brother, Mike, promises his wife that he will quit taking steroids once he achieves his goal of a 700 pound bench press. However, when asked by Chris if he will take steroids again, Mike admits, frankly, that he probably will. At a power lifting event, Mike realizes his goal and bench presses an amazing 705 pounds. There to cheer him on are his family. The brothers’ very likeable parents are upset that their sons use steroids, yet, in a remarkable freeze-frame, Mike’s parents-and Chris-are shown cheering Mike on wildly as he lifts the weights. Yes, it might seem hypocritical for the family to be cheering on a loved one they know is “cheating,” but, in all honesty, who wouldn’t?

Late in the film, Bell states that ''there's a clash in America between doing the right thing and being the best.'' He also uses the following clip from Patton: "Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser." Both lines rather eloquently surmise Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Using steroids might be a sin in America, but not nearly as great as the sin of losing

Extras:

Behind the scenes featurette Deleted scenes