Bigger, Stronger, Faster (2008)

Written and Directed by Chris Bell

America has some crazy, sometimes sick, fascinations with a lot of different things, and to many, the obsession with steroids is not a hard one to understand. With the American mindset so often being the exact slogan of this film, it's of no surprise to many people that athletes would cheat to get ahead, after all, it's how many of our nation's most well known celebrities have achieved their fame. As long as it works, and you can get away with it, what's wrong with that?

Chris Bell explores these questions throughout the course of his documentary, expanding the scope of the film to examine steroids, athletes, politics, drugs, and the mindsets that drive each of these individual agendas. He puts the focus directly on his own family, Chris' two brothers are on steroids throughout the course of the film, and they have been on and off steroids most of their lives since their teenage years. Chris talks about how he always felt steroids were wrong, but at the same time explains why there was a time in his life where he decided to try them, and why. He examines the fascination, no, the obsession his brothers have developed with steroids, and how that obsession is directly related to their obsession with their looks, and their supreme belief in ultimate performance as a means of proving one's self worth.

In addition to putting his own family (including his parents) under the harsh microscope of psychological examination, Chris also explores the many famous athletes that have used steroids, the ones that have gotten caught, and what it has meant to the world of sports. He examines the recent problems with steroids in baseball, and what it means to the sport, and why the sudden fascination and obsession when steroids and doping cases have been a concern for many years. He talks to politicians, athletes, and doctors, trying to figure out what drives people to the obsessions they have with steroids.

He even goes so far as to examine Arnold Schwarzenegger's documented steroid use, and Arnold's thoughts on the subject, which don't really put him in a positive light. Especially when Arnold goes on to talk negatively about steroids, but at the same time, saying he would gladly do them again, and praising his bodybuilding competitions which don't do doping tests at all.

Then Chris examines the legal forms of steroids, for people that need them, and how steroids can actually help a lot of people, but like the drug war, the steroid paranoia has hurt the people that need them most. In another interesting segment, he goes on to explore gene doping, which is the genetic altering of certain animal cells to increase the muscle output of said animal. If a human is grown purposely with huge biceps and a barrel chest, and there are no drugs involved, would that person be banned from baseball just because of his genetic predisposition towards muscles? It's an interesting concept, and one that really needs to be considered.

Most of all, Chris is fair and unflinching in his portrayal of all these different subjects, and like a good documentarian should, he lets the footage speak for itself. When he finally confronts his brothers about their steroid use, they are often at a loss of a logical explanation for their steroid use, and when they make self realizations that what they are doing is wrong or hurting their family, they cannot comprehend the actual damage they are doing the way that Chris obviously does. It's at once heartbreaking, funny, informative, and brutally honest, like few documentaries are. Easily one of the best films of the year, the film begs the question, what will you do to become bigger, faster, stronger. And why?

9.5/10