BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER

The era we live in can be defined by a number of things. Excess, inflation, war and detached leadership headline a growing list of what ails our generation. We represent a wrinkle in time that breaks traditions, mores and conventions that once seemed so sacred. Chris Bell’s documentary chooses to define contemporary America as one obsessed with breaking high water marks no matter the cost. Bell, a bodybuilder, begins with laying out the heroes that he idolized in his youth. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sly Stallone and Hulk Hogan. These icons convinced him and his brothers that through hard work ANYTHING was possible. “Anything” is highlighted because they applied that motivation to, well, nothing really, except lifting weights and bodybuilding and a perpetual failed attempt at a career in the field of pro wrestling. When Bell finds out that his heroes have been taking steroids and cheating, he became completely deflated (emotionally) and set out to uncover America’s obsession with being better than the competition.

His own two brothers, one a professional bodybuilder, the other, the aforementioned failed pro wrestler, are both longtime steroid users. The film starts there but soon snowballs into a nationwide blitz of questioning that lets us know that Bell is not some gym rat idiot. The obsession with cheating to beat your opponent is applied to almost every phase of life in America. Air Force pilots taking amphetamines “go pills” in combat, musicians taking beta blockers to circumvent performance anxiety while on stage, high school and college kids taking adderall to help concentrate in class, America is painted as a nation of cheaters and rightfully so. From Barry Bonds, who would not give Bell an interview, to the father of a Plano, TX teen who committed suicide, no stone is left unturned in the controversy on steroids. Later in the film, Bell confronts his own brothers and their own parents on the familial steroid abuse. It provides for the ultimate in heartbreak that borders exploitation. The documentary strays at times from its core principle when interviewing a man with AIDS that credits steroids with saving his life via red cell fluctuation, but maintains an interesting perspective. What is truly unbelievable is the amount of people that are emphatically pro-steroids. You thought girls had body issues. JEEEESUS!

Yes, we are a nation of want and greed. Yes, many people will apply an “at all costs” philosophy to their bodies and careers. Yes, we will lie about it. The topic is not new, but much broader than anyone might have imagined it. America may be the best country in the world, but that does not mean it got there playing by the rules.

***1/2

HIGHLIGHTS



Senator Henry Waxman, who spearheaded Congress’ war on Major League baseball, saying on camera that he thought the legal drinking age was 18. Priceless.



Bell hires three Mexican workers off the street in California and produces his own “supplement” that could be sold at GNC.



Finally getting to confront his former hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger (who also declined interview), and the result of their interaction is laugh out loud funny.