User reviews

The post by reviewer "Melkmail" that this movie is "a pro steroid message disguised as an unbiased expose" is quite interesting, and I would agree with him that this film is not the masterpiece of objectivity which some people claim it to be. What I would say is that you will hear some pro-steroid views expressed which might not agree with what you are normally used to hearing about those chemicals. Among other things, Chris Bell has drawn a comparison between the over-the-top anti-marijuana ads of yesteryear (e.g. "Reefer Madness") and the anti-steroid views of the present day. I certainly doubt that those two campaigns are comparable. Similarly, the film points out that steroids have achieved wonderful results in treating illness and injury, as if that in the slightest way mitigates the alleged damage caused by steroid abuse. I don't know about you, but I would hardly be encouraged to take steroids just because someone told me that my testicles would return to normal size after I stopped using steroids.

What is also very interesting about "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" is that the persons interviewed on both sides of the steroid question are not exactly portrayed as "normal." In the interview with Congressman Henry Waxman is edited to depict him as a bit of a flake who does not have a grasp of details or facts. Likewise, those segments in which anti-steroid physician Dr. Gary Wadler is interviewed make him look a bit of a charlatan. Those two men were shown in the worst possible light, and I believe that documentary maker Chris Bell did this deliberately. So much for objectivity.

However, the body-builders, athletes, and coaches who openly advocate steroid use come off no better. It may not have been Bell's intention, but almost all of those pro-steroid folks strike one as a bit abnormal, and a couple of them even appear to be in need of serious psychological help. Is that what long-time steroid use does to a person? There are women who look and talk like men, and men who are almost as wide as they are tall.

Even knowing that those physical results have been achieved with the aid of anabolic steroids it's obvious that all those people have still put in tremendous amounts of hard work to be able to achieve the physical appearance and strength that they have; but the end result for many of them is an freakish appearance that might be more expected from one of Dr. Mengele's monstrous experiments.

The most sensible person in the whole film is Chris Bell's father Sheldon who has seen the effect of steroids use in his own family. He and his wife Rosemary both deserve a lot of credit for permitting themselves to be interviewed in the film.

What is especially shocking about the film, though, is not steroid use, per se. Rather, it is the openly expressed view among steroid advocates that because "everyone does it" they are going to do it, too. The do-gooders in this film may be depicted in a deliberately poor light, but the steroid advocates come across as having absolutely no moral compass. They openly and proudly advocate cheating in sport because their competitors cheat. So, this is what sport has become in America and around the world - a competition among cheaters. Kind of makes you wonder how these people can look at their wide, bloated faces in the mirror each morning.

This doc outlines the current situation regarding the use of steroids as performance enhancers, bodybuilding drugs and in conventional medicine. The film does a pretty good job of outlining the facts and the pseudo-science behind some claims as well as letting us hear peoples views on steroids, where they are actually being used and to what effect.

Where this film becomes unique and interesting is in the story of our narrator and filmmaker Mike Bell. Mike is one of 3 brothers who all grew up watching pro wrestling and 80's action movies. Into their teens they became football players, then wrestlers and eventually competitive power lifters. Today, his 2 brothers use steroids to enhance their performance whereas Mike is totally anti steroids.

The agenda of the film is clearly setup as a predictable anti steroids expo but as the debate opens up the film progresses into something different and much more interesting. At times evidence is in defence of steroids and though I wouldn't go as far as to say it is a pro steroids film, it's certainly open-ended. The film itself is presented and produced really quite well. We even touch on some wider issues of genetic modification in livestock, which somehow comes out in defence of steroids as they are quite simply not to blame for these monstrous beef hulks.

Without conclusion, the film gives us a well-rounded outline of the debate as well as introducing us to some tragic and not so tragic characters along the way.

This film succeeds in entertaining and provoking debate and is really well paced. The mix of factual investigation and personal stories and interviews strikes a balance rare in documentary and quite satisfying to watch. Worth a look.

Like many men his age, growing up Chris Bell idolized the muscle stars of the 80s like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Hulk Hogan. He dreamed of becoming a professional bodybuilder and working out at Gold's Gym with his heroes. He was devastated, therefore, when he realized these men were juiced up and that their message was fraudulent. Chris reluctantly accepted that to truly compete in the sport he loved he would have to turn to steroids and ultimately rejected the drugs. His brothers, Mike and Mark, couldn't make the same choice. "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" explores the controversy that is the steroid industry and the American obsession with being just what the film's title describes.

"BSF" is what you would call a balanced documentary, or to purists, a "true" documentary. Chris explores both sides of the argument over steroids and does his best to leave the final decision of whether or not steroids have been overly vilified up to the audience. There is a certain amount of reluctance to the narrative that Chris provides and you can sense the conflict within himself as he takes us through this journey. On the one hand, he believes the drugs to be morally wrong. On the other, he knows he can't compete without them and proponents of steroids (featured prominently throughout "BSF") make a compelling case for their usage. Chris is a human face for the battle against steroids, a sympathetic figure who really sums up the issues that so many athletes face these days.

Unlike some of the reviews I've read, "BSF" is NOT a pro-steroid documentary. Those who would push for the legalization of the juice are given an opportunity to express their beliefs and discuss the scientific tests that would support their assertions. But I found this to be more in the interest of the aforementioned balance rather than portions of a propaganda piece for 'roids. The classic side effects of steroids (acne, uncontrollable anger, loss of fertility, etc.) are not only discussed but clearly displayed by the drug's defenders even as they argue against these afflictions. When Chris quietly challenges some of the assertions of anti-steroid campaigners, notably Congressman Henry Waxman, it is done with respect and genuine interest in the factual basis for some of the widely-held beliefs about steroids. Through these questions, Chris shows that the issue of just how destructive these drugs are is not as clear-cut as we tend to think. Whether right or wrong, you can find studies that will support your claims either way.

Chris brings the point home, however, when he turns the camera on his own family as he peers into the lives of his brothers, both of who use steroids regularly and both of whom have been negatively impacted by their habits. It is a truly compelling moment when Chris' dad tells him point-blank that he expects Mike to turn up dead sooner rather than later. It's even more hard-hitting when you know that just a few months after the filming of "Bigger, Stronger, Faster", Mike did die at the age of 37. A longtime steroid user who would have done anything to break into the world of big time wrestling, Mike's early demise serves as this documentary's lasting impact and perhaps the final point to swing the balance of the film's debate.

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I took 15 different anabolic steroids, oral and injectable, the original human growth hormone, and HCG during my four years of anabolic use in the early 80s as a competitive powerlifter, bodybuilder, and college baseball and hockey player...but now I'm a school teacher with a master's in math, so I'm not a total blockhead. I learned about 'roids from the best (Dr. James Wright, who did steroid research for the US Army), was involved in the drug trade with the best (England's Tony Fitton), and have been the subject of numerous studies, print stories, books, and shows (Time, Harvard University, Boston Museum of Science, Nightline to name a very few). That being noted, this was easily the most honest, straightforward and truthful program I've ever witnessed about anabolics - and that includes all the stuff I've been involved in. Those who don't agree simply don't have the experience to realize that, so it's not really their fault, they are just consumed with personal opinion and bias based on little to no first-hand knowledge and the misdirected media. Throw everything else in the trash, this show is the best.

My background is such that I've met some of the people in this film, and have substantial experience with the world of bodybuilding. My academic background is in the sciences, and this is a topic I have researched to death.

This film takes an honest view at steroids, and more importantly at the attitudes that push people towards altering "what god gave them". If anything it should make people realize the problem isn't a single class of drugs that has been sensationalized, but a growing problem of body dimorphism. It is self worth, and self-esteem in a bottle. And there is nothing "biased towards steroids" about that message. If anything it is simply one of several performance enhancement methods he demonstrates.

I know to many the movie seems biased. But to anyone who has done the research, it isn't so much this movie is biased as the media depiction of these drugs is as ridiculous as the media's depiction of marijuana in "Reefer Madness". People are so bombarded with misinformation about drugs in general in America, that when they are shown something honest, it rocks their point of reference and they feel it is biased.

What this documentary is, is eye opening, honest, and very complete in it's presentation. More so then any other documentary I've seen on the topic.

If nothing else, this documentary (that took a very level-headed approach to weighing the pros & cons of steroid use amongst athletes/bodybuilders) was certainly well-worth a view just to get an eye-popping look at Greg Valentino's ridiculously over-developed biceps, as well as seeing a heavily muscled Belgian Blue bull (sans steroids) up close.

But besides these 2 very freakish curiosities, this fairly satisfied viewer was also very pleasantly surprised by how well-researched and competently presented Bigger Stronger Faster* was. I certainly wasn't expecting to be this impressed with this documentary.

Very professionally directed by Chris Bell (whose 2 older brothers were both avid steroid users), I found this entertaining documentary to be quite fair-minded about its research regarding the positive benefits of taking steroids as opposed to their negative side-effects, which showed clear links to cancer, heart attacks and erratic behaviour (roid rage).

Through interviews with medical experts, sports figures, etc., etc., Chris Bell's documentary repeatedly brought into question the use of steroids amongst high-profile athletes. And, as a result of this, brought some of America's biggest heroes in the arena of sports (who are praised to the heavens) down a few significant notches from their lofty positions on their pedestals.

I just recently saw this film at Sundance Film Festival. I loved it. It was the best of the three documentary competition movies I was able to watch. Chris Bell does an amazing job taking an intimate, honest look at American culture and Steroid use. He essentially sets up himself and his family as a case study for his movie. He looks at himself and his family in an honest, open, and introspective manner. He causes the viewer to reevaluate their pre-conceived notions of steroid use and American values. His investigations on the subject include interviews with experts including his own mother and Olympic greats Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson. It is thought provoking, clever, and insightful, all while remaining objective. All things that define a great documentary in my book.

Steroids was always a dirty little secret, especially in bodybuilding, football, and track & field (did you see those eastern European women in the 70's and 80's?), but it never really hit mainstream until the early to mid-2000's when Barry Bonds was breaking home run records and Marion Jones was threatening the women's 100m record. Then, steroids, PEDs (performance enhancing drugs), and growth hormones became an oft-discussed and debated topic. For weeks PEDs dominated sports talk radio. If it wasn't Jose Canseco with his book, it was an interview with Ken Caminetti, or a coverage of Victor Conti and the BALCO trial, or speculation about which baseball players were juicing and which weren't; from Alex Rodriguez, to Andy Pettite, to Roger Clemens, to the 25th guy on the roster. It was everywhere. Then Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada came out with the book "Game of Shadows" that focused mainly on Barry Bonds, but was about the entire game of baseball.

"Bigger, Faster, Stronger" is about steroids, or more specifically anabolic steroids. Chris Bell goes all over to talk to different people on different sides of the issue, and in Michael Moorian fashion does his own narration in a very similar manner. The information is very interesting as he adds a personal element to the story. The documentary seems very pro-steroid for all of the reasons a good Libertarian would give. I like that it pulls the covers back on all of our childhood "heroes" out there whom we thought got to where they were with hard work, a good diet, and good genetics. Yes, all of those things are necessary to be an Arnie or a Ronnie Coleman, but a healthy dose of steroids puts them over the top.

Finally an honest look into the steroid world. These days in order to compete with your peers/teammates, you almost have to take some sort of performance enhancing drugs. If you don't, you'll fall behind. Standard case of "keeping up with the Jones's". I feel it is very obvious to the world and sports fans that this is going on, but NO ONE is honest about it! And when one guy gets busted, he's looked down upon and singled out. Not fair to single them out and criticize when everyone else on the team is doing it.

This doc doesn't really detail team sports, but it is still the same concept. You finally get a good look into this world and a good look into why people do these types of drugs. Very informative, well done documentary. I am so glad to have seen it, and for anyone curious, it's worth watching.

It turns out that Joe Biden is the biggest criminal of them all. In this documentary, Joe talks about how important it is to not cheat. But then he has cheated his entire career while in Washington DC. Joe and his family, the Biden Crime Family Syndicate, will go down as the biggest Crime Family in American history. Turns out, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a huge cheater as well. Arnold is One of the biggest hypocrites in American history, along side cheating Joe.

Normally, I would probably avoid this film if it dealt exclusively with the world of sports. This,however isn't the case. It deals with another realm of drug abuse:the use of steroids by athletes. For far too long now,drug abuse has been pretty much narrowed down to illegal street drugs (Heroin,Cocaine,etc.) or prescription drugs (Darvon & what ever). Chris Bell tells the tale of himself & his two other brothers,raised in a good home with loving parents,that chooses to bulk up by using metabolic steroids (such as the kind that way too many athletes are/have been using for far too long). Bell tries to crack open the facade of just why people have to use these substances (which are generally prescribed to organ transplant patients). The film manages to (once again)mine the harbor of Michael Moore style gadfly (read that as muckraking)film making techniques (not that I'm saying that's bad---it's just getting a bit tiring,is all). There are some examples of steroid abuse that would probably make for a truly effective episode of 'Intervention' (has Ken Seeley,or anybody else on that program seen this documentary yet?)

I loved this doc. It really gives you a realistic take on the ever masked world of steroid use. We all know that this exists, but how where and why have never really been revealed. Human behavior will never cease to amaze the public, and myself. The display of physical changes that this drug causes is amazing! I had the basic knowledge of the side effects, but holy cow. Seeing the arms of one of the men is mind blowing. Along with the brothers featured in this film, it peeks into the lives and past/present drug use of many of the major sports celebrities. Hulk Hogan being one of them. I find the level of honesty from both pros and amateurs extremely impressive and admirable. This movie has the ability to make some changes.

The documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" provides a decidedly unconventional - indeed, controversial - take on the use of anabolic steroids. Rather than pointing out the dangers of such use, the film seems to be making the opposite case: that steroids are really no more problematic than myriad other performance-enhancement substances and techniques used by athletes to better their game. And, if anything, it is the American obsession with being the biggest, the strongest and the fastest that may be the real culprit in the first place.

Christopher Bell, who directs, narrates and appears prominently in the film, was a short, fat kid when he and his two brothers, Mark and Mike, the latter of whom died not long after the release of the movie, became obsessed with achieving fame and fortune through bodybuilding, power-lifting and professional wrestling. With media-savvy role models such as Hulk Hogan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone serving as their inspiration, the boys eventually turned to steroid use to improve their chances of achieving their goal. But Chris always felt bad for trying steroids, mainly because the media and the people around him kept telling him that it was both dangerous and immoral to do so. So he quit. Now, through his film, Chris has decided to find an answer to his question of whether steroids really are such a bad thing - in terms of their effect on both the body and competitive fairness - or whether their negative reputation is largely a product of media hype.

He spends a good amount of his time in the film seeking out professional athletes, coaches, and "experts" in the field, only to find that the "experts" – whether in the medical field or the halls of Congress – don't really have the facts to buttress their case, and that most of the athletes he talks to flat-out admit to using steroids themselves.

Chris really aims his opprobrium at the modern American obsession with achieving fame, fortune and physical perfection at any and all costs – a group in which he includes himself and his brothers. There's a particularly pointed and witty moment as a psychologist he's interviewing points to the slow but noticeable evolution of the GI Joe action figure over the decades, from a fairly trim average guy in the '50s to a muscle-bound, six-packed, super-hunk today. Chris calls out the media for its complicity in this obsession with the models that are used in advertising and the actors who have achieved superstar status on screen.

Chris's main thesis is that steroid users are being unfairly singled out, while people in other areas of life - like college students and musicians who take performance-enhancing drugs - are not similarly accused of cheating. It's the hypocrisy that seems to bother Chris the most. He points out that the same Congress that brought baseball players in to testify about doping in that field also managed to deregulate a supplement industry that finds ways to rip off consumers with the promise of physical perfection. He likewise attacks the pharmaceutical industry that continually feeds America's obsession with consuming drugs as a means of achieving health and happiness. He also points out just how easy it is to procure access to all kinds of drugs – both legal and illegal – if the determination is there and the price right.

By focusing so heavily on his own family, Chris really personalizes the issue for the audience and prevents the movie from becoming just another finger-wagging, cautionary-tale polemic. This also brings us the film's most poignant moments as he and his brothers engage in moments of fruitful soul-searching and their parents reveal how they feel about the issue.

"Bigger, Stronger, Faster" is likely to upset some in the audience who feel it's taking a somewhat cavalier approach to what is generally considered to be nothing short of a scourge plaguing our nation. But Chris seems to be making some good points, even if he isn't coming right out and endorsing the use of anabolic steroids. He seems more concerned with exactly WHY we are so obsessed with being the biggest, strongest and fastest. And that deeper dimension is what winds up giving his film the competitive edge it needs to win.

This is an honest, entertaining, and informative documentary. The man who is making this documentary about steroid use isn't someone just talking about it. You can tell he is emotionally involved in this. This is due to both his brothers taking steroids. That is a big part of the documentary. He isn't a guy interviewing someone he doesn't even know. He is talking to his brothers, and that makes this documentary much more than a documentary. It is also very entertaining. Documentaries are not made to be entertaining. They are made to be informative, but this documentary manages to keep you entertained as well as informed. That leads us to the information. They give solid facts in this movie. This does really show how publicity for steroids as gone overboard. People all the time say that steroids kill thousands of people, but this shows a solid number of 3 people confirmed dead from steroids a year. This really is one of the best documentaries I've ever watched. It is very underrated.

4 stars out of 4

As an ex-amateur wrestler, I have seen a lot of this stuff first hand. But until now the use of steroids or performance enhancing drugs was very hush hush. This movie is very true to life and reveals the truth behind this mystery.

Steroids are not limited to sports pros or Olympic athletes, these drugs are everywhere. People you would never suspect are using them, your neighbor, your teacher, possibly even members of your own family.

It is about time someone has lifted the veil off of this issue, and this movie did a realistic and honest job of doing just that. Thank you to the brave participants.

Hey! You wanna meet the "million-dollar" athletes who cheat (with steroids)?.

Yes. Even if you're not an avid body-builder, I certainly think that this documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" is well-worth a view.

This 2008 documentary really does open the viewer's eyes to how wide-spread the use of steroids (not only amongst athletes) actually is in the USA (and, of course, the rest of the world, as well).

I definitely give director/co-writer, Chris Bell, a big hand of applause for the very professional attitude and well-informed nature of this 100-minute documentary.

Bell certainly did a commendable job of covering all of the ground and getting as many relevant opinions (for his documentary) when it came to the pros and cons of regular steroid use (and, in some cases, the inevitable disastrous effects of this drug's prolonged use, too).

This documentary contains all the needed ingredients for an awesome film: great subject, honest and objective, entertaining, great interviews. Being a big documentary fan, I am usually very critical of the films I see. For this one though, I can't think of a negative thing to say. It takes a sensitive, covered up issue and reveals all the dirty details with brutal honesty. No one seems to be holding back in this one. You will also find yourself understanding these people and although not agreeing with drug use, seeing them not as "users" or "addicts" but real people who have made some different choices in their lives. All in all this was one of the best docs I have seen to date.

Yes in fact this is about a culture in America that is a win at all costs, of hero worship and acceptance/excuses made for those willing to go the "extra mile" into substance abuse just to exceed their own limitations.

And it is about the fact that some folks literally hate the idea of being less than the best for any reason at all. Hate being average in any way. Of all things it is a picture of America that cannot be reconciled with the rhetoric spouted by politicians and those outside the arena making dire claims about the results of using those substances.

It is a culture where only winners are true Americans, and we ignore how they got there as long as they look and play the part. About how the fear of being a loser will drive Americans to do things they ordinarily wouldn't do. Because nobody loves a loser in America, no one.

It is a waste of effort to call those who use steroids cheaters, when the culture all around us in America is this way. Until we begin to learn that good people come in second place, and learn to love those who finish in last place too, then maybe there wont be the pressure to be a winner at all costs and we wont need steroids.

Any sports fan over the last few years has been subject to hours and hours of Steroids debate, whether in the media, in Congress, or just on the Little League field. To call this movie the "Comprehensive Guide to Steroids in America" is accurate, but also sells the movie a little short. Not only does it provide an in-depth analysis of the steroid culture, and also provide a sympathetic case study in the Bell family, but it transcends either of those simplifiers by attaching itself to the nostalgia of American culture itself.

How can one deny the appeal of Rambo, Rocky IV, Hulk Hogan, and the Governator himself? Clips of Reagan and Bush Sr. endorsing such icons while also passing legislation banning any non-medical use of steroids are perhaps the most poignant facts of the film. Those points, and younger brother Stinky's honest relation of the ways he seems equally approving and regretful of his steroid use. This film manages to span the political, competitive, and personal effects of steroids in an even-handed and balanced manner that will open a lot of eyes.

Chris Bell's loosely structured, attenuated documentary explores the cult of body worship and the ways athletes and ordinary citizens use drugs, particularly steroids, to enhance performance and attain exaggerated physiques.

Bell, once a self proclaimed "fat pale kid from Poughkeepsie," and his two brothers grew up idolizing Hulk Hogan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and turned to bodybuilding as a way of compensating for their deficiencies. Older brother Mike, overweight like Chris, became a high school athlete – he was captain of football team – while Chris and younger brother Mark, who had a learning disability took up weightlifting; they were coached by their mother's brother, a body builder. As a high school senior, Chris was strong enough to win juvenile competitions, and disdained steroids as something losers used. Then Hogan admitted to using steroids, followed by Schwarzenegger and Stallone, and both his brothers took the plunge; Mike left college to become a professional wrestler while Mark became a competitive weight lifter. Bell's quest to find out why he always saw steroids and other drugs as cheating while others – including both his brothers – don't takes him down many roads. Not only does he delve into the rules governing professional athletes and the ways they circumvent them, but he explores the health supplement industry, the changing physiques of comic-book superheroes and GI Joe action figures, 'roid rage, military use of amphetamines, "gene doping" (the genetic mutation that allows Belgian Blue cattle to grow "double muscle" has implications that go beyond the stockyard), reliance on beta blockers to banish stage fright and the off-label use of ADD drugs like adder all to improve concentration, widespread retouching in physique magazines and the adult-film industry's reliance on liquid Viagra. And he keeps circling back to his brothers: Mike's wrestling career fizzled, he became addicted to recreational drugs, attempted suicide and is trying to get a new WWE contract while performing at tiny local venues. Mark opened a gym, got married, had a child, and promised his wife he's stop using steroids. He hasn't.

Bell's film is in need of an unbiased editor, but his conclusion that the use of steroids is rooted in a poisonous American belief that bigger is inherently better and second best is just first among losers is compelling. And he doesn't let himself off the hook: He doesn't use performance enhancing drugs, but when Mark scores a coveted victory – one he would never have won without doping – Bell and his parents (including his mom, who wept when she learned two of her sons were on the juice) are on the sidelines cheering him on.

In this watchable and wide-ranging documentary Bell explores the controversial subject of anabolic steroids and their use to enhance physical development and athletic performance. Starting right at home with himself and his two brothers, Mark and Mike, still admitted steroid users (Chris quit them), he moves fearlessly and tirelessly (but always with good humor) from the most intimate to the most general aspects of this subject--from the inadequacies of the 50's 97 Pound Weakling to America's unhealthy and ever-increasing twenty-first century obsession with physical beauty and macho muscle--and the country's unwillingness to accept anyone who's not a "winner," underlined in General Patton's speech in the film starring George C. Scott from which a clip is shown. Chris Bell especially deserves credit not only for doing the footwork and approaching the subject from every angle, but for tackling emotional issues head-on without ever being swept away by them. The examples and images pop in seamlessly whenever they're needed or apt. It's impossible to emerge from a viewing of this film without being stimulated and enlightened.

To begin with, Bell shows how tainted--given congressional investigations and rumors of dire physical and psychological effects of the hormones--are some of America's sports and media stars. Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Olympic medalist Marion Jones, Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Hulk" Hogan, and other celebs have been exposed as steroid users whose triumphs were very definitely due in significant part to the greater, faster-growing muscle bulk and strength the substances in question make possible. Should people like the Bell brothers feel guilty, when the practice of steroid use is so widespread?

All three Bell brothers seem to have grown up shorter and smaller than they wanted to be and striven to become strong, to expand "horizontally" to compensate for not being able to expand vertically. Mike (Mad Dog) Bell, the oldest brother, attempted pro football, and later became a pro wrestler on TV but only as the scripted fall guy, never a winner, and now he is too old, but he won't give up and keeps training. Mark, the youngest, who got nicknamed Smelly because he was always sweaty from constant involvement in sports, became a power lifter, and promises his wife he will quit steroids once he lifts 700 pounds. And then he reneges on that promise. Chris's concern is greatest for Mike, for whom steroids are one of several addiction problems Chris fears may lead to loss of job and wife. Chris's mother and father speak quite frankly about their sons' use, which they are only partly aware of. His mother is judgmental and tearful, his father more philosophical, but both cheer madly when Smelly lifts those 700 pounds in competition.

Bell interviews experts and advocates on both sides, and also Donald Hooton, whose 17-year-old steroids-using athlete son's suicide has caused him to start an organization to foment opinion against the substances. It is quite possible the boy's death, no doubt due to multiple causes, was propelled more by anti-depressants. Bell doesn't deeply investigate charges of steroids causing rages or other mental unbalance but finds no evidence of that, or of cancer. Contrarily, he interviews a long-time AIDS patient whose life was saved by steroids when he was wasting away and who continues to use them. Bell interviews Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis, of the 1988 Summer Olympics. Lewis denies what there's evidence of, that he was in violation for substances himself prior to the games; Johnson says he was scapegoated and it could only happen because he was Canadian, not American. The upshot of all these investigations and more by Bell is a sense that anabolic steroids aren't a black and white issue.

More importantly, Bell shows America to be a hypocritical country where winning (à la Patton) is the only thing, but the cheating and stepping on toes on the way up that you have to do--which Schwarzenegger did, for instance--is a big no-no. We want to have it both ways. And we bend the rules in some cases, not in others. Tobacco and alcohol are way more dangerous than steroids, but are okay. For sex it's okay to use Viagra. For stage fright it's okay for classical musicians to pop beta blockers. And the under-regulated world of health supplements is full of fakery and profiteering. GI Joe dolls have gotten bulkier and more dramatically tapered with every decade, puffing up to redeemable the comic book superheroes of the 40's and 50's that (though Bell doesn't dwell on this) dominate blockbusters--this summer there's another Incredible Hulk, who might be called the steroid user "on steroids." Bell points out the pervasive use of that expression, "on steroids," for anything big and impressive and enhanced. Ultimately America is a country hooked on looks and performance.

Bell keeps himself present throughout, but without Michael Mooreish obtrusiveness: his own bulky biceps get him a photo op with the Gubernator even if not an interview; his bulk gives him conviction in many encounters with musclebound guys and girls. Bell's fraternal involvement with the issue, however, is inevitably a mixed blessing. It is fine that he does not demonize--but is he too soft? He refers to side effects of steroid use such as body hair and deepening voice in women, balding and testicle shrinking and reduced sperm count in men, which are said to be reversible; but scientific studies seem lacking--a situation attributed by the film to U.S. laws' making steroids illegal. Is this true? And are we, as it appears, stuck with this stuff, unable to turn back? Not every question is answered, but for wideness of context Bell's documentary is hard to fault and indeed a model of its kind.