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Movies / On DVD / Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

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Bigger, Stronger, Faster* (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 73

Fresh: 70

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 7.7/10

Consensus: Bigger, Stronger, Faster* is a fascinating, informative, entertaining and especially introspective account of the American 'enhancement' culture.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Sports/Recreation

Theatrical Release:May 30, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $216,748

Synopsis: In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of our athletes take performance-enhancing drugs?... In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of our athletes take performance-enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America’s win-at-all-cost philosophy by examining the way his two brothers became members of the steroid subculture in an effort to realize their American dream. Ingeniously beginning the film by harkening back to the mentality of the 1980s, where the heroes were Rambo, Conan, and Hulk Hogan, Bell recounts how these role models led him and his brothers into powerlifting and dreams of becoming all-star wrestlers. Those dreams were soon shattered by the realization that success in those fields required the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Bell uses his personal story as an entree into analyzing the bigger issues that surround these drugs: ethics in sports; the health ramifications, both physical and psychological; as well as the mentality that fuels it all. Bigger, Stronger, Faster* combines crisp editing of hilarious archival footage with priceless family revelations, as well as interviews with congressmen, professional athletes, medical experts, and everyday gym rats. The power of the film is the way Bell stays away from preconceptions and stereotypes and digs deeper to find the truth and concoct a fascinating, humorous, and poignant profile of one of the side effects of being American. --© Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Christopher Bell, Carl Lewis, Barry Bonds

Starring: Christopher Bell, Carl Lewis, Barry Bonds

Director: Christopher Bell

Director: Christopher Bell
Screenwriter: Christopher Bell, Alexander Buono, Tamsin Rawady
Producer: Alexander Buono, Tamsin Rawady, Jim Czarnecki
Composer: Dave Porter
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Release:

Sep 30, 2008

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Reviews for Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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It raises big, intriguing questions that rarely, if ever, come up in the hubbub about steroid use in professional athletics, particularly Major League Baseball.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
07/01/09
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

Chris Bell's very personal documentary, tracking how steroid use influenced his body building family's game, health and interpersonal relationships, is neither an apology nor a hard-lined expose about doping.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
05/26/09
Jennifer Merin
About.com

If steroids were outlawed, only outlaws would have steroids

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
04/21/09
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

This is one of the best documentary films of 2008, along with 'Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father.'

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
01/29/09
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Though somewhat repetitive and clunky, Chris Bell's [i]Bigger Stronger Faster[/i] deserves credit for presenting a fairly evenhanded examination of steroids & their threat to the integrity of the country's sports industry.

Full Review Source: Film and Felt | comment Comment
11/25/08
Gabe Leibowitz
Film and Felt

A matter-of-fact funny and clever in-depth look at steroid use in modern-day America.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/24/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A wide-ranging look at the use of performance-enhancing drugs in America

Full Review Source: Playback:stl | comment Comment
09/19/08
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl

Pessoal como Moore (incluindo um momento Roger and Me com Schwarzenegger) e auto-referencial como Spurlock (mas mais honesto), Bell cria um filme que levanta questơes realmente relevantes sobre a caça às bruxas relativa ao uso de esteróides.

comment Comment
08/25/08
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Like many of the best documentaries, [it] doesn't take us exactly where we expect to go.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
08/13/08
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

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.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/08/08
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Giving his film real emotional kick are the personal stories of Mad Dog and Stinky, two average guys chasing a media-fed dream that will only result in disappointment.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
07/25/08
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

An an insider, Bell's work here is comprehensive to the point of over-saturation, but it's all so alien and interesting that it doesn't bog down.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
07/25/08
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

It may or may not change your opinion of how we should treat steroids in America, but it will at least give you greater sympathy for people who use them.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
07/24/08
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

A thoughtful, informative and thoroughly entertaining examination of the role of performance-enhancing drugs in modern life.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/24/08
Kerry Lengel
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The fault is not in our steroids, but in ourselves.

Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | comment Comment
07/16/08
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

...goes from poignant to amusing to tiresome...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
07/04/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

The unique point of view -- from a guy who used to take steroids and has two brothers who still do -- is the reason to see this.

Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
07/01/08
Michael Dance
The Cinema Source

Bell makes some good points about the dark side of the American dream, but much of his argument about steroids is muddled.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment 7 Comments
06/27/08
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

It's an interesting story and is well-told for the most part.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
06/26/08
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A lively and incisive look into the nation's growing preoccupation with pumped-up superlatives.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/23/08
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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Latest News for Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

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The high-profile successes of films like An Inconvenient Truth and March of the Penguins notwithstanding, documentaries have been playing to increasingly empty theaters recently... More...

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