My hot weekend plans consisted of a mellow night in watching Chris Bell's Bigger, Stronger, Faster. It's one of the docs that I missed at Sundance, so I've been looking forward to seeing it for a long time. The film wrestles with the topic of steroids (pun intended) from the perspective of director Chris Bell, whose brothers are both current users. Although all three Bell brothers have been involved with wrestling and strength training, Chris has always been against steroid use. He questions why he is anti-steroid when his brothers are not, and endeavors to explore all aspects of steroid use - the myth of "roid rage", legal issues, the personal affects on those he loves and America's obsession with heroes and muscles. 

The doc was worth the wait. The film is chock-full of some of the things I expected, like montages of Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Hulk Hogan; gym rats galore; and a moral investigation of steroid use as cheating. I'm pretty naive about how steroids actually work, so on a basic level, I just enjoyed finally learning exactly what the heck anabolic steroids ARE. Also, let's be honest - body builders are a great visual subject. The gi-normous biceps, the ladies with muscles...I was both fascinated and repelled by what I saw on-screen. But it was the surprises in the film, like Bell's openness regarding his own disappointments about his physical achievements, that kept me thinking about the film after the credits rolled. He made the film personal and universal at the same time by weaving in themes of family, peer pressure and the desire for achievement. That storytelling is supported with great clips, animation sequences and a healthy dose of humor.

The film reveals a surprising number of statistics that make one think that perhaps steroids have gotten a bad rap...or at least much worse a reputation than they deserve. I started watching prepared to condemn steroid use, but as the facts and figures were laid out, I found myself questioning my convictions about performance enhancers. Don't worry, I'm not about to start shooting up...big biceps on a 4'11" chick are just WRONG. And I'd still be livid if I found out my kid (that is, if I had a kid) was juicing up.  But I did walk away from the film wondering if the American public has been sold a slightly exaggerated bill of goods about the evils of steroids, given that they are almost #150 on the list of causes of emergency room visits and cause less than 10 deaths a year. Then again, perhaps it's not surprising that I walked away straddling the fence...one of the themes Bell explores is the clash in America between doing the right thing and being the best.

The film is being released by Magnolia Pictures in Los Angeles and New York on May 30, 2008, followed by expansion into other cities throughout the month of June.