The family angle gives Bigger,
Stronger, Faster* a
personal and emotional underpinning that almost justifies the movie's adherence to
the pro forma Michael Moore style. Bell opens with the telltale wry tone of the
modern issue doc, poking fun of American excess via an anecdote about Hulk
Hogan's wrestling rivalry with The Iron Sheik. Within the first five minutes,
viewers with a low tolerance for this kind of cutesiness may be tempted to
flee. If they do, they'll miss a complicated and astoundingly well-balanced
documentary, designed to provoke reasoned debate. They'll also miss scenes of
sublime contradiction, as when one of Bell's brothers, a power-lifter, tells
him, "If you're apprehensive about trying new methods, maybe you're not cut out
to be a champion," while admitting that he's not ready to confess to their
parents or his teenage students that he's juicing.
Do Bell's brothers demur because they
know deep down that steroids are wrong, or because they believe society's
position on the matter is too biased for anyone to judge their choice fairly?
It's to Bell's credit that he leaves that question open. Bigger, Stronger,
Faster* offers
persuasive examples of circumstances in which we let people make their own
choices, no matter how dimwitted, from plastic-surgery addiction to daredevil
stunts. But Bell also questions a culture so obsessed with body image and
celebrity that people feel compelled to transform themselves by any means
necessary. "I was born to attain greatness," one of Bell's brothers insists. To
which Bell shoots back, with all due fraternity: Why can't you be happy with
who you are?
