Every so often, a movie comes along that feels like a backscratcher that's been handed to moviegoers just in time to relieve their collective itch.
From "Super Size Me" to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "Fahrenheit 9/11" to "The Passion of the Christ," each hoped to connect with specialized audiences but ended up appealing to millions more, simply because they were in the right place at the right time. Now, a soon-to-be-released flick is gaining muscular momentum, thanks in no small part to recent headlines.
"This film is an exploration of America's win-at-all-costs culture during the current steroid issue in America but also the steroid issue that has been in my family for the past 15 years," burly debut filmmaker Chris Bell said about his documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*," scheduled for release May 30. "My brother and I were always power-lifters. My older brother was a great football player, and he went off to play football at a Division I college. In the first week he was there, he started using steroids in order to perform better. ... Later on, we ended up going down that path as well. We had this feeling that we weren't good enough — we had to take it to the next level."
In the tradition of Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, Bell cast himself as the earnest, wisecracking host of this exploration into the dark side of America's obsession with becoming bigger, stronger and faster. The flick was unveiled to heavy buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, and as names like Bonds, Stallone and 50 Cent have dominated headlines with steroid accusations, the public's hunger for the film has continued to develop.
"I grew up watching Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger — those guys were my heroes," he said of the flick, which features archival footage of the young Bell brothers dressing up as wrestlers and practicing Hogan's finishing moves on each other. "At some point, I found out that all my heroes took steroids to get to where they are. In my mind, I was asking the question: 'When you find out that all your heroes did steroids, do you follow the rules, or do you follow your heroes?' "
And this is where "BSF*" truly becomes a documentary on steroids — in all senses. One moment, Bell is hilariously being transformed into a before/after photo; the next, he's breaking the news to his in-denial mother that her boys have abused performance-enhancing drugs. Keeping an open mind while asking the viewer to do the same, he often finds that steroids aren't as dangerous as we've been informed they are.
"We worked on the movie for three years. We completely fact-checked the movie up and down to make sure everything was correct," said the star, who even goes so far as to hunt down the Governator in his search for the truth. "I have to say to kids out there that steroids are not for kids ... [but] you'll find that anabolic steroids are actually very safe in adult males over the age of 25. That's where all the studies have been done. There's always a difference between use and abuse, and if you're taking too much of anything, you're going to harm your body in different ways. But honestly, it's considered very safe among adult males — much safer than smoking or drinking alcohol.
"Does 50 Cent need growth hormone?" he asked, referring to recent allegations that the rapper took steroids. "Probably not. But there are a lot of drugs that we don't physically need. Viagra is one of the most-prescribed drugs in America. If you want a drug, and there is a legal way to get it, you should be able to get it and be protected by the law. And that's not what's happening now."
Naturally, such statements will enrage some people. But Bell wants moviegoers to be entertained by his movie and also to think twice before they condemn Bonds or blame last year's Chris Benoit tragedy on the wrestler's " 'roid rage."
"I definitely see signs that [Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens] did use steroids," he explained. "But is the athlete guilty because of their own competitive drive?
"Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds were making millions of dollars before. It's not about making more millions of dollars: It's an ego thing," he insisted. "It's a competitive drive that every athlete has."
And one which Bell and his brothers succumbed to as well, in their quest to become like Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Hogan — three men who have since admitted to steroid abuse. "In my case, I tried steroids, and I stopped using them because I felt it was immoral," Bell explained, shaking his head. "This film was a personal exploration for me of why I feel guilty. ... You want to spark a national debate. I want to get people talking. I want to put the issue that's always been under the table up on the table and have people talk about it in a more intellectual way."
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