Review of Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008) by Phillip R — 14 Jan 2009

This is an odd little documentary. Taking the extended title into account I suppose it does what it sets out to do, and the final line really clears a lot of things up, but without spoiling anything, I think that final line also points out a good deal of the film's flaws.

When the film is genuinely able to comment on the American condition, something achieved through an enlightening interview with the man who possesses the world's biggest biceps, the director's mother, and the Congressman heading the steroids hearings in Congress, we learn a ton and get an insight to the American mind, at least how I understand it, fantastically.

There is so much diversity, so many issues covered, and so many ideas raised that it is difficult not to love these moments. Sadly, these scenes are only fleeting moments in a much more broad film, and much like the body builders the movie focuses on it is hard not to think that eventually the end product is going to collapse under its own weight.

When the film tries to directly confront the American ideas it is apparently shooting to expose it feels a bit heavy handed and very contrived, while the multiple parts where the filmmaker only looks at steroids are all ideas with very few revelations, minus one interesting scene about a specific athlete, that I felt were inevitably leading to no conclusion.

It was fun to see the differing ideas about steroid use put side by side, and when the American commentary worked it worked spectacularly, but some of the scenes felt a bit constructed and, while the feeling of hearing one of the stories at the old gym worked part of the time, the voice overs did feel distracting at times and just plain annoying at others.

I feel like the film tried to do too much and not all of it was interesting. I give it a pass for some of its successes because they are incredibly impressive and insightful, and I think the film is worth watching all the way through for these smaller moments, but I hardly think there is much else to find compelling about this film.

3.09842938502315123532.