Let’s not get it twisted; this is a documentary that is very pro-steroids. Chris Bell does attempt to delve into the secret world of “the juice” and how to get it but he is clearly approaching the subject from a Jose Conseco stand point. After you accept the reality that the Bell family has already decided that there is nothing wrong with juicing up you can sit back and enjoy the show.
Watching Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
is like reading the diary of a family easily deceived into the pursuit of the perfect body but then one day they woke up and realized that everyone was cheating except them. The documentary really hits home when they start going over the various examples of American heroes brought low by steroid scandals. People were seen as shining representations of the best the United States had to offer (een if some of these people were imports).Names like Sosa, Bonds, Stallone and Hulk Hogan are paraded across the screen and exposed as frauds during the hour and a half expose’.
The movie really found its stride once Chris Bell turns his eye towards the government and itspocrisy when it comes to steroids. Moments like George Bush Sr. selecting Arnold Schwarzenegger to be on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports really hit home. The parts that are almost comical and just verify Chris Bell’s naivety were his shock at two WWF wrestlers being caught in the same car together even though they played supposed foes on television.
Chris also used humor to point out the over the top depictions of “roid rage” on after school specials. But that same humor was missing from the pieces on 50 year old men who had dedicated their existence to living in a van outside of Gold’s Gym in pursuit of being like Rocky. This made the whole thing seem sympathetic to steroid users and took away from the credibility of a lot of the points Chris was trying to make.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster really pulls up lame when trying to make comparisons to other drugs. Their “research” seems to always down play the effects of steroids in order to justify their use. There is even one moment where Chris is passive aggressively arguing with the parent of a kid who killed himself over steroid use.
While I agree with the main focus of the movie (there is a societal hypocrisy at work when it comes to steroids),I don’t think Chris really sold me on steroids as a harmless substance.
Chris’ brother, Mike, was prominently featured during the documentary. He battled depression and openly talked about being a failure for not making it as a pro-wrestler during the documentary. He died of “unknown causes” a few months after the documentary was released. The other brother in the film promises his wife he’ll stop using steroids and then later admits he lied and he’ll just continue to use them. 
His hope was that his wife would learn to accept it and understand. These things don’t seem “harmless” to me. If the point of Bigger, Stronger, Faster is to prove that steroids are no more dangerous than multi-vitamins, then the case was simply not made. Give it a watch, but just remember this is like watching a documentary on crack from the point of view of Pookie in New Jack City.
