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You’d expect a documentary about anabolic steroids circa 2008 to be heavy on the dark side of the substance — the horrific side effects when abused, how it’s infiltrating youth athletics, the way it’s ruined elite and professional sports competition, etc.
Don't be so quick to judge "Bigger, Stronger, Faster," a new movie debuting Friday in New York and Los Angeles (the film opens wide in June and July). Director Christopher Bell has colored the movie in a palette of grays, even presenting a credible argument that maybe steroids aren’t the devil-spawn drugs some believe them to be.
"I had two brothers on steroids during the making of the film," says Bell, a USC film school grad from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who did a stint working at Gold’s Gym in Venice and directed the short film "Billy Jones." Bell, who does a Michael Moore/Morgan Spurlock turn and appears in the film, originally considered documenting gym culture, but his brothers were willing to talk about their own steroid use to present another side of the story. "Also," says Bell, "at the time Congress was saying it was a black and white issue, and going through my life as a power lifter and being around steroids, I knew there was a gray area, and I wanted to present it in a different way."
Steroids in shades of gray : Booster Shots : Los Angeles Times
Don't be so quick to judge "Bigger, Stronger, Faster," a new movie debuting Friday in New York and Los Angeles (the film opens wide in June and July). Director Christopher Bell has colored the movie in a palette of grays, even presenting a credible argument that maybe steroids aren’t the devil-spawn drugs some believe them to be.
"I had two brothers on steroids during the making of the film," says Bell, a USC film school grad from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who did a stint working at Gold’s Gym in Venice and directed the short film "Billy Jones." Bell, who does a Michael Moore/Morgan Spurlock turn and appears in the film, originally considered documenting gym culture, but his brothers were willing to talk about their own steroid use to present another side of the story. "Also," says Bell, "at the time Congress was saying it was a black and white issue, and going through my life as a power lifter and being around steroids, I knew there was a gray area, and I wanted to present it in a different way."
Steroids in shades of gray : Booster Shots : Los Angeles Times
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