Here's a review from someone I know on another board.
Both John Romano and Greg Valentino are in the film
Well, I just got back to the island after seeing Bigger, Stronger, Faster at the theater on 19th and Broadway and I owe you all a review.
I didn't go alone, I was with two other people who have very differing opinions than myself, my parents. See, I had purchased 3 tickets last week and was originally planning on taking a few friends of mine, but the more I thought about it during the following days, the less sense that made.
Just as you probably do, myself and my friends know about this stuff. We know the truth about steroids and how they have been portrayed in the media. We know why they are illegal in the first place. We have done the research and read the studies. So why bring along a couple of other guys who really have nothing to gain from seeing the movie (other then a good time perhaps). Besides, by the 30th of this month, it will be in the theaters and they can pay for their own damn tickets .
So, while my father certainly gets it, having been a bodybuilder in his youth, my mother's exposure to the world of steroids is about as limited as they come, only occasionally does she have to hear my father and I discuss the ridiculous political climate regarding "performance enhancing substances". It made sense to bring along the one person in my life who had the most to gain and learn from what I thought would be a movie about steroids.
I was expecting a crowd similar to that of the audience at the NPC show a few weeks ago but that's not who was there. The theater was sold out and if I said I was one of maybe 5 bodybuilders in the audience I would probably be over-exaggerating. This audience was about as diverse as they come and bodybuilders were the extreme minority, so needless to say I didn't know what to expect in terms of crowd reaction.
How would a bunch of regular people react to the truth about something that is portrayed in such a menacing lite. Well my questions were answered within the first 5 minutes as the film quickly elicited strong reactions from a crowd who had probably only been exposed to steroids through the news.
The movie didn't pull any punches but it also didn't promote or glorify steroids, it was honest. It's not a movie about bodybuilding, it's not even really a movie about steroids, what "Bigger, Strong, Faster" IS, is a movie about the state of our country and the underlying hypocrisy and hysteria that really end up spawning an unfortunate catch-22.
On one hand, we are bombarded with the "perfect image" be it on magazines or TV and the idea of "perfect performance" in whatever it is we do. American culture dictates that we be the best. On the other hand, when we take the steps towards achieving that "perfect image" or that "perfect performance" we are force-fed this bullshit morality by the people with most skeletons. Chris Bell exposed it all and he did a really fantastic job pulling the curtains away and showing the general public the honest to gods truth.
This crowded Manhattan theater, filled with a really diverse subsection of everyday people, was engaged. They were drawn in, and perhaps for the first time in most of their lives, they were finally getting it. At the end credits the theater erupted with applause and the discourse underway. When we left the theater Chris Bell was at the door, my Mother was the very first person in line to thank him for making the movie and I think that says it all.
-Deez
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