Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
49
2012
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
70
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
52
Blind Side
47
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
23
Couples Retreat
39
Fame
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
41
G-Force
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
xx
Ninja Assassin
xx
Old Dogs
28
Pandorum
58
Pirate Radio
39
Planet 51
xx
Princess & the Frog, The
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
46
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum
56
Adam
39
Adventures of Power
66
Afterschool
73
Amreeka
49
Antichrist
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The
71
Big Fan
65
Black Dynamite
76
Bliss
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
44
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star
76
Broken Embraces
70
Bronson
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
60
Collapse
82
Cove, The
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The
53
Dare
50
Defamation
67
Departures
70
Earth Days
85
Education, An
55
Endgame
88
Fantastic Mr. Fox
31
Fix
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
xx
From Mexico with Love
28
Gentlemen Broncos
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo
63
Horse Boy, The
74
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
26
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
43
Little Traitor, The
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
46
Love Hurts
84
Maid, The
45
Mammoth
75
Messenger, The
55
Missing Person, The
59
More Than a Game
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
48
New York, I Love You
66
No Impact Man
26
Oh My God
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Red Cliff
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
65
Skin
41
Splinterheads
42
Staten Island
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
58
Storm
82
Sun, The
49
Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon
73
That Evening Sun
61
Trucker
49
Turning Green
83
U2 3D
45
Uncertainty
67
Visual Acoustics
32
War on Kids
67
Way We Get By, The
65
Wedding Song, The
xx
White on Rice
59
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
74
Woman in Berlin, A
43
Women in Trouble
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Christopher Bell
Alexander Buono
Directed by: Christopher Bell
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 30, 2008
DVD: September 30, 2008
Running Time: 105 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. We reward speed, size and above all else: winning – at sport, at business and at war. Metaphorically we are a nation on steroids. Is it any wonder that so many of our heroes are on performance enhancing drugs? Blending comedy and pathos, Bigger, Stronger, Faster* is a collision of pop culture and first-person narrative, with a diverse cast including US Congressmen, professional athletes, medical experts and everyday gym rats. At its heart, this is the story of director Christopher Bell and his two brothers, who grew up idolizing muscular giants like Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and who went on to become members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream. When you discover that your heroes have all broken the rules, do you follow the rules, or do you follow your heroes? (Magnolia)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Bigger, Stronger, Faster is a portrait of a culture that claims to hate steroids but may, by now, be too pumped to do much about it.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Don R. Lewis
Bell's documentary is an absolute must see for anyone taking part in any kind of debate about steroids.
Read Full Review >Variety Peter Debruge
More scrupulously reported than your average Michael Moore film but every bit as entertaining, Bigger, Stronger, Faster* is as commercial as documentaries come.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Teddy Greenstein
Bell confronts Smelly, labeling him a cheater. But he also sympathizes with him, explaining, "There is a clash in America between doing the right thing and being the best."
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
This movie is remarkable in that it seems to be interested only in facts.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Attempts to look beyond the hysteria and consider exactly how and why a culture that values physical power has internalized the idea that steroid use in sports is a scourge.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
Perfectly reflects the range of this funny, disturbing and complex tale.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Bigger, Stronger, Faster* left me convinced that the steroid scandals will abate as the drugs are reluctantly accepted as inevitable products of a continuing revolution in biotechnology. Replaceable body parts, plastic surgery, anti-depressants, Viagra and steroids are just a few of the technological advancements in a never-ending drive to make the species superhuman.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
Entertaining, smart and snappy, this terrific doc, a Sundance favorite, digs into the country's use of steroids and how it affects sports, pop culture and the self-image of young men.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Richard James Havis
This everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach not only makes for pacey entertainment, it also allows director Christopher Bell to delve deep into the matter at hand.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt
Full of revelations, all brought to light by Bell's good-natured, Michael Moore-lite dogging of athletes, health experts, government officials, and even his own parents.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
A hugely entertaining personal documentary about what steroids mean to American pop culture.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
While Bell makes the point that pros account for about 85 percent of total usage, he is more interested in why others - including a guy with the world's biggest biceps, who admits they repulse women - are so driven to be Bigger, Stronger, Faster*.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
He treats jocks like humans, not stars or superheroes, and in the end has managed something unique for documentaries these days: It's as entertaining as it is fair.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Bell presides over this insightful, often droll survey like a sweeter, buffer version of Michael Moore, trolling gyms, universities, and Congress to grill assorted experts.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's an interesting and eye-opening journey.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
tonydjr gave it a9:
Great movie! About family, choices, the grayness of heroes, and the conflict between the regulation and usage of steroids for athletes, regular joes, and the ill, who need it the most. Makes you wonder about atheletes, their choices, how others perceive them, and what you would do given their situation.
Jon H gave it a0:
Some fat lazy deluded bible-bashing drug-taking family presenting their uninformed opinions on the silver screen as if they were scientific fact.
Derek S. gave it a9:
I thought the movie was perfect at showing the truth about steroids. Lou Lumenick is a dolt though, Bell showed that only 15% of the population using roids are professional athletes, with 85% being the average gym rat.
B Daddy gave it a9:
Documentary movies are usually boring, but this is informative and asks intelligent questions. I especially liked the interview of Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson -- 100m nemesis both caught using steroids. This will challenge your opinion as to why steroids are illegal -- it did mine.
Jay H gave it a7:
Very well researched and informative, it has a good balance on view points. Decent narration. I was always interested in the film, but it does get a bit repetitive. Still fascinating and it certainly makes you think.
arbie gave it a9:
Really, really fantastic. A wonderfully produced film that shows great balance -- I enjoyed this almost more for its quality and approach to the material than the material itself. The subjects are utterly human. It's easy to really want them to succeed as a result of this film.
