Saturday, October 4, 2008

BIGGER STRONGER FASTER: What the hell is a "good sport"?



One of those rare documentaries that expands as it moves along, BIGGER STRONGER FASTER not only gets better as it unfolds, but its subjects broaden until they take in what appears to be the original problem, its contradiction, trends, morality, society and finally an entire country -- before turning in on itself and simply mirroring our flawed humanity. All of this happens in a manner that appears unplanned, which makes it all the more surprising and believable.

Christopher Bell, his entire family, and his co-writers Alexander Buono and Tamsin Rawady have put together a one-of-a-kind experience that includes our country's everlasting fascination with sports, as well as its current one with steroids and other body/mind/facial enhancers. Unless I am very far off base, Mr. Bell is more honest than many other documentarians in his willingness to admit to hypocrisy: his own, his family's and his country's. This makes for a particularly fascinating journey into our national psyche.

I am not going to provide more details, as I don't want to deprive you of the experience of discovery (and, oh boy, there is plenty of it here). Whether you are a sports fan or someone who despises, not sports themselves, but the manner in which business, the media, the owners and the players themselves have destroyed the integrity of sports, don't let "Bigger Stronger Faster" get by you unseen.

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