A film concentrating on illegal steroid usage alone would be prosaic as stories of “drug abuse” are commonplace in fiction mediums and reality shows. Chris Bell succeeds in his film because he not only intimately laments his brothers’ steroid use, but he also laments how he and his brothers were lied to by their idols in innocent childhood. Hulk Hogan promised them his success if only they too took their vitamins and prayed. Yet, as Chris realized later on, this, like many other American dictates of success such as “you can if you believe”, came with contractual asterixes.

Chris Bell’s innocent and, perhaps, naive tone also adds to the film to convey how he was preyed upon by his muscle ripping heroes who all later admitted steroid usage or had steroid possession. However, such revelations were already too late to enlighten Chris’s brothers, as well as many others such as the man in the van, because their minds had already been irrevocably ingrained with the objective of pumping up, now using whatever means necessary, to gain their “destined” place in stardom next to their childhood heroes.

By showing how his idols lied or manipulated the situations to their favor, Chris tamely shows how the preeminent American ideal of achieving all the success you want by working hard and believing while playing by the rules is a delusion; a delusion that ruins many lives directly and indirectly (e.g. “Mad-Dog” Mikes young wife and mother Bell)

One of the biggest farces in the movie was Henry Waxman. Henry could not answer many important questions without the help of an aid. Waxman then portrayed himself as even more of a fraud when repeated the aid’s answer with utmost certainty in order to prove whatever mainstream notion he had.

Chris used information of what he knows best, heroes with muscles and steroids, to expose the fraud and illusions perpetuated by “winners” in the media and how their misleading messages delude the public into the “Be-All” American fantasy.

Good recommendation