This documentary starts off seeming as if it's just about the use of anabolic steroids in sports, told from the point of view of director Chris Bell, who, along with his two brothers, has had a lifetime devotion to bodybuilding and powerlifting. But the fascinating Bigger Stronger Faster* is so much more than that, as it balances the Bells' emotional struggles against the backdrop of an America in the throes of major body-image and performance-anxiety issues.

In the beginning, Bell and his bros -- overweight as kids -- just wanted to be like their heroes Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. As they got older and tried to make their way in the rough 'n' tumble world of competitive lifting and wrestling, they realized that many of those they looked up to were getting juiced.

Bell, who has taken steroids but felt guilty about it, comes across as genuinely at a crossroads. Neither a steroids apologist nor a prohibitionist, he talks to controversial athletes (Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis, Floyd Landis); physicians who warn of steroids' dangers; people who say the anti-steroids hype has been overblown to Reefer Madness proportions; and parents such as Don Hooton of Plano, Texas, who blames his son's suicide on steroids use.

But Bell digs deeper, getting into the politics of steroids (why some athletes are singled out for use and others aren't; why Congress felt it had to spend so much time investigating steroids in baseball) and how society in general has become so enamored of the idea of the quick fix and easy ``cheat.''

So he interviews fitness-magazine editors and photographers who admit how they doctor photos to sell supplements they know to be of questionable value, students who take Adderall to get through the day, musicians on beta blockers, fighter pilots on amphetamines, and porn stars on Viagra. For those involved, it's all about gaining a competitive edge, but a side effect may be that outside observers get a distorted view of what the norm should be and wonder what it would take for them to be that way.

And the cycle continues.

With: Chris Bell, Mark Bell, Mike Bell, Rosemary Bell, Sheldon Bell

Director: Chris Bell

Screenwriters: Chris Bell, Alex Buono, Tamsin Rawady

Producers: Alex Buono, Tamsin Rawady, Jim Czarnecki

A Magnolia Pictures release. Drug use, strong language, some sexual content, pro-wrestler violence. Running time: 105 minutes. In Miami-Dade only: South Beach.

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