"Bigger" than any other movie

“Bigger” released on October 12, 2018, skipping theaters and going directly to blu-ray and digital download. Only receiving a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes the film was not a critical success but it did receive a 6.7/10 on IMDb and a 91% audience score.

Joe and Ben Weider (played by Tyler Hoechlin and Aneurin Barnard respectively) overcame anti-Semitism, conventional wisdom and poverty to become fitness entrepreneurs. Against all odds, the brothers launched the gym phenomenon, created an empire and discovered the greatest bodybuilder of all time: Arnold Schwarzenegger (played by Calum Von Moger).

Born in Montreal 1919, the Weider’s grew up in the Jewish ghetto, where they were bullied by not only other kids, but their own mother who wanted girls. They escaped by working out, specifically lifting weights, something almost revolutionary for the time.

After moving away from away from home, Joe and Ben started a fitness magazine: “Muscle and Fitness”. The magazine included diets, workouts, and all kinds of things that dealt with fitness. Joe would later marry Betty Brosmer (Julianne Hough), he and his wife also started the women’s fitness magazine: “Shape”.

Not only did Joe Weider start a magazine empire, he also founded one of the biggest bodybuilding shows in the world: Mr. Olympia. The fitness guru also founded the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding), now the most prominent bodybuilding organization on the planet.

Also, the brothers were the ones who found Arnold Schwarzenegger and introduced him to professional bodybuilding. A high point of the movie was Von Moger’s portrayal of Schwarzenegger. Being a 3 time Mr. Olympia himself, Von Moger brought a believable and entertaining performance to the movie.

Joe and Ben Weider were the founding fathers of bodybuilding and “Bigger” portrayed them in an accurate manner and fun to watch movie. Viewers can watch the movie on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and VuDU. At a pretty cheap price of $3.99 on all platforms. The fascinating story of the Weider brothers and the rise of bodybuilding is one that you do not want to miss if you are into fitness.