The Bodybuilder and I

Every June, 59-year-old Bill Friedman waxes his body, strips down to the smallest bikini shorts imaginable, slathers himself with bronzing spray and then struts his way across a stage where he flexes his impressive muscles and gyrates before a crowd of hundreds. Bill is a competitive bodybuilder -- a former world champ in the age 50-60 category. And now he's determined to win his title back.

Documentary director Bryan Friedman is 26. Bill -- Bryan's dad -- hasn't been around since Bryan was a baby. Over the last two decades, the two have spent virtually no time together. Bryan's feelings are complicated -- but mostly negative, with a deep dose of embarrassment over Bill's muscle-bound body and single-minded bodybuilding obsession.
Now, Bryan is chronicling his dad's attempt to make it back to the top. And somehow -- between bench presses, tanning sessions, costume shopping and the occasional furtive cigarette -- the two men are coming to know, and maybe even sort of understand, each other.

Told with humour and sensitivity, The Bodybuilder and I is a feature documentary about success, failure, shame and family. It is a journey into the strange subculture of geriatric bodybuilders and into the life of a man who is determined to regain his status as champion. And it is the journey of an estranged son trying to discover who his father really is -- in hopes that he can learn to love and respect him for the first time.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Documentary
• Bodubuilding
• International
• Film
• Festival
• Hot
• Docs
• Vancouver
• Cinefest
• Calgary
• Atlantic
• Award
• Winner

[robboultimate]

0.12 is so funny. DONT TOUCH ME. wooo stressy old fart. needs a slap

[account98]

Couldn't agree more mate. Very bad attitude.

[muslUnbounded]

@lostanddumbfounded,

lawyers are lazy, they make their money with their mouths, creating nothing but fees. Filmmakers make films at least. Lawyers don't make houses, they don't make food, they don't make bodies. They just leech money from unfortunate situations and profit from the misery of others.

In a decent society, there would be no place for lawyers. lawyers exist solely to corrupt flawed societies. They are the most dangerous criminal threat to democracies, attached like tapeworms.

[lostanddumbfounded]

@muslUnbounded all your channel is, is bodybuilding videos. i could argue that those who participate in bodybuilding contribute nothing to society save keeping 'roid dealers in business. to me, that world is a bunch of "nothings." even though i think bodybuilders are people with narcissistic personality disorders, even with the 'roids, that "sport" requires a lot of dedication and hard work. they are far from lazy, just like successful lawyers/film makers are far from lazy as well.

[muslUnbounded]

@lostanddumbfounded, actually you are way off on your assessment. che was an idiot who fought for a man who backstabbed him, i had an A average and I took practical, not nefarious/manipulation-oriente­d courses.

i've never met a lawyer who impressed me as intelligent. lawyers tend to be too lazy to do something useful to society and they make the premeditated decision to profit from adopting any position on an issue, rather than the right position. thanks lawyers, for screwing up the world.

[lostanddumbfounded]

@muslUnbounded wow, thank you for that convoluted lefty response, typical of someone who was s sociology major in college who probably had a che guevera poster on his/her wall, and floated through school with a C average. i'm sure many would disagree with your definition of a "nothing." usually "nothings" aren't intelligent/motivated enough to go to law school, attend a prestigious arts college in NYC (tisch), and produce an award winning film.

[muslUnbounded]

@lostanddumbfounded, LOL! lawyers are scum. there are a lot of morons who honor lawyers, but lawyers exist only to get criminals off after committing all sorts of crimes. You can't subvert democracy without the lawyers doing it in the courts for the rich man's money. when you realize that there is no justice when the most expensive lawyers (the ones the ultra-rich and corporations buy) decide the outcome of the case, then you are starting to wake up.

[lostanddumbfounded]

@muslUnbounded i wouldn't say that the kid is a nothing. he's a new york lawyer.

[muslUnbounded]

what a sad pathetic kid. the dad is obviously arrogant, but he's arrogant because he's struggling to achieve something he thinks he is better than everyone else at, but the kid is arrogant and he's a nothing. why is the kid embarassed?--because his dad is much more of a man than he is, even though the kid is in his prime years and is nothing. tsk, tsk. very sad.

[bf6067]

I absolutely love seeing these older men with such impressve muscles! Who says we have to get old and feeble?

[dadoody]

I would be proud of my dad if he kept in shape.

This guy's an idiot if he's embarrassed by his dad.

[m00nkiss]

Where can I get this movie?! I want to see all of it :D