This Friday, October 12th, there’s a movie being released about family… well, they’re family but they’re not really family.  Sorry. That’s confusing, I know. My story about them is complicated and much bigger than I can probably explain in one sitting — which is truly ironic, because the title of the movie is Bigger.

Bigger is the story of Joe and Ben Weider, brothers from Montreal who revolutionized the bodybuilding and fitness industry worldwide. The film ambitiously attempts to tell their story  in a two hour timeframe and the producers did an okay job for people that didn’t really know them and I can say that, because I did know them. In fact, you’ll even find me on page 189 and 296 in Brother’s of Iron (the book the movie was adapted from). That’s because growing up, I lived with Joe and Betty and have often been introduced as their daughter over the years. I’m not, but that’s a longer story than the handful of sentences where I’m mentioned in the book.

I sat with Joe during the book interviews, jogging his memory about the time period from the 1970’s on, telling him: “Remember when Arnold (Schwarzenegger) would visit the tiny apartment on Beverly Glen?! How about the days when the Mr. Olympia contests were held at the Santa Monica Civic and going to Zucky’s for pastrami sandwiches?” It was fun to sit and watch his face light up about those days gone by. The memories were heady, but the work he’d put in to create that world was hard. Joe’s whole life was spent with a pencil in one hand and a notepad in the other. All of his days were spent crafting articles, advertising and new concepts for the world of health and fitness. It was sad to witness his last days, where someone else held the same tools to try and condense who Joe was and what he did.

Joe’s drive and work ethic were the stuff of legends. In his waking hours the man was a machine that was always working. Honestly, I don’t even believe he rested when he slept. He was surely dreaming of what would show up next in his magazines. It was never about money either (something other people accused him of). In fact, Joe would have been perfectly happy sleeping on a cot, eating from a can and never straying far from a flat surface to write or draw on. He despised the concept of the Pleasure Principle (Freud) and could not understand why that was a major motivating factor for humans to achieve anything. As a parental figure (and employer, I’ve been told) he was a tough taskmaster. Joe believed everyone should know their passion and deny all other aspects of a life to serve that passion. What hours weren’t spent servicing the passion were to be spent perfecting the mind (reading) and body (working out). This was the driving force that made Joe so very different from… well, anyone.

To be honest, everything about Joe made him unlike anyone else in the world. So, the idea that a 300 page book was written to try and tell the story about him AND his brother was always laughable to me. The book was the  fast food version of the true outrageous banquet that should be served to tell about Joe’s life. For someone to then distill both stories into an artificially sweetened bite-sized morsel of a movie, while sweet… completely unsatisfying. It took a whole Willy Wonka factory of people to do it, too.

The movie had its big premiere in Las Vegas in September. It was shown the night before Olympia Weekend  — which is a far cry from the single night’s event it was once upon a time. There was a red carpet event for the people involved with the film. Cast, crew and producers all came to celebrate that which they’d created. Mrs. Joe Weider did not attend the event, as it was literally too hard on her heart (it’s one thing to see a movie about a life, it’s quite another to see one about your own). Julianne Hough, who portrayed Betty Weider (nee Brosemer) in the film, was beautiful as she posed for pictures on the patch of carpet set up at the Orleans Arena (a quarter mile from the screening theatre located in the hotel). I watched from the sidelines of the velvet ropes, as I had nothing to do with the making of the movie.

I still haven’t seen the movie all the way through.  Betty had organized a small dinner for a handful of close friends after the premier and since she wasn’t up to attending, I was her stand-in. Something I’ve done a handful of times in the past and I’m a poor substitute, but I believe a good time was still had by all (10 of us). The next day, I sat with Betty and reported back all that had transpired the night before. For some it was a glittering display of Hollywood frippery and for others a night of tears and disappointment (not me, there were blood relatives that were far more hurt than I).

Bigger will play in select theaters this weekend and will eventually come to iTunes, Netflix and other streaming platforms. Maybe you’ll see it? Maybe I will, too. Then again, I lived through most of it and the sumptuous banquet was more filling than the candy coated version could ever be.

“The pain you feel today is the strength you’ll feel tomorrow” – Anonymous

“Each day is a new opportunity to improve yourself. Take it and make the most of it.” – Unknown

“Strive for excellence, exceed yourself. Love your friend. Speak your truth. Practice fidelity* and honor your mother and father. These principles will help you master yourself, make you strong, give you hope and put you on the path to greatness.” – Joe Weider

*This is an article for another time. Or, maybe another book, film, mini-series, etc.