by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
You know what, someone has to sell the absolute crock that is the steroid boom in American sports. And Victor Conte was that guy. The man lied to himself and to the world for years, and was part of some of the most fraudulent records in professional sports ever. With his expertise in steroid use, the man was able to help athletes like Barry Bonds and Marion Jones reach athletic peaks unseen before. But it came at the cost of the integrity of these sports icons. That’s the topic of Netflix’s most recent entry of Untold. The documentary chronicles his journey from nutritionist and sports performance advisor, to when his business went from small to massive after he got into the performance enhancing drugs game. His downfall was swift, just as his rise to fortune was.
One thing is clear about Conte that makes him an interesting protagonist: He is a salesman and conman of an elite level. Nothing from the man’s mouth can be taken at face value because he only has himself to look out for. Everything he says is a half truth or a contradiction of whatever facts authorities have presented. The man knew that this documentary is bringing more publicity to him, and he won’t say anything to condemn himself.
That honestly makes this episode of the show fairly interesting, as Conte’s conniving ways are put up against the investigations of the FBI. FBI agents come on and talk about the illicit substances and paperwork they found around his place of business. One of the agents talks about even going through Conte’s trash and subpoenaing medical waste companies to get more information of what was being disposed of. They worked just as hard as Conte did, to try and expose what was happening.
But those are honestly the only two interesting characters in this picture: Conte and the FBI. It stops right there, and that’s a bummer, because there are other people involved in this story. Jones did not participate. Bonds did not participate. All of the other folks who could have made for interesting interviews are nowhere to be found. While I can understand why they don’t want to be a part of something that is tainting their image, the documentary suffers from their absence. A big name like Bonds denying his use of performance-enhancing drugs would be intriguing next to Conte’s snake oil salesman ways.
But honestly, Conte is enough for me to latch onto this documentary and really enjoy it. He’s so charismatic and fast-moving that you just can’t pin him down. Sure, half of what he says could be a lie. Heck, it’s probably more than that. But there’s a moment near the end where he talks about his time in prison and how he believes it affected his family. He breaks down crying talking about his kids, and for a moment the conman is gone. He is just a father who realizes what he’s done and how many people he has hurt. There’s something touching about that..
Rating: Liked It
Untold – Hall of Shame is currently streaming on Netflix
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