THE ARMSTRONG LIE

Name: THE ARMSTRONG LIE
Item: THE ARMSTRONG LIE
Author: Review

"The Danger of Competition Without Morality"

Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

THE ARMSTRONG LIE began filming as a documentary about Lance Armstrong’s return to the Tour de France bicycle race he had won seven times previously. It became a movie about the exposure of Armstrong’s abuse of performance-enhancing drugs and abuse of people to dominate the sport. Armstrong’s success put cycling on the map in the United States. It sold bicycles, clothing, shoes, and much more. Armstrong himself made $125 million. The authorities running the Tour de France had a strong incentive to help cover up Lance’s shortcomings.

Armstrong’s achievement is still amazing, because he accomplished something when most of his opponents were doing the same thing. Cycling had become a drugfest. That doesn’t make it right, of course. It also should cause alarm to every parent of children who loves sports – any sport. THE ARMSTRONG LIE is sometimes slow and contains strong obscenities, but it’s an eye-opening experience. Justice – slow in coming – finally does arrive. With God, there’s no such thing as a secret. He knows what people do and what they deserve. We should be thankful God offers grace and forgiveness.

Content:

(C, B, Pa, LL, N, DDD, MMM) Light Christian, moral worldview exposing immoral pagan behavior abusing people and finding eventual justice; 13 to 15 obscenities and no profanities; no violence; no sex; upper male nudity and a brief glance of some naked children in a river as cyclists ride by; no alcohol use; drug abuse and many cyclists abuse performance-enhancing drugs; and, very strong miscellaneous immorality includes major dishonesty, mistreatment of friends, and horrible behavior is passed off as heroic.

More Detail:

THE ARMSTRONG LIE began filming as a documentary about Lance Armstrong’s attempt to return to the Tour de France bicycle race that he had won seven times previously. It became, however, a movie about the exposure of Armstrong’s abuse of drugs and his abuse of people in his quest to dominate the sport.

Sadly, this movie makes you fear for children in high schools and colleges who are pressed to win at all costs. There is a lot of money, fame, and power in sports. Lance Armstrong’s success put cycling on the map in the United States. It sold bicycles, clothing, shoes, and much more. Armstrong himself made $125 million. The authorities running the Tour de France had a strong incentive to help cover up Lance’s shortcomings.

The truth is Armstrong’s achievement is still quite amazing because he accomplished what he did when most of his opponents were doing the same thing. Professional cycling had become a drugfest, and the movie makes this clear. That doesn’t make it right and it should cause alarm to every parent of children who love sports – any sport.

As disturbing as the drug use in the movie was, the mistreatment of friends and teammates is even more repulsive. Anyone who accused Armstrong of having used drugs became the target of dirty tactics. His big lie fed on itself and required bigger and bigger lies to be believed. Eventually, they all blew up, and America’s hero became America’s shame.

Lance Armstrong is amazing. He did come back from cancer to compete in a grueling sporting event. No amount of drugs can possibly make this easy. Sadly, the very drive that made him an amazing athlete made him an amazing liar. This is a hard movie to watch because it’s not just the story of Lance Armstrong. During the same period, Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, and other professional American athletes brought shame on baseball. Of course, not everyone who uses performance enhancing drugs is mean and ugly. Some are nice people.

Anyone who thinks it’s all over, and the various sports are all clean now, should consider this. ESPN is the most profitable branch of the Disney empire. The money poured into sports grows every year, and the financial rewards for winning just get bigger and bigger. The competition to make it to the pros and stay there is intense. Coaches are under pressure to find the best athletes – regardless of their character.

Ironically, the person run out of sports is Tim Tebow, an amazing Christian role model.

THE ARMSTRONG LIE is slow in places and contains strong obscenities, but it’s an eye-opening experience. Justice – slow in coming – finally does arrive. What everyone should know is that, with God, there is no such thing as a secret. He knows what people do and what they deserve. We should be very thankful God offers us grace and forgiveness.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

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Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.