Load Bearing Beams

Hey folks! If you hadn't heard, we took this week off (on account of Thanksgiving). We'll be back in one week (Friday, December 1, 2023) with our episode about the Arnold Schwarzenegger family comedy Jingle All the Way, co-starring Future Darth Vader. Thank you so much for supporting our ridiculous show. Matt's been doing some video reviews of recent movies on our YouTube channel. Check out: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakeshttps://youtu.be/C4rMMOPdZ6IThe Marvels https://youtu.be/ZIBdcn_c7ZsKillers of the Flower Moonhttps://youtu.be/9kLdXLaXlsM ALSO: We'll be doing a mailbag episode at the end of the year. Please send us your questions about movies, episodes we've done, or anything else, I guess. Tweet them to us @loadbearingpod or leave a comment on one of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t cure its depression. We discuss this sad fact with our friend Drew (a.k.a. Drewbie Doobie’s Movies, @drewbiedoobiemovie on TikTok) by covering a movie he loved growing up, Wolfgang Petersen’s The NeverEnding Story (1984). Yes, this movie traumatized a generation of children, but to look upon it now is to see into an alternate dimension of unbelievable practical effects and puppetry. Laci, Matt, and Drew have a great conversation gushing over how incredible this movie looks, and also get to the bottom of important questions such as: Why does Bastian spend his day off hiding inside his school? Are Atreyu and Falkor more than just friends? And is Bastian’s dad the most evil character in cinema history? Please follow Drew on TikTok and check out the great videos he’s making about movies and physical media: https://www.tiktok.com/@drewbiedoobiemovie Next week: We’re taking a Thanksgiving break. We’ll be back with a new episode on Friday, December 1st, about the Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas comedy Jingle All the Way (1996). Watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9-GgD9eDQxI Time stamps: The NeverEnding Story Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC). Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode: https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IMhttps://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkghttps://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

Friend of the Show Cinematic Joshua (@CinematicJoshua on TikTok) joins us for a rollicking conversation about the cult classic Ashton Kutcher time travel picture The Butterfly Effect (2004). Laci, Matt, and Joshua discuss the career of Ashton Kutcher, the influence of the Final Destination series on this movie, and the many different time strands this movie juggles, as well as the merits of the conventional Hollywood ending of the theatrical cut and the extremely dark original ending included in the director’s cut. Content warning: We discuss the movie's depictions of sexual assault and self-harm. Please follow Joshua on TikTok and check out the great work he’s doing: https://www.tiktok.com/@cinematicjoshua Time stamps: 00:06:27 — Our histories with The Butterfly Effect 00:09:52 — History segment: Career overviews of the writer/director team Eric Bress & J. Mackeye Gruber, and of stars Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart 00:21:43 — In-depth movie discussion 01:44:40 — Final thoughts and star ratings Head to https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod to watch new, full video episodes every week. Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC). NEXT WEEK: We're covering The NeverEnding Story (1984) with special guest Drewbie Doobie’s Movies (@drewbiedoobiemovie on TikTok).

Man, if you weren't there in the Philadelphia department store scene back in '87, then you just wouldn't get it. Luckily, the movie Mannequin (1987) is here to fill you in: It's a battle of two behemoth stores—the mom-and-pop-owned Prince & Company and the tacky upstart Illustra. At the center of it all is Jonathan Switcher (Andrew McCarthy), a dreamer with a heart of gold who falls in love with a mannequin (Kim Cattrall). Except this mannequin's secretly a real person, inhabited by the spirit of an ancient Egyptian woman named Emmy. Tale as old as time. Swirling around all of this is a fiery debate between your hosts over whether Andrew McCarthy is a loveable and sweet everyman (Laci) or a translucent void lacking any semblance of charisma or screen presence (Matt). Watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AT5pS0Y-TqQ Time stamps: Mannequin Head to https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod to watch new, full video episodes every week. Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC). NEXT WEEK: We're covering The Butterfly Effect (2004) with special guest Cinematic Joshua (@cinematicjoshua on TikTok)

We head back to Haddonfield, Illinois for another encounter with Laurie, Annie, Lynda, Michael, Sheriff Brackett, and that wacky Dr. Loomis. That's right, we're taking another (much longer) look at one of Matt's favorite movies, John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). Untouchable classic this picture may be, but Laci was not a fan back in 2017. Surely time has softened her impenetrable heart... or has it? This film established so many hallmarks of the horror genre that are still used today. But there's so much more to unpack! How did Dr. Loomis not lose his medical license? Did Bob and Lynda put the Jack-O-Lantern next to the bed, or was it already there? And what does Michael Myers think about orgasm equity? This is our fourth and final entry in this year's collection of Load Bearing SCREAMS. Watch this episode in full: https://youtu.be/ZXnrev4uFq4?si=vja7UbfyP1DRQSsK Time stamps: 00:03:17 — According to a recent study*, jump scares are dying! 00:05:38 — Our respective histories with Halloween (1978), including the previous episode we did on it 00:14:17 — Pre-movie predictions 00:21:57 — History segment: The history of slasher movies, plus the development of Halloween and career overviews of John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Donald Pleasence, and Jamie Lee Curtis 00:56:35 — In-depth discussion of Halloween 01:56:44 — Matt ranks the movies in the Halloween franchise 01:57:56 — Final thoughts and star ratings *Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/jump-scare-horror-movies/ Head to https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod to watch new, full video episodes every week. Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Have any movie characters ever been more sinister and disgusting than the Addamses? No. But we can't help but love them anyway, gosh darn it. We take a deep dive into the world of the Addams Family, first going through their long history and then talking about Barry Sonnenfeld's Addams Family Values (1993), the sequel to the original Addams Family (1991) that was a financial disappointment but has since become even more beloved. Time stamps: 00:21 — Our personal history with the Addams movies and TV shows + predictions 15:13 — History of The Addams Family, from cartoon beginnings through the 1990s movies 43:36 — Discussion of Addams Family Values This is our third entry in this year's collection of Load Bearing SCREAMS. Head to https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod to watch new, full video episodes every week. Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (https://open.spotify.com/album/3oj7ZSGqfnZTtTlXa1fyeo?si=fZxDj8ZWT-2SpxhTUIdxow).

Is M. Night Shyamalan's Signs (2002) just a bunch of corny rubbish, or is Matt right when he calls it the scariest movie he's ever seen? We made our longest episode ever to figure it out. He's seen this movie so many times he can recite every minute detail of it. We talk about weird background characters, the newsworthiness of crop circles, the threat level posed by armadillos, the acute stress one goes through preparing one's house for an alien attack, and so much more. It's the second entry in this year's collection of Load Bearing SCREAMS. Ghost scaring beams. Boo! Watch this episode in full: https://youtu.be/DqMs7tstGZ8 And head to https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod to watch new, full video episodes every week. Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

For the first time on our show, we're revisiting a movie we already covered. It's Tim Burton's second feature, 1988's Beetlejuice. Matt didn't like this spooky haunted house classic back in 2017, but does he feel any differently all these years later? And how complicated were stereo instructions, anyway? To answer these questions and many more, we devote about three times as much time talking about the movie as we did the first time around. Time stamps: 00:01:27 - Why we're doing an episode on Beetlejuice (again) 00:07:27 - Our histories with Beetlejuice 00:13:39 - Pre-movie predictions 00:17:35 - History segment: the writing, development, and production of Beetlejuice; career overviews of Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder; adaptations and the upcoming Beetlejuicesequel 00:45:57 - In-depth discussion of the movie Beetlejuice 01:36:28 - Final thoughts and our star ratings; Matt's ranking of Tim Burton's films Want to watch this episode? Head to https://youtu.be/b-5Oi3H_xGM, and while you're at it, SUBSCRIBE to see a new, full-video episode every week. Plus lots of other fun stuff! Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

The fifties, baby. We're taking a look at 1998's Pleasantville, which takes a look at a 1950s America that never was, and always will be. This movie, marketed as a comedy, is actually a pretty serious look at fascism, oppression, and forced conformity, and would it surprise you to hear its message is still relevant today? We thought we were past all of that! Want to watch this episode on YouTube? My friend, we have great news for you. https://youtu.be/zxqnO4vW4CY And while you're at it, head to https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod to watch new, full video episodes every week. Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (https://open.spotify.com/album/3oj7ZSGqfnZTtTlXa1fyeo?si=fZxDj8ZWT-2SpxhTUIdxow).

The nineties, baby. We're getting into it over Romy & Michele's High School Reunion (1997), which sees Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino as the attractive women version of Beavis and Butt-Head trying to persuade their former high school classmates that they invented Post-Its. But beneath this sweet and pleasant comedy lurks something far more sinister. Is this actually a toxic, co-dependant friendship that's imprisoning both Romy and Michele? Would their lives be better if they actually stayed split up after their Tucson road trip? And why would anybody ever want to go to their high school reunion? Content warning: We discuss the sexual abuse allegations against both Woody Allen and Harvey Weinstein. Much of the history we cover in this episode is sourced from Vogue's 2022 oral history of "Romy & Michele's High School Reunion" by Keaton Bell, which you can read here: https://www.vogue.com/article/an-oral-history-of-romy-and-micheles-high-school-reunion Want to watch our show on YouTube? Head to https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod to watch new, full video episodes every week. Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (https://open.spotify.com/album/3oj7ZSGqfnZTtTlXa1fyeo?si=fZxDj8ZWT-2SpxhTUIdxow).

Come on down to our podcast and have yourself a time. Laci and Matt have a long conversation about the 1999 Trey Parker-helmed South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. We go step by step through the movie and its history, as well as the larger history of the South Park TV series and how our relationships with it have changed over time. It's not easy spinning an animated show off into a big screen movie—you have to appeal to existing fans while bringing in new ones, and tell a story worthy of a big budget and an extended running time. So, does this movie pull it off? We compare it to The Simpsons Movie, Beavis & Butt-Head Do America, and The Bob's Burgers Movie to see how it well it holds up. Hey, we have a full video version of this episode up on YouTube. https://youtu.be/gedWc8El0Ig?si=e4zk7bw7LjoSeKQc

Hey folks, we planned on having a new episode out today, but the summer is kicking our asses and we are basically punting on the rest of it. Our tentative plan is to resume a new-episode-every-week schedule once school starts and we get more schedule flexibility. So, August 18. Thanks for sticking with us, we've really enjoyed doing the new episodes this year and want to do more of them.

We're in the midst of our Summer of Calamities but we only have a month or so left of it. So this is an off week for Load Bearing Beams, but we'll be back on Friday, July 21, 2023. It'll be a Matt movie episode, and he's currently choosing between two different late-1990s movies based on popular animated television shows: The Rugrats Movie and South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut. Basically the same movie. Here then is our schedule for the next month: Friday, July 21, 2023 - Episode 86 Friday, July 28, 2023 - Episode 87 Friday, August 4, 2023 - Episode 88 Friday, August 11, 2023 - no new episode

Laci and Matt discuss 1996's divorced women picture The First Wives Club, where Diane Keaton, Bette Midler, and Goldie Hawn rekindle their college-era friendship and then something something get back at all of the world's scummy ex-husbands? We're not sure either, but this is a rollicking good time discussing this really funny '90s hit. A lot of time is spent debating how the closing musical number makes each of us feel. Want to watch this episode? Check it out on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aGmlo0BafxM Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (Wade Hymel and Matt Stokes). Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify: https://bit.ly/42vff7s

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who just wants to fly around in big jet airliners and accrue miles, but will his heart get in the way?? Find out with us as we discuss Up In the Air (2009), director Jason Reitman's follow-up to his massive hit Juno (2007). This movie packs a lot of stuff in, and we address it all—how it feels to get fired, why Laci hates George Clooney's stupid face, and what's the deal with the food they're serving up there. Want to watch this episode? Head over to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeams2747 Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (Wade Hymel and Matt Stokes). Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify: https://bit.ly/42vff7s

Join us, dear listeners, at the Whistle Stop Cafe, where Idgy, Ninny, Buddy, Grady, Little Buddy, Smokey, Big George and all your best pals are waiting to cook you up a plate of Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), a tale of southern-fried romance and deadly train accidents. In a wide-ranging, free-wheeling, railroad-riding discussion, Laci and Matt unpack this movie and the many questions it raises. Why does Jessica Tandy harass strangers at the nursing home? What about Mary-Louise Parker's pill-addled energy in this movie do we find so appealing? And how is Kathy Bates's character Evelyn like Jigsaw from the SAW movies? Watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dOtrdyksrwY Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (Wade Hymel and Matt Stokes). Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify: https://bit.ly/42vff7s

Hey folks! Load Bearing Beams here with an update for you: We'll be back with a brand-new, full-length episode in one week (June 23, 2023). That episode will be on the film Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), so get ready now by watching it. The schedule through the rest of our season will then be as follows: June 23 — Episode 83: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) June 30 — Episode 84: Pearl Harbor (2001) July 7 — Episode 85 July 14 — Off-week July 21 — Episode 86 July 28 — Episode 87 August 4 — Episode 88

We unpack Matt's lifelong fear of crocodilians by taking a look at 1999's big budget B-movie spectacular, Lake Placid. Is this schlocky special effects extravaganza just a Jurassic Park ripoff, or a sly commentary on the genre with a brilliant cast (Bridget Fonda, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Platt, Bill Pullman, and Betty White) operating at the top of their game interacting with a killer croc made by a master of practical creature effects (Stan Winston) and directed by a guy (Steve Miner) who seems to know what he's doing? Spoiler: It's the latter. This movie RULES. We were as surprised as you will be. Want to watch this episode? Head over to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@loadbearingbeams2747 Catch our most recent video episode, on Howard Stern's Private Parts: https://youtu.be/vift8VSjRsM Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (Wade Hymel and Matt Stokes). Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify: https://bit.ly/42vff7s

Laci picked the Howard Stern movie Private Parts (1997) for this episode, so we thoroughly discuss this odd but very charming film and try to figure out what it's really trying to say. Laci unpacks her history with Howard Stern, which literally involves her listening to his show in class via large headphones hidden by a hoodie. And Matt goes on a too-long solliloquy about his favorite radio show, the Dan Le Batard Show, and how it parallels Howard Stern's show. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vift8VSjRsM Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine (Wade Hymel and Matt Stokes). Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3oj7ZSGqfnZTtTlXa1fyeo?si=OaGVYO8bSGagHzf-fOVABQ

The other members of Matt's band Rural Route Nine join the show for a classic two-movie Load Bearing Beams therapy session. Wade Hymel triumphantly returns to the show to convince the gang of the merits of the 2000 Ben Stiller/Robert DeNiro comedy Meet the Parents, while Patrick Perot presents The Blair Witch Project (1999) for consideration. We discuss the history of found footage horror movies, being fooled into thinking The Blair Witch Project was real back in 1999, whether it's possible to make any sense of the Blair Witch lore, and whether any good horror movies were made in the 2000s. That plus an extensive discussion of the obscure low-budget Meet the Parents from 1992 on which the Ben Stiller film was based, the smokiness of Blythe Danner, and why this movie really should have been a romantic comedy about Greg Focker and Jack Byrnes falling in love with each other. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VemICqDy70A Rural Route Nine has an album out! You can listen to the whole thing on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/3oj7ZSGqfnZTtTlXa1fyeo?si=gb6jmXNDQaOAKwgCMmUPPg) and on YouTube (https://open.spotify.com/album/3oj7ZSGqfnZTtTlXa1fyeo?si=78Ru_JYaTACs-mbnohoV-w). Time stamps: 0:03:30 — The Blair Witch Project 0:39:08 — Meet the Parents 1:24:32 — "Your Ambition" by Rural Route Nine Artwork by Laci Roth. Music by Rural Route Nine.