Load Bearing Beams
147 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 23 ratingsIt’s the Summer of Spielberg, celebrating a handful of Steven Spielberg’s films! But normally, it's a movie podcast where one host loves a movie, the other has never seen it. They watch. They discuss. Why do we call it a Load Bearing Beam? Because it's a movie you love so much that it holds up the foundation of the very structure that is you. Laci Roth and Matt Stokes are a married couple that needs to find stuff to watch together. On this show, they take a look at movies loved by one but unseen, disliked, or forgotten by the other. With open hearts but exhausted and cynical minds, they will get to the bottom of whether or not the movies they love so much are actually good.
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Episodes
84. Up In The Air
June 30, 2023 09:49 - 58 minutes - 80.8 MBGeorge 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 t...
83. Fried Green Tomatoes
June 23, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 92.4 MBJoin 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-...
Back on 6/23/23 with an episode about "Fried Green Tomatoes"
June 16, 2023 10:47 - 4 minutes - 5.6 MBHey 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 Augus...
82. Lake Placid
June 09, 2023 10:10 - 1 hour - 86.4 MBWe 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 s...
81. Private Parts
June 02, 2023 10:08 - 1 hour - 106 MBLaci 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 YouT...
80. The Blair Witch Project / Meet The Parents (with Wade Hymel & Patrick Perot)
May 26, 2023 10:43 - 1 hour - 122 MBThe 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 possibl...
79. Grease 2 (also: Grease 1)
May 19, 2023 10:28 - 1 hour - 123 MB(Do keep in mind that this podcast is rated R for utterly filthy language.) Well hi there, partner. Load Bearing Beams is back for season 2 with a long and free-wheeling discussion of Grease 2 (1982). This famously bad (but maybe it's not so bad?) sequel to the 1978 smash was an enormous flop upon release, but it has built quite a cult following over the years. We break it down, plus talk extensively about the first Grease movie and the different versions of the stage musical that preceded...
78. Loser
May 28, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 84 MBIs this the most forgotten movie we've ever covered? Probably. But if you don't listen to this episode, we'll make fun of you, dweeb.
77. Wild Wild West
May 14, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 85.2 MBLaci and Matt unpack the movie and music career of Will Smith, the biggest movie star of his generation, and the notorious disaster that is 1999's Wild Wild West. Is this movie really the calamity everyone says it is? Listen to find out.
76. Mortal Kombat (1996)
April 30, 2021 10:00 - 27 minutes - 38.3 MBWe prepare to enter the tournament that is the 1995 adaptation of Mortal Kombat. Time stamps: What are our relationship dealbreakers when it comes to both food and movies? [2:04] Is Homer Simpson the most iconic TV character of all time? [08:43] We react to the Oscars [09:55] Matt returned to the movie theater for the first time in 14 months and immediately regretted buying popcorn [20:08] Laci tries to name Mortal Kombat characters [23:22]
76. Mortal Kombat (1995)
April 30, 2021 10:00 - 27 minutes - 38.3 MBWe prepare to enter the tournament that is the 1995 adaptation of Mortal Kombat. Time stamps: What are our relationship dealbreakers when it comes to both food and movies? [2:04] Is Homer Simpson the most iconic TV character of all time? [08:43] We react to the Oscars [09:55] Matt returned to the movie theater for the first time in 14 months and immediately regretted buying popcorn [20:08] Laci tries to name Mortal Kombat characters [23:22]
75. Twister
April 16, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 86.5 MBCall in the Insane Clown Posse, because this episode is twisted. Please forgive the audio issues on this one. :(
74. Godzilla (1998)
April 02, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 107 MBIt's Roth v. Stokes in this episode. The gloves are off. Fisticuffs. A brawl for all. A royal rumble. Malice at the Palace. We got a donnybrook on our hand, folks, because Laci thinks the Roland Emmerich-Matthew Broderick Godzilla (1998) is the worst movie Load Bearing Beams has ever covered, while Matt thinks it is merely bad. Who will prevail? Matt's brother Elliott and sister Maggie stop by eventually (at the 1 hour, 4 minutes mark) to help settle the whole ordeal. Other topics covered...
73. Elvis
March 19, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 97.5 MBElvis was a hero to Laci, but he never meant s*!@ to Matt. When your two hosts first started dating, Laci asked Matt a fundamental question: "Are you an Elvis person, or a Beatles person?" Matt thought it was a nonsensical question. What kind of person would choose Elvis over the Beatles? His future wife, that's who! And so. We were going to pick an Elvis Presley movie for this episode and use it as a springboard to talk about Elvis in general, and see if Laci could persuade Matt to war...
72. Splice
March 05, 2021 19:35 - 1 hour - 105 MBA very cranky Matt and Laci discuss the 2009 man-playin'-God thriller Splice. Topics covered include: TV vs. movies, bioethics, children, parenting, Koko the gorilla, plus an extensive breakdown of this movie's opening credits.
71. Weekend At Bernie's
February 19, 2021 10:00 - 56 minutes - 77.8 MBCelebrate this weekend with your very-much-alive-thank-you pals Laci and Matt, who are discussing the 1989 comedy classic Weekend At Bernie's (1989).
70. Red Dragon
February 05, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 95.5 MBBecause he saw Red Dragon (2002) before he saw The Silence of the Lambs, a young and idiotic Matt thought it was just plumb terrific, and so he and his bride review it on this episode, which features extension discussion of the entire Hannibal Lecter/Thomas Harris universe (except for the television show Hannibal).
2nd Triennial Quarterly Claptrap
January 29, 2021 10:30 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MBThis one's a jazz set, a lazy river. Let the conversation take you where it's gonna take you, ya know? Topics covered: Waterparks Whether or not talking about food is interesting The merits of the Foo Fighters The TV show The Crown The merits of a system of government wherein the head of state and head of government are separated
69. Jawbreaker
January 22, 2021 10:30 - 54 minutes - 74.4 MBAnother of Laci's faves is a cult classic from the '90s: 1999's Jawbreaker, the tale of three popular girls who accidentally murder their friend and then clumsily cover it up while also navigating the minefield that is high school. But about half of this episode is Matt explaining why he is disgusted by candy and how hard it was for him to watch this movie given the prominence of the titular Jawbreaker.
68. The General
January 15, 2021 10:30 - 48 minutes - 66.6 MBDeploy your cowcatcher and join Laci and Matt as they unpack Buster Keaton's action-comedy classic, The General (1927). Often considered the greatest of all silent films, it is undoubtedly an impressive technical achievement... but can the jaded and cynical people of today enjoy a movie like this 100 years later after it was made? Listen and find out.
67. Dumb And Dumber
January 08, 2021 10:30 - 47 minutes - 65.1 MBYour favorite podcast hosts who are married to each other and talk about movies that they loved when younger but haven't seen in a long time and are concerned might not hold up to the scrutiny and cynicism that is aging return to discuss the classic 1994 comedy Dumb and Dumber. Matt's distaste for 1990s Jim Carrey has been well explored on this show, but will he be won over this time around? Or will Laci have to eat a headless parakeet and admit that the film just isn't very good? You c...
66. Network
September 04, 2020 10:00 - 52 minutes - 72.3 MBLaci and Matt unpack the movie Network (1976), a movie that predicted that one day, the television news would be kind of silly. Can you even imagine?
The First Ever Triannual Quarterly Claptrap
August 21, 2020 01:51 - 48 minutes - 66.3 MBLaci and Matt didn't watch a proper Load Bearing Beams movie for this episode, so they instead reflect on all the TV and movies they've been watching recently: Munich, The Post, JFK, Nixon, Spotlight, The Simpsons, Futurama, Disenchantment, I Know That Voice, High Score PLUS: Two separate stories about being scammed A story about Laci's appearance at a meeting of the New Orleans Historical Landmark Commission Laci has a fantasy wherein she talks her way out of a mental institution. ...
65. The Witches
August 14, 2020 10:00 - 38 minutes - 53 MBAre you ready to get twisted? Wicked? Witch-tisted? Some of those? Then grab your woz-blomkers and fiz-tizzlers and mouse-growsers and dog droppings and catch this quintessential "child's horror" film, 1990's The Witches.
64. Child's Play
August 07, 2020 10:00 - 42 minutes - 58.1 MBI've heard of a doll, but a killer doll??!! We examine 1988's Child's Play, the debut entry in the eternal Chucky franchise about an expensive doll inhabited by the spirit of a voodoo-practicing serial killer.
63. Clifford
August 02, 2020 23:59 - 45 minutes - 61.9 MBIt's the movie that broke Matt Stokes: 1994's "family" "comedy" Clifford, in which a man in his mid-thirties, Martin Short, plays a 10-year-old boy. Can you imagine??? Matt and Laci have a fierce argument over this cult classic.
(RERUN) 41. Dude, Where's My Car? (Listener Choice!)
July 31, 2020 10:00 - 33 minutes - 46.4 MBHey people, our new episode about the movie Clifford (the one where Martin Short plays a child) will be out on Monday (Aug. 3). Until then, enjoy this classic from the archives.
62. My Man Godfrey
July 24, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBLaci and Matt examine the great screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936), a film in which Carole Lombard gives what Matt calls one of the great comedic performances in the history of film. Is he right, or is he just a snooty snobby snob who pretends to like old things? If you don't like old movies, we also have a lengthy discussion of whether or not Maggie Simpson is a character, and how she would rank among the great Simpsons characters if so. That discussion can be found at minute 49.
61. Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood
July 17, 2020 10:00 - 42 minutes - 58.9 MBCome on down south—to the Bayou, mayhaps?—to open the book and learn about the Ya-Yas and their many divine secrets in Laci's movie of the week: 2002's Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.
60. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
July 10, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 106 MBThe Beams are back in town to discuss James Cameron's sci-fi/action classic, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. And the first Terminator movie too. Topics addressed: Whether or not free will is a thing Laci is distracted by Sarah Connor not wearing a bra Problems with time travel The inevitable invention of an artificial superintelligence that destroys us all Whether you can be on your phone while watching a movie A scary thing that happened to Laci and Matt's kid Whether Edward Fur...
59. American History X
July 03, 2020 10:00 - 55 minutes - 76.7 MBTravel back with us to 1998. Your guides? The Two Eds... Norton and Furlong, of course! They're your stars of American History X! Exclamation points will make this episode seem more fun than it is!
58. Small Soldiers
June 26, 2020 20:41 - 1 hour - 87.5 MBThe Beams household turns its eye toward Joe Dante's 1998 action-toy picture Small Soldiers. This podcast addresses a number of questions, including: How many times do you have to hear a song before you can judge its quality? With Disney re-theming Splash Mountain to tell the story of The Princess and the Frog rather than Song of the South, what other Disney-owned intellectual properties would you like to see represented in the theme parks? What's Joe Dante's deal? Why does he love crea...
57. Serial Mom
June 19, 2020 10:00 - 46 minutes - 64 MBLaci chose Serial Mom, a 1994 movie directed by John Waters and starring Kathleen Turner as a mom who's also *record scratch* a serial killer?? We won't beat around the bush: This movie rules! And so does this episode, because we discuss: The algorithms are getting better by the day Matt's troublesome relationship with food Suburbia? More like, Conformia! Remember video stores? Celebrity murder trials ...AND MORE!
56. The Mummy Returns
June 12, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBMatt accidentally opens an evil, cursed book, unleashing a plague upon the Beams household in the form of The Mummy Returns. The only way to undo the curse is to thoroughly discuss the 2001 film starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. They discuss the history of the Mummy franchise, from its roots in the Universal Monster movies of the 1930s, to the mid-budget action pictures of the '90s and '00s, to the ill-fated Dark Universe of 2017. But it all comes back to one widely disliked sequel t...
55. _______________
June 05, 2020 10:00 - 8 minutes - 12.1 MBPlease contribute to causes that advance social justice, especially in the place you live. We are proud to support New Orleans Safety and Freedom Fund, which is providing bail relief to people arrested right now for protesting police brutality. #blacklivesmatter Load Bearing Beams will resume its regular schedule with an episode about The Mummy Returns (2001) next Friday (06.12.2020).
54. Donnie Darko
May 29, 2020 09:30 - 56 minutes - 77.5 MBLaci and Matt get sucked into a tangent universe, where they have to discuss Richard Kelly's 2001 time travel/prep school thrillerdrama Donnie Darko. Who is Donnie Darko, and why is he so dark? Plus, lots of discussion about time travel, dyslexia, and dads laughing at inappropriate times.
53. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Listener Choice!)
May 22, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 91.1 MBBy a listener's suggestion, Laci and Matt discuss 1988's animated/live-action/neo-noir PG-rated sex comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The whole gamut of topics is covered, including: 1) Roger Rabbit's star power (Is Roger Rabbit supposed to be as famous and popular within the reality of the film as Bugs Bunny was in our reality? And if so, how popular was Bugs himself within the Roger-verse?) 2) Kids' ability to just watch movies and not need to have everything explained to them 3) Anima...
52. Ri¢hie Ri¢h
May 15, 2020 09:30 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MBIn this very normal episode of the show, Laci and Matt team up to take a look at a movie that holds a special place in both their hearts: Ri¢hie Ri¢h (1994). They learn that Macaulay Culkin was depressed during the making of the film and that it sent him into retirement, and that the film has spawned a robust fan theory community on Reddit. They share of their favorite theories and much more in this gold nugget of an ep.
51. The Crow
May 08, 2020 10:00 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MBHello, friends. To honor the mothers of the world this weekend, we're covering a movie about the best mothers in the animal kingdom: crows. In addition to discussing The Crow (1994) and the tragic death of Brandon Lee, Laci dives into her mysterious past as a goth kid. Plus a detailed breakdown of the career of the professional wrestler Sting as well as the fall of the Roman Empire. All of that and a discussion of movies Laci and Matt have pretended to like to seem cool. (Sorry about the s...
50. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze
May 01, 2020 10:00 - 44 minutes - 60.7 MBMatt reached far back into his past to grab this VHS classic. He couldn't wait to see Laci's reaction to the second live-action Turtles film. It's pure distilled nineties action, dude! The result: Divorce? Hope it was worth it.
49. Fathers Of The Brides
April 24, 2020 09:00 - 46 minutes - 64.5 MBHop in a time machine folks, and do the Bartman with us all the way back to the early 1990s, a time when Steve Martin could semi-convincingly play a normal family man just trying to make it in this crazy world on a 9-figure annual salary. Laci and Matt examine both Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride Part 2 (1995), plus share the heart-warming story of their own engagement and matrimony. PS: Thanks to Wade Hymel for re-doing our theme song!
48. World War Z
April 17, 2020 09:30 - 42 minutes - 58.6 MBFor the sixth or seventh time, Load Bearing Beams returns after a lengthy hiatus. For real this time! Laci and Matt discuss the 2013 Brad Pitt zombie movie World War Z and Matt's associated love of the apocalypse. Plus an analysis of what the 2011 film Contagion gets right and wrong about pandemics, and much more.
47. Cars Trilogy
March 11, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 85.7 MBLaci and Matt end their hiatus and return to the podcast by first explaining their family news that partially explains the long absence. Then, they go into all three of Pixar's Cars movies in excruciating detail. Fiery arguments ensue. For example: Both agree that Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) is a jerk, but they disagree about why. Matt defends the much-maligned Cars 2 and the character of Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), while Laci makes her case for Cars 3 as the best of the series. They've seen t...
46. Stir Of Echoes / Mystic River
November 16, 2018 10:30 - 52 minutes - 72.2 MBTGIF, right? Working hard or hardly working? On an all-new episode of the podcast, in an episode Matt calls "Mystic Stirrer" and Laci calls "The Tale of Two Bacons," the Splendid Spouses discuss Stir Of Echoes, the movie from 1999 about a creepy kid who sees ghosts that isn't The Sixth Sense. Then, it's more hardscrabble workin' folk in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (2003). Time stamps: Matt got hearing aids - 0:00 Stir of Echos - 10:35 Mystic River - 27:00 Do you want us t...
45. Psycho
October 31, 2018 09:30 - 58 minutes - 80.7 MBWe may all go a little mad sometimes, but one thing that won't drive you PSYCHO is listening to this podcast about Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 shock-tastic thrills-a-minute slasher joint. Happy Halloween. Time stamps: Psycho: 12:00 Best horror movie decades: 36:20 Do you want us to talk about YOUR movie? Leave a review of our podcast on iTunes, and in your review give us the name of your load-bearing beam and why it's so important to you. Website: www.loadbearingbeams.com ...
44. Hocus Pocus
October 22, 2018 09:00 - 55 minutes - 76.8 MBIn an extra-scary episode of the show, Laci "R.I.P." Roth and Matt CHOKES talk about the classic Disney Halloween film Hocus Pocus (1993). But wait... classic? This pile of garbage? Also, hear our abbreviated thoughts on What's Eating Gilbert Grape in lieu of an actual episode on the film, and then we review Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House. Time stamps: Hocus Pocus: 01:29 What's Eating Gilbert Grape?: 37:50 The Haunting of Hill House: 41:38 Do you want us to t...
43. The War Of The Roses
October 05, 2018 21:22 - 44 minutes - 61.4 MBWhen Matt was in college, he took a film class where the professor showed Danny DeVito's The War Of The Roses (1989), a movie in which an affluent couple go through a bitter divorce. At the end of the movie the professor asked who in the class sided with Michael Douglas, and who sided with Kathleen Turner. The divide split evenly on gender lines—the women sided with Turner, the men with Douglas. So what now does a man/woman married couple think of this movie? Are they destined to divide like...
42. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind / The Color Purple
August 24, 2018 10:00 - 1 hour - 83.3 MBIt's a Steven Spielberg double-header as Laci and Matt pit their cherished, beloved load-bearing beams against one another. First up: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) whose title, we all know, refers to a physical interaction with an alien. We all know this. Then it's The Color Purple (1985), whose title, as we all know, refers to naturally occurring purple. We all know this. Time stamps: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (9:43) The Color Purple (33:16) Do you want ...
41. Dude, Where's My Car? (Listener Choice!)
August 08, 2018 19:54 - 33 minutes - 46.4 MBGet shibby with us as we discuss Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) and all its fascinating and devastating implications. What can the continuum transponder tell us about the effects of quantitative easing? How could Jesse and Chester have used Bayesian probability theory to determine where to first look for their car? And wouldn't this movie be better if these two nice fellas were just boyfriends the whole time? Come on, guys. Do you want us to talk about YOUR movie? Leave a review of our podc...
40. Synecdoche, New York
July 20, 2018 10:30 - 48 minutes - 66.2 MBSynecdoche, New York is a life-affirming romp about how gosh-darn fun it is to make gorgeous works of art! (Maybe we misread it.) Topics covered include mourning Philip Seymour Hoffman, traveling for work, how buying a house is basically buying a burning building that will smell, whether a nice person can be a great artist, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and constructing your own reality on social media. Time stamps: Synecdoche, New York: 03:00 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotles...