161. I Love You, Man (with Wade Hymel)

Friend of the Show Wade Hymel makes his triumphant return to the podcast, and he’s brought with him I Love You, Man (2009).

So what’s up with men, huh? With their man caves, and their jam seshes, and their pizza pies. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t help but love ‘em, am I right?

And how do adults make friends anyway? It’s pretty weird. Somebody should make a movie about it.

Oh, that’s what this movie is.

Hear Wade's amazing album WHO SAID THAT? on Apple Music (https://bit.ly/4kinkpJ), Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3SoQnM3), or wherever else music is streamed. Or you can purchase the album from Bandcamp (https://bit.ly/3I2Syje).

Bonus video: Matt unpacks the story of The Black Cauldron, Disney’s biggest ever flop. Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rHeypRjToic 

Next week: We’re off. Our Summer of (redacted) miniseries begins the following Friday (June 13) with an episode about (redacted… listen to the episode to learn what it is!).

Subscribe to our Patreon, Load Bearing Beams: Collector's Edition for $5 a month to get two extra episodes! patreon.com/loadbearingbeams 

Time stamps:

00:01:45 — Our MAJOR summer miniseries announcement

00:06:08 — Summer miniseries theme song debut

00:10:15 — Our personal histories with I Love You, Man 

00:18:20 — History segment: The Male Loneliness epidemic — why is it so hard for men to make friends? We definitively answer the question. Then we talk about the origins of this movie under original screenwriter Larry Levin in the 1990s, and how it was finally brought to life by director John Hamburg in 2009

00:32:00 — In-depth movie discussion

01:59:35 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Sources:

“Younger Men in the U.S. Among the Loneliest in West” by Benedict Vigers | Gallup (2025) - https://bit.ly/4kGZcgk 

“John Hamburg Says I Love You, Man” by Edward Douglas | ComingSoon.net (2009) - https://bit.ly/3HeoyUo 

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:

“Summer of Rock” - https://youtu.be/dvRY72jNIEE 

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

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