Load Bearing Beams: A Movie Podcast
Matt and Laci dive deep into a different movie every week. Whether it’s a great movie, a terrible movie, or somewhere in between—we unpack the history behind its production and the people who made it, then discuss, review, and make fun of the movie itself. 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.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 74 minutes
- Episodes
- 210
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
The First Ever Triannual Quarterly Claptrap
Laci 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…
65. The Witches
Are 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" fil…
64. Child's Play
I'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 ser…
63. Clifford
It'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 arg…
(RERUN) 41. Dude, Where's My Car? (Listener Choice!)
Hey 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
Laci 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,…
61. Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Come 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
The 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
- Lac…
59. American History X
Travel 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
The 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…
57. Serial Mom
Laci 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…
56. The Mummy Returns
Matt 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 star…
55. _______________
Please 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 arrest…
54. Donnie Darko
Laci 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,…
53. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Listener Choice!)
By 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 …
52. Ri¢hie Ri¢h
In 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 depre…
51. The Crow
Hello, 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 de…
50. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze
Matt 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: Di…
49. Fathers Of The Brides
Hop 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 c…
48. World War Z
For 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 t…