107. Heart And Souls

The week Robert Downey Jr. has finally secured his coveted Oscar, we take a trip back in time. The year is 1993. A movie called Heart and Souls is released, in the aftermath of what Downey must have assumed was his Academy Award for the movie Chaplin (1992). We take a big long look at RDJ's career and also examine the curious '90s phenomenon of angel movies. 

Next week: The movie that was supposed to be Ghostbusters 3: Ivan Reitman’s Evolution (2001).

Watch every episode of Load Bearing Beams on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod

Time stamps:

00:01:04 — Our personal histories with Heart and Souls

00:08:04 — Pre-movie predictions

00:12:23 — History segment: Career overviews of director Ron Underwood and star Robert Downey Jr.

00:47:41 — In-depth movie discussion

01:43:37 — Final thoughts and star ratings

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: 

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

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

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

Sources:

"The Star In Cell 17" by Steve Garbarino | Vanity Fair, 2000 - https://bit.ly/48Qsq5W

"More Than Skin Deep" by Jon Wilde | The Guardian, 2003 - https://bit.ly/3wSYusL

"May God Bless and Keep Robert Downey Jr." by Scott Raab | Esquire, 2007 - https://bit.ly/4cinVUH

"Been Up, Been Down. Now? Super." by David Carr | New York Times, 2008 - https://nyti.ms/3IFieT8  

"Robert Downey Jr: return of the hero" by Murphy Williams | The Telegraph, 2008 - https://bit.ly/3Vko04f

"Robert Downey Jr.’s Third Act" by Anthony Breznican | Vanity Fair, 2023 - https://bit.ly/3TzEioC