Reel Confessions: Lauren Lapkus

Reel Confessions: Lauren Lapkus

From Unspooled by Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson | Realm

May 19, 2026 · 44 min

About this episode

Lauren Lapkus discusses her favorite comfort films and the genres she has come to embrace.

Lauren Lapkus steps into the confession booth to talk comfort rewatches, movie blind spots, and the films that changed her mind. Paul and Amy dig into her love for Big, 13 Going on 30, Tommy Boy, and Hocus Pocus, the strange experience of watching kids’ movies on an endless loop, and how her Newcomers podcast pushed her to finally embrace genres she’d avoided for years. Along the way, Lauren plays an unhinged “F***/Marry/Kill” , defends the magic of communal theatergoing, praises Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson, and offers repentance to The Lord of the Rings after years of unfair dismissal. You can join the Unspooled conversation on Paul’s Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6 Follow Paul and Amy on Letterboxd for more of their movie hot takes! https://letterboxd.com/paulscheer/ https://letterboxd.com/theamynicholson/ Paul’s book Joyful Recollections of Trauma is out now! Find it at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/joyful-recollections-of-trauma-paul-scheer Check out more of Paul's writing on his Substack https://substack.com/@paulscheer Episodic Art by Kim Troxall: https://www.unspooledart.com/ Learn more about the show at Unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter…

People in this episode

Hosts: Paul Scheer, Amy Nicholson

Guest: Lauren Lapkus

Topics covered

  • comfort rewatches
  • movie blind spots
  • communal theatergoing
  • genre exploration
  • film discussions

Keywords

  • Lauren Lapkus
  • comfort rewatches
  • movie discussions
  • film genres
  • The Lord of the Rings

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Big, 13 Going on 30, Tommy Boy, Hocus Pocus, The Lord of the Rings

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