Need a Good Cry? Put Your Recommendations For Tear Jerkers Here!

[joelene]

I usually bust out Into The Wild when I need a good cry. Other movies off the top of my head that makes me bawl like a baby:

The Laramie Project (for obvious reasons)

Dead Man's Shoes (revenge drama at it's best. That ending, with the reveal... I'm close to tears just thinking about it)

Tyrannosaur (Olivia Colman, good gawd, she's the best)

The last two are both hard to watch, though. Very unsentimental and brutal.

Edited June 7, 2015 by joelene

[Spartan Girl]

Dear God, I just rewatched Million Dollar Baby last night.  I remember seeing the previews and thinking, "Oh wow, a female Rocky with Hilary Swank and Clint Eastwood!  This will be tons of fun!"

 

And then they suckerpunch us with that ending.

[Rick Kitchen]

Dear God, I just rewatched Million Dollar Baby last night.  I remember seeing the previews and thinking, "Oh wow, a female Rocky with Hilary Swank and Clint Eastwood!  This will be tons of fun!"

 

And then they suckerpunch us with that ending.

 

That ending just pissed me off because it changed the whole tenor of the movie.

[M.F. Luder]

The scene in Wit where Vivien's old professor comes to visit her in the hospital and ends up reading her a children's book makes me sob every time. It's such a touching moment, emotionally devastating, and all too relatable for those of us who have witnessed someone deteriorate from an illness.

[Bastet]

I don't think Wit worked as a movie as well as it worked as a play, so it was kind of a letdown to me (it's a devastatingly good movie, it's just that the play is even more powerful).  But, my god, yes - the Runaway Bunny scene!

[M.F. Luder]

I never saw the play, I only read it. So seeing it come to life in the movie really worked for me. But I imagine it would be even more evocative as a live performance.

[Spartan Girl]

In honor of the untimely passing of James Horner, I would like to add Glory to this thread.  I know there are still plenty of people dismissing this as a "white savior movie" but it's still a good movie.  Dear God, the assault on Fort Wagner sequence still makes me weep buckets to this day, and this is partly due to James Horner's haunting soundtrack. 

It's also due to the fact that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS DIE.  Well, they technically don't show Morgan Freeman and Cary Elwes dying, but still...

 

Two things still get to me.  The first is Thomas' brief moment of glory before he gets stabbed in the neck, and how he tries to get his fellow soldier to leave him behind.  The second is how we see the Confederates ripping all the shoes off the corpses -- the very same shoes that the regiment had to shame their superiors into providing for them, as well as all the other supplies.  The shoes Trip got WHIPPED for.

 

Excuse me...

[Archery]

Last night I came upon The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith.  I had to pick another show on a different channel just so I would have something to change over to with the remote when it all got to be too much.  Smith plays a real life father (Chris)  whose wife leaves him with their 5 year old son (played by Jaden Smith), and he gets into an unpaid, competitive internship program to try to land a job as a stockbroker at Dean Witter.  Basically whoever sells the most after six months will get offered the job.  Chris sells medical scanners to make ends meet, and he and the boy are often homeless, running across town after work to get in line for a place in the shelter, sleeping in the BART station bathroom when they have no place else to go, carrying everything they own in a suitcase and a plastic shopping bag.  Nobody at work knows he is homeless.

 

What's so brilliant and heartbreaking about Smith's performance is that he wears this jocular, everything-is-fine-sir mask to get through the corporate day in order to stay in the running for the job, but whenever nobody's looking, we the audience can see the stress and anxiety and fear about where the next meal is coming from, or where they're going to sleep that night.  He's trying so hard to keep it together, that the moments when he snaps at his kid because he's at the end of his rope are almost physical. 

 

I lost it completely at two points. One is a voice over where Chris says [paraphrasing], "You know, when I was in school, everytime I got an A on a paper or test, I would tell myself that I could become this great person who did amazing things.  And then I never did."

 

And the payoff at the end, when Chris just walks right out of the building, so overcome that he cannot speak. 

[Sandman]

The ending of Field of Dreams makes me cry every time.  Just watching this clip did me in.

 

 

The catch in Costner's voice when he says "Hey, Dad?" makes a noise come out of me, I swear, every damned time. God. It's like I'm being squeezed. Watching that scene always makes me wonder why Dwier Brown didn't have a bigger career -- his chemistry with Costner is just about ideal. They're both terrific in that scene.

 

I never saw Wit on stage, but I found the movie version pretty devastating, most especially the Runaway Bunny scene. (There's a parallel moment in Playing By Heart where a mother reads Good Night Moon to her dying son, and, given that the mother is played by Ellen Burstyn, it's as ravaging as you might expect. There's quite a bit that's contrived about Playing By Heart, but not that.) Wit always makes me wish Jonathan M. Woodward had had a bigger movie career, too.

 

I can't even talk about The Champ without risking dehydration.

 

The end of The Color Purple destroys me. I start to cry when Shug hears the hymn coming from the church and starts down the road singing her guts out, and I don't really quit.

 

I just saw Trainwreck, and although it's not a tearjerker by any sensible definition, it's honest as well as funny. The ending was a little over-the-top, but it still has an wonderful earned quality, and I confess I was having a good (little) cry (trying not to give too much detail for the spoiler-sensitive). I've never been the biggest fan of Bill Hader (and I'm kind of an Amy Schumer-newbie) but his character grew on me marvelously through the movie, and by the end he's irresistibly charming.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Sandman

[cpcathy]

I try desperately not to cry at any movie, but the end of Trainwreck made me want to cry happy tears.

[Crs97]

The end of Awakenings had me sobbing like I have never cried before. I still tear up just thinking about Robert DeNiro's character as the drug stopped working.

[PepSinger]

I don't think Wit worked as a movie as well as it worked as a play, so it was kind of a letdown to me (it's a devastatingly good movie, it's just that the play is even more powerful).  But, my god, yes - the Runaway Bunny scene!

I saw this play about a year ago with two of my professors in those parts. I lost my shit. I can't imagine the movie being any more powerful than that.

[methodwriter85]

I try desperately not to cry at any movie, but the end of Trainwreck made me want to cry happy tears.

Amy Schumer impressed the hell out of me with the dramatic scenes, but I still thought they could have taken out the death plot and it still would've worked fine.

[BatmanBeatles]

A scene that moves me in Poltergeist is when Carol Anne's presence passes through her mother and she says she can feel her little girl.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Just finished watching Starman after catching it randomly, and I'd forgotten how much the ending affects me. Jeff Bridges' alien character spends most of the movie behaving like a kid who's just learning about the world around him, which he really kind of was, but he has a very simple, touching line when he bids Karen Allen farewell.

 

"Tell me again...how to say goodbye."

[Spartan Girl]

Just finished watching Starman after catching it randomly, and I'd forgotten how much the ending affects me. Jeff Bridges' alien character spends most of the movie behaving like a kid who's just learning about the world around him, which he really kind of was, but he has a very simple, touching line when he bids Karen Allen farewell.

 

"Tell me again...how to say goodbye."

Oh geez, I was sobbing so hard at the end. It didn't help that I was going through a rather emotionally trying week while watching it. And that damn music!!!!

[blugirlami21]

I just caught Return To Me on tv the other night. David Duchovny's crying scene after his wife dies is gut wrenching. It gets me every time.

[Snipsa]

I just saw The Impossible for the first time, and man every scene between Tom Holland and Naomi Watts was like a suckerpunch to the gut.

The movie in its entirety was very difficult to get through because of the knowledge in the back of your head that this happened... It was real. More than a quarter million people was taken away without any real warning! Devastating!

[JustaPerson]

This one scene from Atonement is enough to get me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3fqLdPfq0

 

Also the ending sequence, when Robbie and Cecilia are walking along the beach and going into the cottage that they wanted to live in together after the war. TEARS

[Wiendish Fitch]

Anne Frank Remembered: There's a scene where Peter Pfeffer, the son of Fritz Pfeffer (a.k.a. "Albert Dussel", Anne's roommate at the Secret Annex) finally meets Miep Gies. It is at first sweetly awkward, as they try to find a common language to communicate with, but when Miep gives Peter her hand to shake, he shakes it, then kisses it, and tearfully thanks her for risking her life by assisting his father. We then find out Peter died just a month after this meeting. It's tragic that Fritz Pfeffer was found by the Nazis and killed in a concentration camp, but it doesn't negate Miep's courage and vigilance, and it's hard not feel bittersweet joy that Peter got to meet this remarkable woman and thank her before he died.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Wiendish Fitch

[Cobalt Stargazer]

In Beautiful Boy, Michael Sheen and Maria Bello play a husband and wife whose son goes on a shooting spree on his college campus, then takes his own life. The movie follows them from there as they struggle to put the pieces back together, among the friends who don't know what to say, the strangers who blame them for what the boy did, and with each other, since the marriage was already on the brink of breaking up when the tragedy occurred. And of course with their guilt, because they did wonder what they'd done or said, or what they could have done or said to prevent such a horrible act. Near the end of the film, shortly after an awful screaming fight with his wife, Sheen's character finally breaks down into tears in front of her, and says what he's been denying since they got the news: "I did love him!"

 

Normally, at least in fiction, I'm on the side of the outraged families of the victims, but something about the way Bello and Sheen portrayed the combination of shock, horror and grief really got to me.

[topanga]

A scene that moves me in Poltergeist is when Carol Anne's presence passes through her mother and she says she can feel her little girl.

I'd forgotten about that scene. Yes, it is very moving. 

 

The scene in Ray when Ray Charles witnesses his brother dying. I have two sons, and that scene makes me bawl hysterically. I just don't know what I'd do if something tragic happened to one of them. 

[Qoass]

I'm not a movie crier so I sat in acute discomfort while my (male) movie dates sobbed at the end of Still Alice and Philadelphia.  I was incredulous when my (female) friend cried at the HEA ending of Shrek.

 

I am, however, a music crier.  The Marseilles scene from Casablanca gets me due to the glorious music as do the closing credits of Love Actually because they play to one of my favorite songs of all time, "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys.  I can't even sing along because for some reason it just chokes me up.  My biggest movie music cryfest?  The performance of "Salve Regina" by the nuns in Sister Act.  They're just so joyful and then shocked at their own greatness.  I always stop to watch that scene on TV and never bother with the rest of the film.

 

ETA somebody mentioned the end of And the Band Played On.  For me, it's the end of Longtime Companion set to Zane Campbell's "Post Mortem Bar".  Mercy!

Edited January 6, 2016 by Qoass

[Schweedie]

I am, however, a music crier. [...] My biggest movie music cryfest?  The performance of "Salve Regina" by the nuns in Sister Act.  They're just so joyful and then shocked at their own greatness.  I always stop to watch that scene on TV and never bother with the rest of the film.

 

I am SO happy to hear someone else say this - I cry at Salve Regina, too! I'm also a huge music crier, whether sad or happy. Certain musical cues just set me off, like the the music that plays over the final scene in Pride, or in How To Train Your Dragon when Hiccough first starts to befriend Toothless, or in The Fellowship of the Ring when 'Concerning Hobbits' plays over the first images of the Shire.

[Qoass]

And the main theme of The Natural as Roy rounds the bases as the lights explode to the cheers of the fans!  Thank you, Randy Newman!

[spaceytraci1208]

One musical moment that makes me cry is toward the end of The Five Heartbeats when Duck accepts Choirboy's invitation to his church, to find Eddie, who had been not long ago been living in the hell of his addiction, singing lead in the choir. "I Feel Like Going On" is one of those gospel songs that makes me weepy anyway, and was especially moving in that scene.

[AimingforYoko]

And the main theme of The Natural as Roy rounds the bases as the lights explode to the cheers of the fans!  Thank you, Randy Newman!

I've always described The Natural as "The corniest movie I ever loved."

[Spartan Girl]

The ending of The Buddy Holly is so depressing. The film "ends" with Buddy happily performing at that last concert with his pregnant wife at home and his former band mates planning to surprise him on the road....then all of a sudden, the sad music starts playing with the closing crawl of how Buddy, Richie Valens, and the Bopper being killed in a colander crash that very night. Talk about a bummer ending.

And they don't even mention the fact that his wife had a miscarriage after hearing about it on the news.

[NutMeg]

The first time I ever cried in a theater was at the end of Hair

 

Since then, there's been plenty more times, all referred to here, except for Rue's death in The Hunger Games. I don't even know why it got to me so much, having read the book etc., but I just teared up at the flowers. 

Edited February 9, 2016 by NutMeg

[raezen]

Two words; 'My Girl'.

[Spartan Girl]

Even though it's not a sad movie, the part in Beethoven where Charles Grodin takes Beethoven to the vet to be put down was sad. It kind of hit close to home when he reveals the reason why he doesn't like dogs was because his dog had to be put down when he was a kid -- my dad is the exact same way (except he had a cat). And the part where he gets emotional and tells Beethoven, "I'm sorry. You were my dog too." Gah...

[Cobalt Stargazer]

There are many things about Inside Out that get to me, but I only really lose it near the end when Bing Bong pitches himself out of the wagon, allowing Joy to reach the cliff above the pit of forgotten memories. Sacrificing himself so that she can catch up with Sadness and return to Headquarters.  Watching him fade away, since he's realized that his place in Riley's life belongs to the past,  brings tears to my eyes, but in a happy way, because he makes that sacrifice with a glad, if bittersweet, heart. "Take her to the moon for me..."

 

Damn you, Pixar.

[Sandman]

Well, shit. I haven't even seen the movie and reading that choked me up!

[Spartan Girl]

The first fifteen minutes of Up. Double damn you, Pixar!

[annzeepark914]

All I have to hear is the piano starting to play the theme music (and the scene of the two loons) and On Golden Pond always gets me tearing up.  That's Squam Lake, NH and it's absolutely beautiful (and they show it in all its gorgeousness).  Another and more current movie is Brooklyn. I hate crying in public and had to suck in my tears during different scenes.  Saorse can even emote with her beautiful eyes and her character was so darn homesick I could feel it.

[Shannon L.]

 

The first fifteen minutes of Up. Double damn you, Pixar!

What made me tear up more was when he finally turned the page on her adventure book.  I remember he'd stop at a certain point, and I heard my mother say quietly "Oh, turn the page.".  When he finally did and saw all the pictures of them throughout their life, I lost it (and I'm tearing up right now just typing it!).

[tennisgurl]

 

Double damn you, Pixar!

Honestly, this could be the the sub title of this thread. Quality Pixar is judged by its mix of laughs and tears. 

 

I saw Toy Story 3 when I was a few years into college, and it just destroyed me in the theater. To this day, if I even think about that scene where Andy drives away from the toys, after saying goodbye, I lose it. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

The first fifteen minutes of Up. Double damn you, Pixar!

 

Some sadist took the opening montage and edited it down to four minutes and eight seconds, then put it on youtube:

 

 

 

And I hate boy band music. HATE IT. But I Wanna Grow Old With You is my Kryptonite.

[kathyk24]

I cried when Charlotte died in the original Charlotte's Web. I love the book but seeing her death on screen killed me as a child.

[AimingforYoko]

Brian's Song, Charlotte's Web, The Champ. Your three big weepers of the '70s.

[Archery]

Mostly the movie filled me with rage, but this line from 12 Years A Slave, when Solomon comes home to his wife:

 

I apologize for my appearance. But I have had a difficult time these past several years.

 

Ended me.

[Spartan Girl]

Mostly the movie filled me with rage, but this line from 12 Years A Slave, when Solomon comes home to his wife:

 

I apologize for my appearance. But I have had a difficult time these past several years.

 

Ended me.

Jesus, yes. And when he starts crying and saying he's sorry and she just tells him that there's nothing to forgive...

That along with the postscript that the bastards responsible basically GOT AWAY WITH IT destroyed me.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

The Good Dinosaur. Arlo. Spot. Circles drawn in the dirt.

 

I have got to stop watching animated movies.

[wallflower75]

I'm back with a few more moments that make me cry:

 

What's Love Got to Do with It? when Tina finally leaves Ike.  Her terrifying dash through traffic was hard enough to watch--but when she walks into the Ramada Inn to ask for a room despite being broke and the manager doesn't even hesitate to get her one...yeah.  Kleenexes, please.

 

Back to Titanic.  This is going to seem like such an odd moment, but along with the scene I mentioned before (the Strausses), the other scene that makes me cry is when Rose chooses to live after discovering Jack is dead.  She lays on the door a moment and you know she's thinking about it, and then she remembers her promise to Jack.  While she has to let go of him (literally), she holds on to her promise.  When Rose starts blowing on the whistle to alert the rescue boat that she's alive, I start crying again.

 

Schindler's List.  Someone has already mentioned the moment that got so many of us--the survivors placing rocks on Schindler's grave at the end.  But before that, there's the scene with a Jewish woman in hiding who goes to Schindler to beg him to get her parents, who are in Goeth's camp, transferred to his factory.  Schindler throws her out and storms into Stern's office in a fury because he knows Stern is getting people like the woman's parents transferred to his factory to save their lives and he wants it to stop.  Stern and Schindler talk, and at the end of it, Schindler gives Stern the names of the parents to have them brought over.  I honestly don't know what it is about that scene that makes me tear up, but I do.

 

Finally, at the end of Spotlight, when the filmmakers reveal just how widespread the abuse problem within the church was.  Seeing the list of all the cities throughout the US and around the world where children were knowingly being abused and the church did nothing to stop it is chilling and heartbreaking.

[PepSinger]

YES to the ending of 12 Years a Slave. I spent the majority of that movie in anger. That was finally the moment I broke down in tears. Big fat wet tears with immense sobbing.

[Spartan Girl]

Tess of the D'Urbervilles, specifically the 2008 one with Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne. I know technically it was a miniseries but I think it counts as a movie. I can't watch the last 30 minutes without bawling. Damn you, Eddie Redmayne for making me feel sorry for that hypocrite Angel!! Edited March 19, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[riffraff]

A movie that will break your heart is The Hiding Place. It's a story that proves people can survive anything. If they are willing to help other people. A quality that is lacking in many. We are so focused on ourselves these days. What would you do if someone needed your help?? Would you help them or would you walk away. This is what the movie is about. Sacrificing your life for others.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Marley & Me. Almost managed to hold it together for the whole damn movie, and then...

 

"Goodbye, Clearance Puppy."

 

Gah.

[Spartan Girl]

Would anyone else like to own up to bring completely and utterly destroyed by Moulin Rouge?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Would anyone else like to own up to bring completely and utterly destroyed by Moulin Rouge?

 

*raises hand*

 

At least with Romeo + Juliet, I was prepared for it to be a tragedy, but Moulin Rouge is doubly heartbreaking because at the height of Christian and Satine's happiness, just when she's turned her back on the Duke, she keels over and dies. And either Ewan McGregor is a really convincing crier or he was actually sobbing, because the sound of Christian's wails from behind the curtain tears me up every. time.