Morning debate time, PopWatchers — and may the winner be left in tears! I’m talking, of course, about this horribly misguided list of male weepies that Today put together and posted on MSNBC.com. According to the author, these are the seven films that most reliably make men tear up: Dead Poets Society, Gladiator, Legends of the Fall, The Notebook, Rudy, Saving Private Ryan, and Titanic.
Man, oh, man, I’m gonna cry. Where do I begin? Okay, Saving Private Ryan and Rudy — sure, I’ll buy those. My most embarrassing moviegoing moment ever was when I was left a blubbering mess in my mommy’s arms (at, ahem, age 22) after Tom Hanks died in Steven Spielberg’s WWII epic. And I can’t even think about little, five-foot-nothin’, a hundred-and-nothin’ Sean Astin (pictured) and Jerry Goldsmith’s swelling music in Rudy without getting all verklempt. But come on: The Notebook? That’s not a guy flick. During Brad Pitt’s fatal wrestling match with a bear in Legends, aren’t you rooting for the bear? And Titanic? Sure, I cry… every time I hear that damn Celine Dion song!
Where are Field of Dreams, Rocky, Schindler’s List, The Deer Hunter, Jerry Maguire, The Champ, Glory, It’s a Wonderful Life, Longtime Companion, or — I mean, DUH! — BRIAN’S SONG? (Note how many of these movies have to do with sports.) What else is missing, my dear homeboys in Kleenex?
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Field of Dreams not on the list!?! I can’t even talk about that movie without tearing up. I can’t even watch it anymore since my Dad passed away. I need a tissue.
Big Fish. The ending gets me every single time. Perfect ending.
Blade Runner. WHen Rutger Hauer gives the “tears in the rain” monologue I always tear up.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King……..(well the ending of course)
The Green Mile. I was watching this movie with a friend of mine, this slightly uber tough guy and I happen to look over and tears are running down his face.
The only thing that brought tears to my husband’s eyes during “The Titanic” was when the old lady threw the necklace in the ocean. Not because of any sentiment, but because he thought it was so stupid!
The one movie i cried the most during was the Champ. I was 7 or 8 when it came out and i just couldn’t stop sobbing and crying when i watched it. I’ve seen it several times and each time i was almost hysterical. I remember crying at Bonnie&Clyde when they got shot and my father saying ”they were criminals. they got what they deserved. u shouldn’t be crying for them”. As an adult the movie that made me cry was the Bridges of Madison County with it’s heartbreaking finale. I don’t call myself a romantic, but that scene with Meryl in the truck hesitating to open the door to get off at the red lights gets me every time.
”Dad….you wanna have a catch?” Nothing compares to that scene. It sums the only real thing a boy want to do with his father….NBC completely missed the ball on this one.
Oh jeez Field of Dreams. Was a total wreck after that movie. Like, all over the hem of my shirt and both sleeves, sobbing. I guess we all have our dad issues.
War movies — I teared up more than a little bit at the end of “Flags of Our Fathers”. And it’s not a movie, but that end sequence in “Band of Brothers” — oy. war + baseball. one-two punch. somebody hold me?
How about Good Will Hunting? The Big Moment is when Robin Williams shows Matt Damon he’s got the pictures from when the boy has been beat up, and we hear about his abusive father. Then he looks at him, and keeps saying, “Will, this was not your fault?” until Will at last lets all his barriers down. ANYONE not cry during that??? You’d have to be made of stone.
And total agreement on Field of Dreams, which I’d put first.
I know a guy that cries everytime at the ending of “A Walk to Remember”….
But generally yeah, sports movies and father-son stories are the big man tearjerkers.
No true man can watch Field of Dreams without shedding a few tears. And I would add Pride of the Yankees to the list. The speech at the end is worth a lot of tears.
All of my guy friends got a little overly emotional during, ‘Good Will Hunting.’
World Trade Center was a bit emotional….
Old Yeller, anyone?
I’ve always been a sucker for Mr Holland’s Opus, particularly at the end. If I flip past it on cable during the last five minutes, I always well up.
I agree with ‘FIELD OF DREAMS’ for my sport movie and ‘FREQUENCY’ my choice for non sport movie.
How can you not have Hoosiers on the list….That boys dad that quit drinking to help coach his son and earn his respect? The underdog winning it all? Classic. Rudy is definitely another.
Amélie, it was embarrassing because I saw it in the theater and had to pretend I was cleaning my glasses.
There’s only thing guaranteed to get me, and it gets me every time: intense father/son stuff — The Godfather when the Don says “Look what they’ve done to my beautiful boy,” October Sky, The Patriot when the boys discover their dad’s a badass. Doesn’t matter whether the movie’s great or awful. The ultimate may be Too Kill a Mockingbird, which is full of these scenes: the kids discovering their bookish dad’s a marksman, the kids being told to stand out of respect for their father as he leaves the courtroom. Kills me.
I known many guys who get teary at Armageddon.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried when I first saw the “Baby Mine” scene in Dumbo (where his Mom is locked up and he gets to visit through the bars) – I was 6 the first time I cried watching it, and I was 39 the last time…
I sooo have to agree with Mr.Hollands opus, when he sees all his former students there waiting to play his symphony,(insert tear hear). As well Rudy, the Rookie, and pretty much any underdog sport movie out there
Ball-Squeezing Pliers-Monster From Venus always brings a tear to the eye.
I’ve seen many a guy cry watching ‘Life as a House’. Watch it if you haven’t seen it…dare you not to shed a tear.
I have to agree that Big Fish gets me every time. The final scene where he is carrying his Dad to the river telling him the story. Just a perfect ending to a very under rated movie.
I always cry at “Beaches” I hate that I do…
My husband is an un-emotional man. so the movies that have made him cry?
Let me count the weepies.
1. Rudy, of course
2. Crash ( I was suprised)
3. Flags of our fathers
4. mission impossible 3 (when tom cruise’s fiancee died, then didn’t…)
5. Invincible (when Marky Mark and his funky bunch made the Eagles)
6. Say Anything (when John Cusack’s Lloyd Dobbler gets dumped, then again when Lloyd and Ione Skye get back together)
So…
Maybe men just need an epic war movie, an underdog sports hero, a complicated race-relations picture, or a sappy romantic comedy every now and again.
Who says they’re from Mars?
I had an ex that prided himself on never getting emotional at movies, but he totally lost it at the end of “Curly Sue” of all things.
My husband NEVER cries. He does get a little teary eyed at The Natural every single time he watches it. I watched it and didn’t feel a thing. Weird…