The BEST in tearjerker cinema, here is my list of the films that make me cry both in praise and shame.
SPOILER ALERT! (Endings will be revealed)
Say what you will! Hate me all you want! But perhaps two of the most overrated (and worst movies overall) tearjerker movies of all-time are, hands down, Beaches (Touchstone, PG-13, 1988) and A Walk to Remember (Warner Bros., PG, 2002). We love effective dramas and love stories that make us reach for the tissues. But first-off, Beaches is a predictable chick-flick and best-friend-dying-of-an-incurable-disease piece of schmaltz that is as ineffectual as it is boring. And A Walk to Remember is bloated and poorly written Christian syrup that should’ve gone straight to the Hallmark Hall of Fame or Lifetime.
So what would I consider the best? Again, say what you will and hate me all you want.
THE BEST
TITANIC (Paramount/20th Century Fox, PG-13, 1997). Yes, I said it! Disregard the clunky dialogue and call the love story pointless, but the truth is James Cameron brings back Old Hollywood in full force. Epic, magical, and transporting. Tissue Moment: Once the passengers begin to descend with the ship; the sight of dead bodies including a frozen baby and thanks to DiCaprio and Winslet’s powerful chemistry, their inevitable goodbye brings tears. And the final scene, when the souls are reunited (including Jack and Rose), Cameron truly brings on the heartache.
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (Paramount, PG, 1983). In contrast, this weepy chick-flick I do love. Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger have such beautiful on-screen chemistry; they keep this overall brilliant ensemble going. Tissue Moment: Winger is diagnosed with cancer, but the devastating moment is her last few seconds when she waves her mother goodbye with a tearful smile.
PHILADELPHIA (Sony, PG-13, 1993). The first film to truly explore homosexuality and the real world, Tom Hanks is a dying AIDS patient presumably fired for being gay and sick fighting the corporation in court for committing perjury. Tissue Moment: That Denzel Washington wasn’t also nominated…just kidding. When Andrew Beckett (Hanks) is collapses in court, is lying on his deathbed, and ultimately tells his devastated family, “It’s time.” Then proceed to the tragic funeral scene.
