It is not a stretch for a chick to cry at a movie. Hence “chick flick”. Especially this chick, hell, I cried when David Hartman left Good Morning America. So it’s safe to say I really had trouble narrowing this list to 10. When I say this is the top 10 list of movies that made me cry, I’m not talking about tearing up, I’m talking gut wrenching sobbing that had me soiling my sleeve from shoulder to cuff.
Honorable Mentions: Ghost; I am Sam; The Blind Side; Radio
#10 An Affair to Remember-You guessed it, that scene you saw from Sleepless in Seattle when Rita Wilson talks about Cary Grant discovering that Deborah Kerr is crippled. I’ve seen the movie no less than 25 times and every single time, at the exact same spot…I start. When Cary Grant leans his head against the door and closes his eyes after seeing his painting in Kerr’s bedroom and he has that knowing…well, I lose it, faithfully, every time.
#9 Million Dollar Baby-The chemistry between Eastwood and Swank was incredible and the scenes leading up to her death are breathtaking. When Eastwood decides to assist Swank in her death it was a reminder that Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank should be on everyone’s top ten list of Hollywood’s finest.
#8 Imitation of Life-Lana Turner befriends a homeless black woman, Annie, and takes her into her home to help her. Both women have incorrigible daughters with Annie’s daughter having the most issues. She is very light-skinned and hates being black. She spends most of her time giving her mother hell, and trying to pass herself off as white. She puts as much distance as possible between herself and her mother. In the end, her mother passes away, and Sarah Jane comes to the realization that her mother was the only one who truly loved her. As she throws herself on the casket and sobs her apologies to her mother, I sobbed with her.
#7 Cast Away-One word…”Wilson”. Seriously, who knew you could sob over a volleyball. I’ve sobbed over football (2011 Sugar Bowl), but never a volleyball, till this movie.
# 6 Men of Honor-Anytime a movie is based on a true story, I’m all about it. This particular movie about Carl Brashear, the first African American, then also the first amputee, US Navy Diver puts me over the edge. I’m an Air Force brat so all movies military put a lump in my throat. The scene where Carl dons the huge, 200 lb. diving suit and walks towards the panel was riveting. The lump in my throat weighed as much as his suit. By the time he took his allotted number of steps, I was mush.
#5 Titanic-Again, true story and as gut wrenching as they come. I don’t want to give away the ending here but when you have 1500+ people die, many of whom are hopelessly thrashing around in frigid water…you would have to have an iceberg in your veins not to be moved to tears. I visited a Titanic museum in Branson, Missouri and was able to put my hand in a fountain that kept the water at the same temperature as the water they were in and I could only hold my hand in it for a few seconds before the pain was unbearable. If you ever have a chance to visit one of the museums they are amazing and enlightening.
#4 Armageddon-I lost my father at an early age. The scene in Armageddon, where Liv Tyler and Bruce Willis are saying their goodbyes kills me. I’m filled with “if only’s”. If only I had a chance to say goodbye to my father. By the time this scene is over, I usually have the hiccups. It’s a combination of longing for the chance to have said goodbye to my father and understanding her pain knowing she will never see him again. Great! There’s a lump in my throat.
#3 Schindler’s List-Seriously? True story, thousands of innocent jews sent to slaughter at concentration camps, tortured, starved and murdered. Schindler’s valiant efforts to save them and his pain in knowing he might have saved more. I was born in Germany, and I remember my mother talking about visiting Auschwitz. We can not even begin to fathom the hell on earth they went through. If you haven’t seen the movie, buy stock in Kleenex first. Enough said.
#2 The Notebook-The perfect example of the perfect chick flick. By the end of the movie, when realization has hit I was doing this quiet sob thing that literally made my chest ache. It was very painful. I’d gone to see it by myself and the theater was packed. I was sandwiched between two strangers (also sobbing) and for some stupid reason, I didn’t want them to know I was crying. Okay, so everyone in the whole durn place was doing the exact same thing. People were sniffing and dabbing all over the place.
#1 The Passion of the Christ-Whether you are religious or not, no matter your faith, the scene in the movie where Christ is beaten, literally to a bloody pulp, is in my mind, the goriest, most disturbing scene I have witnessed in a movie theater. Watching the Son of God being brutally beaten for my sins, for the purpose of my entry into heaven, shames me to the core. But for those who are not religious and perhaps believe the Holy Bible is a story book, the beating of this innocent man is no less disturbing. I cried so hard my chest hurt…and for hours after the movie, I ached all over. That makes this my number one movie.
I would love to hear about the movies that made you cry and the scenes that left you breathless and aching.
