10 Movies that Make a Manly Man Cry

Though my manliness boils from my pores like a dropped bottle of Old Rasputin, I have my moments of weakness where I cry like a little girl. It used to only be during AT&T long distance commercials, but now I have a list of movies that cause me to weep.

Rudy
No real man doesn’t tear up when the team places their jerseys on coach’s desk or openly weep at the end when they carry Rudy off the field.

Big Fish
The first time I watched Big Fish, I cried at the ending. Now when I watch the film, I cry at the beginning, knowing how it will end. Afterwards, I drink tea and cuddle up in an afghan with a good book, waiting for my menses to begin.

Field of Dreams
“Hey! Dad? You want to have a catch?” I’m tearing up just writing that line. (I'm still waiting for James Earl Jones to come out of the cornfield.)

Terms of Endearment
I haven’t seen this flick in years, but I recently caught the end and had to turn it off when the mom lays down The Truth on the kids. I love the part when Mom’s Mom flips out at the nurses for the daughter’s pain medication. "GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE SHOT!"

Gallipoli
Mel Gibson runs and runs to try and save his childhood friend. In the end it is all for naught. “How fast are you going to run?” Not fast enough. Now that I know I’m going to cry at the end, I get choked up at the rendition of "Au Fond du Temple Saint" in the middle.

My Girl
Macaulay Culkin gets killed by bees. Little Vada wants to put his glasses on. He was going to be an acrobat.

Mask
Rocky dead in bed is heartbreaking. SPOILER WARNING! That first sentence is kinda a spoiler. Don’t read it if you have not seen the film.

Ordinary People
I love Mary Tyler Moore in this film. She is drowned in her own selfish grief. Older bro is just drowned.

Good Will Hunting
Obviously films with psychologists and troubled sons get me all verklempt.

Highlander II: The Quickening
I cried only because this movie was completely and utterly horrible. I will never think about this movie again unless I am being anally raped in prison and need to imagine that somewhere in the world, someone is watching that appalling movie and doing worse than me.

BONUS MAN CRY FILMS
Saving Private Ryan
A Perfect World
Braveheart

24 comments:

Maurice Reeves said...

On a serious note, when I went to see "Saving Private Ryan" the first time, I broke down at the end.

The theatre was filled with old men and their sons, and a lot of the old men, men who'd been there and fought, had to be helped out by their sons because they too were weeping.

HolyJuan said...

Yeah, I got to agree with you there. I think I had run through the emotional spectrum by the end of the film. Great movie.

Anonymous said...

Rudy definitely belongs on the list. When the whole crowd starts chanting for him at the end of the game; it gets me every time.

Anonymous said...

I believe The Notebook should be on the list. Maybe I'm just a girly man though.

ranzino said...

I also saw Saving Private Ryan with what seemed like men old enough to be veteran's of WWII. They left the theater visibly shaken and some were wiping away tears. It was very moving.

On an unrelated note, I always enjoy My Girl BECAUSE Macaulay Caulkin gets killed by bees. I was rooting for those bees.

Anonymous said...

A Perfect World. A hugely underrated Eastwood masterpiece. I dare anyone to sit through the final scene in the field and not choke up.

Anonymous said...

THe most emotional movie that can make a man cry is only one:

Braveheart: screaming for the freedom..

Anonymous said...

what about "gataca" or "breavheart"?

Anonymous said...

I was having a catch yesterday with my oldest boy on an unusually warm February day here in the Mid-Atlantic region. I said to him, as I have a number of times, that there is nothing better in the whole world for a dad, than to have a catch with his son (sorry to be "boy-centric" but that's all I have, so for those with girls, I leave it to you to say what is best). I would love to watch this movie with my boys, but not until I can get through it without completely melting down. Don't mind crying in front of them, but there is a limit. This is one of the great sports movies out there, and the line at the end is simply the most emotionally powerful line in all of movie history - I can't even think of the line without tearing up. And yes, I wish I could have a catch with my dad.

Unknown said...

you know i was just having a deep discussion about highlander ii with my boyfriend the other day. he didnt understand the pain and drama this movie causes some of us. the fact that this movie made your lsit proves to me once again how your blog is fastly becoming one of my favorites on the whole intarnets!

Anonymous said...

Hellooooo

Brians Song?


The Right Stuff can give one tears or pride!

Anonymous said...

Schindler's List. Nuf said.

Carpanza said...

Leaving Las Vegas was very sad. It's hard to belive a movie about boozing and whoring could be so sad. That's what I like to do to cheer myself up.

Highlander II. What a stinker. I remember one of my friends bought the directors cut. It was slightly better. It was better like getting kicked in the nads is slightly better than getting kicked in the balls and socked in the jaw.

Anonymous said...

I would've added any Tarantino film (except Pulp Fiction). Terrible director and even worse actor. Jackie Brown made me stab one eye out (thus the crying) and Kill Bill made me poke out the other one.

HolyJuan said...

Yeah, it's hard to read subtitles when they are in Japanese braille.

Unknown said...

Definitely Brian's Song. I watched it in sixth grade (way back in the 70s) and it even made my immature heart weep. But, it's manly because it's about football. And James Caan is in it. So, it's OK to cry.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree that "The Notebook"should be on the list!I like "The Green Miles"as well it`s sad.Sniff :(

Anonymous said...

First of all, yes to Brian's Song being added to the list...

A few others I thought of, though..

Pay It Forward, sad as all get out..

-and-

mentioning Saving Private Ryan made me think....has anyone seen Band of Brothers, and the end of the final episode of the miniseries, when they show the final interviews with the members of Easy Company, I cry EVERY TIME!!

Anonymous said...

Stand By Me and One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest... Classics.

Rik (Oz)

C Woods said...

My husband laughs at me when I cry at movies --lots of them. But there have been a few that broke me up so much that ---although they were great movies and I'm glad I saw them ---I will never be able to watch again: "The Color Purple" and "Schindler's List" are two I can recall.

Although I can't remember the last time I cried about something in my own life, I cry during the news, when a stranger dies, when an animal is hurt, when someone finally gets what s/he has been striving for, sometimes even on hearing a great piece of music, like the melancholy theme from Ken Burn's Civil War series.

Before we start watching a movie, my kind hubby often grabs a box of tissues and places it within grabbing distance for me.

HolyJuan said...

Thanks C Woods! But, I should let you know that your comment is the most coherent block of text on this site and I may have to delete it because it makes me look bad.

Mr. Phip said...

What about that scene in Forrest Gump where Forrest is standing at Jenny's grave by their tree telling his dead soul-mate how smart their young son is???
"and Jenny... he's so... smart .."
I dare you to not feel something during that scene...

Max said...

The Iron Giant. "Superman." Gets me every time.

Anonymous said...

My husband cried at the end of Bucket List. Anyone else, or is he just a big sissy?