Sometimes, you just need to cry. I get it. You might have a reason, you might not. What better incentive than a movie? The story may not be yours, but as a film professor once told me, “Movies are great at evoking emotions.”
So from one cry baby to another, here's my list (in no particular order) of favorite movies to turn to for a good cry.
5. "A League of Their Own" (1992).
I wasn't even born yet when this movie first came out, but I definitely remember playing the VHS over and over again. This movie has stuck with me throughout the years as I sought out (and continue to seek) bonds with women and girls as strong as the ones in this film. This fictionalized retelling of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) will have you cheering on two
sisters Dottie and Kit Henson (played by Geena Davis and Lori Petty respectively) and their team as they prove we can do anything guys can do (and better). Don't listen to Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks); there is definitely crying in baseball.
4. "My Sister’s Keeper" (2009).
Kate, who has acute promyelocytic leukemia, depends on her sister Anna to donate organs, blood, and tissues. This is because Anna was conceived through in vitro fertilization with the intent of being the most compatible and constantly available match. A legal battle ensues when Anna sues for the rights to her own body and the
family must come to terms with hard decisions. I read the book before watching the movie for maximum heartache. Although I will admit the
film version's ending peeves me (
spoiler alert: Kate passes away in the movie instead of Anna), the emotional story remains heartwarming as well as heart-rending.
3. "Short Term 12" (2013).
I watched this for the first time last week and can now check "cried in class" off my list of things I didn't want to do in college. Originally a short film written and directed by the same director, Destin Daniel Cretton,
the feature-length version expands the story and emotional impact of the characters in a group home for troubled youth. Follow Grace (played by Brie Larson) as she supervises this facility and struggles to face her own issues. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll feel enchanted by its genuine storytelling. Intimate and simply magical in the most realistic way.
2. "A Moment to Remember" (2004).
Not to be confused with "A Walk to Remember" (but it's on my expanded list of movies to cry to) this Korean love story follows 27-year-old Su-jin (played by Ye-jin Son) as she falls in love and gets married before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Su-jin's determined to find a fresh start after a relationship with a colleague (a married man) ends. She finds that in Cheol-su (played by Woo-sung Jung), a stranger she ran into at a convenience store only to meet again at her father's construction site. They flirt, they hit it off and they leave me crying every time I watch this film.
1. Any Studio Ghibli movie ever.
OK, I lied. I don't have a top 5. That'd be impossible to do when each and every Studio Ghibli movie I've watched has made me cry. If were to pick my top five tear-jerkers of this subcategory, I would pick "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Whisper of the Heart," "Grave of the Fireflies," "Castle in the Sky," and "The Wind Rises." Whether it's historical fiction or magic realism, the stories are effortlessly moving, compassionate, and overall beautiful.
Honorable mention: "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" (1993).
Listen -- you can’t tell me you ever watched this movie and didn’t cry with Chance when Shadow was stuck in the mud. I'm a sucker for animal movies with
happy endings, especially if any are voiced by one Hollywood's favorite suburban moms, Sally Field. I'm definitely naming a cat "Sassy" because of this movie.
