Casual Fridays

A few weeks ago I attempted my first ever Top 10 list on the blog and despite all my disclaimers and difficulties, it seemed to go over well and it was pretty fun to put together so I thought I'd try another one today. I'm calling it "Top 10 Movies to Watch When You Just Need A Good Cry". It's a working title, but you get the idea. While most movies usually get me a little choked up at some point or other (seriously, I'm probably one of the most ridiculously emotional people alive), these are my go-to movies when I just want to cry out all my feelings and frustrations. Am I crazy or do other people do this too? Anyway, here we go.

1. A Walk to Remember starring Mandy Moore & Shane West (2002)

The first time I ever watched this movie, it was with my whole family on a vacation we were on because someone had recommended it to my mom. I'll never forget it. At the beginning of the movie, my mom was all, "oh this isn't good....teenagers making bad choices....language" etc. etc. And by the end of the movie she was sobbing. Loudly. We were all too busy laughing at Mom's meltdown (bless her heart) to be sad ourselves. But now I totally get it. This movie makes me ugly-cry too, and it seems like every time I watch it, I just start crying earlier and earlier in the film. When Landon brings Jamie the pink sweater, I lose it every time. 

2. Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington & Will Patton (2000)

If you've ever watched this movie and made it to the end dry-eyed, I don't know how you did it. My dad doesn't like to watch the end of this movie because it even makes him cry. When Julius walks into Gerry's hospital room, sees how bad Gerry's condition is, and says, "You can't be hurt like this. You're Superman." I die a little inside. It's such a powerful scene. I'm getting teary just now thinking about it.

3. Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson & Jennifer Aniston (2008)

Oh man. I think I scared small children when I saw this one in the theater, I was crying so hard. Lyndsey and I went together thinking it would be a funny, heartwarming movie (which it totally was) but by the end of it, I was bawling and I couldn't stop. Why would they release this kind of movie on Christmas day??? We didn't go on Christmas (thankfully), but still. All the tears. Whenever Jenny comes home from the hospital after her miscarriage and Marley just lays his head in her lap, I can't keep it together.

4. Return to Me starring Minnie Driver & David Duchovny (2000)

I've mentioned this movie on the blog before. It's one of my all-time favorites, and I cry from beginning to end. From Bob coming home from the hospital after his wife dies and telling their dog she's not coming home, to his and Grace's first date where he asks if he can hold her hand while they're standing on the roof of a building he built, to Marty telling Bob that Grace's heart beat truly for the first time when she saw him, I can not stop the tears. Such a sweet story.

5. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants starring Tamblyn, Bledel, Ferrera, & Lively (2005)

TIBBY AND BAILEY'S RELATIONSHIP. That's all I have to say about that.

6. Martian Child starring John Cusack & Bobby Coleman (2007)

I don't have words for this one. Just watch this scene from the end of the movie. All the feels.

7. The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Okay, pretty much every Disney movie makes me cry. Fox & the Hound, Finding Nemo, Tarzan, Toy Story 3. Just pass the tissues, please. But The Princess and the Frog has a special place in my heart because I went to see this movie while I was living in South Africa. My BFF Helen had just left to go home, my twins had just been adopted, and I went to this movie by myself, sat in the back of the theater, and sobbed my little heart out. When Ray died, I think a little piece of me died, too. 

8. Cinderella starring Lily James & Richard Madden (2015)

This is a new one, but it instantly made the Cry It Out list when it had me crying in the VERY FIRST SCENE. But the part that gets me probably more than any other is when Kit curls up on his father's bed as his father, the king, is dying. My mom and I were both crying right along with him. And speaking of my mother, she's the one I get this compulsive need to have a good cry now and then from. Thanks, Mom.

9. Ramona and Beezus starring Joey King & Selena Gomez (2010)

When Ramona finds the bowling ball in her suitcase? When Picky Picky dies? When Beezus asks Ramona to sleep in her bed? When Aunt Bea drives off with Hobart? I can't even.

10. Pollyanna starring Hayley Mills (1960)

And finally, an oldie but a goodie. Who can help it when they carry Pollyanna out of her room with those limp little legs and the entire town is there to help her be glad and see her off?! Not me. Just get ready for the waterworks. 

So there you have it. Don't even get me started on Honorable Mentions because we'll be here all day. Richard Gere coming up the escalator with a single red rose for his wife in Shall We Dance? Holly bursting into the bar to cry on her mother's shoulder in P.S. I Love You? Celia Foote burying another miscarried baby all by herself in The Help? Seriously. The list goes on and on. But the 10 I've listed above are the tried and true ones that require more than one tissue to make it to the end. And in making this list, I think it's worth mentioning that the great Cry It Out movies don't just make you cry, they make you laugh too. 

What's your go-to movie when you need a good cry? Don't leave me hanging here. I can't be the only woman on the planet who will sit down and watch a movie just to have a cry.