Cheesy Movies That Make You Cry Anyway

For those who grew up with the Toy Story movies, the third installment was gutting from the very beginning, as Andy has grown up and is moving to college, getting rid of his childhood toys as he moves out. It's heartbreaking from the get-go to see Woody, Buzz, and the others cope with Andy not wanting them anymore, but even their apparently welcoming new home at Sunnyside Daycare turns out to be nightmarish. Lots-O'-Huggin Bear turns out to be a sinister villain who lies to the other toys to keep them in his community. Woody leads his friends in an escape attempt through a trash chute, and it really looks like the movie is about to end with all the toys we've grown to love falling into the incinerator, making peace with the joy they brought Andy over the years as they burn... until the Alien toys pull off an amazing “claw” rescue. The toys finally find their way back to Andy, who is still too old for them - there's no turning back time - but donates them to another young child who will love them. The movie tells a bittersweet tale of watching children you love grow up, but imparts the sweet message that memories are still valuable to be passed on to others.

Sci-fi films are rarely melodramatic tear-jerkers, but Armageddon manages it, as a crew works to protect Earth from an incoming asteroid that will destroy the planet in 18 days. A team of astronauts flies out to the meteor in space to drill inside it and detonate a nuclear bomb to destroy it before it hits Earth. Even with this cheesy, implausible action premise, their quest leads to some truly heartbreaking moments, like when Harry (Bruce Willis) sacrifices himself to save A.J. (Ben Affleck). After they both travel inside the meteor with the plan that A.J. will stay behind to manually detonate the bomb, Harry forces A.J. back into the airlock elevator instead, giving his blessing for A.J to marry his daughter, and saying A.J. was like the son he never had. A.J. watches, powerless to save Harry, but the sacrifice is not in vain. Harry's actions save all of Earth, letting the other characters live on happily, though they mourn his loss. Portraits of those lost on the mission are shown at A.J. and Grace's wedding, a display that is as sad as it is cliché.

This cheesy chick flick of the '80s tells the story of C.C. and Hillary's lifelong friendship, while C.C. travels to meet Hillary for a final get-together before she dies. Over three decades of knowing each other, they navigate issues like falling for the same man, and arguments over career paths, leading them to fall out of contact for a while, before reuniting as Hillary is diagnosed with a heart condition that will likely kill her before she can get a transplant. The story rejoins the present as C.C. rushes to meet Hillary who has collapsed due to her condition worsening. C.C. takes care of Hillary's daughter, and they comfort each other in grief, and C.C. pays tribute to her friend with a song. One of the most moving scenes is when C.C. brings Hillary to her beach house to die peacefully in a place she is comfortable, rather than in the hospital. They sit next to each other and watch the landscape until Hillary passes on. It's impossible to get through this ending with dry eyes.

This flick, while melodramatic at times, proves that teen characters can lead tragic movies, too. Delinquent high schooler Landon gets expelled and meets Jamie, a minister's daughter, befriending her while he's forced to work on community service projects. Despite Landon's popular school friends being rude to Jamie, they fall for each other. After they gain Jamie's father's permission to date, she finally confesses to Landon that she has leukemia and is likely to die. There's no way to save her, but Landon dedicates himself to making the end of her life comfortable and proposes to her so they are able to marry before she passes away. Spurred on by her loss, Landon gets his life together and gets into medical school. The story hurts because there was no way to avert Jamie's death, but her love still had a profound effect on Landon. He describes her in a bittersweet monologue at the conclusion: "Our love is like the wind. I can't see it, but I can feel it." If anyone watching wasn't already crying, that line would do it.

What Dreams May Come stars Robin Williams in one of his most moving performances as Chris, who loses his children in a car crash, then later dies in a crash himself. His spirit initially hangs around on Earth and watches his wife Annie grieve him, until he realizes he's causing more pain by trying to communicate with her. He moves onto an entrancing, fantastical "heaven" of his imagination, learning everyone creates their own afterlife. However, Annie ends her own life shortly later out of grief. Aided by his deceased son Ian, Chris tries to find Annie. He can't save her from her own hell, but he chooses to stay with her and slowly helps her regain her memories and her hope by staying with her, which frees her. The ending finally provides some happy reprieve when Chris and Annie see their children in heaven and choose to be reincarnated together. This movie is sad enough with the fictional tragedies within, but it's even harder to watch after Williams's own suicide in real life.

This movie is so ubiquitous, its title has basically become synonymous with “movies that make you cry.” Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams play the young Noah and Allie falling in love in the 1940s, while in the present, a man named Duke reads the story from a notebook to an older woman listening. In the past, Noah and Allie have a tumultuous romance, with Noah writing her endless letters while kept away by war. After many fights - and other lovers - they finally end up together. The reveal that the older couple is Noah reading to Allie, who has dementia and does not remember her own husband, turns the happy "ending" into tragedy. Allie's panic as her dementia acts up is utterly painful and gets the waterworks going, as does the unbelievable ending where Noah sneaks back to visit her one last time, and she remembers him, and they die together in their sleep. The Notebook is a testament to the pain of forgetting the ones you care about, as well as the strength of enduring love, and it will make you cry so hard, you're not sure if you're happy or sad.

One of the cheesiest movies ever to cheese, yet still one of the best, Forrest Gump shows Tom Hanks as a kindhearted man with a below-average IQ. Despite everyone around him doubting him, Forrest becomes a hero in the Vietnam War, accidentally exposes the Watergate scandal, and falls in love with a lovely woman named Jenny, while repeating his philosophy: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” Forrest also experiences great tragedy, losing his comrade Bubba in the war, and having Jenny walk out on him with no explanation. After loneliness fuels him in a cross-country run, Forrest gets a call from Jenny to reunite and learns he has a son she hadn't told him about. They marry, but it is still heart-wrenching as Jenny dies of a mysterious illness, implied to be HIV/AIDS. The mix of impressive feats that Forrest accomplishes, and the deep connections he forms with others - juxtaposed against the poor treatment he receives - and the losses he endures, make this film a roller-coaster of emotion, sure to trigger some tears, even if it stretches belief.

This film starts with tragedy off the bat, when Holly (Hilary Swank) loses her husband Gerry to a brain tumor. She receives letters he arranged to send after his death that are all signed “P.S. I love you,” which sends her on adventures, rediscovering old friends, and even kindling a new relationship with William, Gerry's childhood friend. Many scenes are lighthearted, as Gerry's letters order Holly to go out of her comfort zone, traveling, fishing, or going out on the town. However, the plan backfires as Holly withdraws from others, focusing only on Gerry's letters instead of the changing world around her. Upon finding out her mother had been helping send the letters from Gerry, Holly reads the last letter, in which Gerry encourages her to embrace new love, and she's finally able to move on. This bittersweet story deals with grief in a painfully real way. The recurring refrain of the title, “P.S. I love you,” at the end of each of Gerry's letters, may be overly sentimental, but it will get tears moving by the end.

Based on the novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple turns on the waterworks even more when acted out on screen. Celie's life is tragic from when we first meet her, with an abusive father who assaulted her multiple times, resulting in two children via incest, which are then taken from Celie, too. Celie is shipped off as a wife for Mister, also an abuser. Celie's sister Nettie runs to her home to seek refuge from their father, but when Mister throws her out of the house for rejecting his unwanted advances, Celie and Nettie are separated. The sisters are unable to communicate for many years as their letters are intercepted, until they're finally reunited at the end of the film for a happy ending after all the pain. Watching Celie grow in the meantime - finding love with singer Shug Avery who earnestly tells Celie she is beautiful, and finally standing up to Mister's abuse - is just as likely to get one crying as the violent scenes. Celie's life of hardships might seem overly tragic at times, but the sheer quality of the acting makes it an emotionally raw and beautiful experience. This film rightfully scored many Academy Award nominations, including for Whoopi Goldberg's performance as Celie.

There have been many stage productions and film adaptations of this notoriously tragic musical melodrama, but the 2012 film brought it back into pop-culture consciousness in a major way. Every character has a rough go of it in this intertwining ensemble story set in the Paris Uprising of 1812. Jean Valjean is pursued by Javert for the simple crime of stealing bread to feed his family, Fantine is forced to give up her daughter Cosette, Eponine must watch her love Marius as he pursues Cosette, Marius and Valjean watch all their friends die in the uprising, and even Javert meets a tragic end, killing himself in shame after Valjean shows him mercy. Yes, it's cheesy to watch Anne Hathaway's scene-chewing rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream,” close-up on her face, but it still yanks the heartstrings. Despite all the misery, this story still rouses some positive emotions with the spirit of the rebellion in “One Day More,” and the ending which shows the characters finding peace in the afterlife.

With a premise that stretches belief even more than some other rom-coms, 50 First Dates still manages to be emotionally satisfying. Adam Sandler as Henry pursues Drew Barrymore as Lucy, a woman with memory loss that makes her forget each day. Despite warnings from Lucy's brother to stay away from her, Henry pursues her day after day, even as she forgets every encounter with him. Henry helps film videos to let Lucy know of her situation each morning so they can progress their relationship, but Lucy proves she is not so naive as everyone thinks when she learns Henry has canceled a big research trip in order to stay with her. She breaks up with him, destroying her journals of their days together, so she will never remember him again. However, after Henry departs, Lucy's brother realizes that his presence was helping Lucy subconsciously form new memories, and she still dreamed of him, so he returns and they marry, forming an unconventional but happy life together. It's ridiculously cheesy how the movie ends, with Lucy with a new video reminding her of her life events up to that day, including her wedding to Henry, but it's still moving to see how happy they are.

Will Smith has proven he has the range for both comedy and high drama, and he flexes his skills in the latter in Seven Pounds. Smith introduces himself as Ben Thomas, an IRS agent who falls for Emily Posa, a woman suffering from a heart condition. It isn't long before Ben's brother shows up, and declares he is the real Ben Thomas. Smith is really playing Tim Thomas, stealing his brother's identity. Tim was not an IRS agent at all, but fleeing from the guilt he felt from killing seven people, including his fiancee due to texting while driving. He kills himself with a jellyfish in a bath of ice, to preserve his organs for donation, a carefully planned sacrifice to save six people he met throughout the movie who receive various parts of his body, as well as giving a seventh person his house. Though the story is undeniably a tragedy, it's also a great love story, as Tim dies but literally gives Emily his heart to save her. Will Smith said he took the role because "the bittersweet in life... feels more natural. You don't ever get it really the way you want in life." His words ring true for anyone who's tried to get through this film without crying.

This film manages to be hyper-masculine and also a tear-jerker at once, which is no easy feat. Tom Hardy and Joel Egerton play long-estranged brothers Tommy and Brendan, who end up competing in an MMA tournament against all odds. Tommy ran away from the family with their sick mother since their father was a violent alcoholic, but ends up asking his father Paddy to train him despite their poor relationship. Brendan also ends up entering the tournament in desperation to pay for his daughter needing surgery. In a charged reunion, Tommy expresses his anger at Brendan for not coming along when he ran away, leaving Tommy to care for their ill mother alone. When the brothers become the final two in the competition, the announcer proclaims “This is impossible!” only calling attention to the cliché climax of the movie, but it doesn't undercut the tension of the brutal final fight where Brendan finally traps Tommy in a choke, using this trapped moment to apologize and tell Tommy he loves him, and Tommy finally submits, both physically and emotionally. After so much fighting, both in the cage and out of it, it's a huge emotional release to watch the brothers embrace and forgive each other as they exit the ring. That doesn't leave a dry eye in the house.

The premise of a daughter inviting three potential fathers to her wedding day with no advance warning to her mother is misguided at best, and though the thin premise of this story is mostly an excuse to throw ABBA songs together, it still generates some truly moving scenes. From intimate encounters between Donna and her three former suitors, to Donna and Sophie navigating this sensitive question of her fatherhood, to Donna's raucous friendship with her fellow Dynamos Tanya and Rosie, there's something for everyone. Though big dance numbers will get you moving, quieter songs like "Slippin' Through My Fingers" and "Thank You For the Music" will tug at the heartstrings. If nothing else, the mother-daughter relationship will surely get the tears going. Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried's connection as Donna and Sophie will stoke genuine emotional moments even in between breaking out into big, unexplained ensemble numbers like “Dancing Queen.”

Ruby is a child of deaf adults - and the only hearing person in her family. She's pulled between two worlds, the call of her talent and passion for singing (and fear of disappointing her teacher), and the obligation to support her family's fishing business by acting as a hearing translator. It's a choice no teenager should have to make, where both options are incredibly valuable. Ruby tries her hardest to live in both worlds but ends up disappointing everyone when she can't meet the demands on her. Part coming-of-age and part family drama, the film has many moving moments, like Ruby's family coming to watch her vocal concert and the audience experiencing it as they do (no audio), and Ruby's near failure at her conservatory audition, her family coming to watch and support her, and her signing her way through the audition. When Frank places his hands on Ruby's throat to feel her singing, it's cheesy, but so moving, it's no wonder Troy Kotsur won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the film overcame more “serious” competitors to win Best Picture. CODA is a feel-good flick that's sure to get you sobbing even through a smile.