Tearjerkers That Miss

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  • Tearjerkers That Miss

    There is a recent, interesting thread about "lovely tears" and there was a good thread about "Best Feel Bad" movies a while back, but what are some movies where you realized that the filmmakers might be going all out for that lump in your throat, but it's just not going to happen? And what do you think went wrong?

    I'll start with: The Notebook. Sure, it's a love story that pulls at the heart strings, but I couldn't get past the guy basically dying at will in the end (I understand the book is different). I think if they showed a short snippet of what the guy's life was like without her, then it might have really had the impact on me that it was going for, but I just couldn't get past the unbelievability that a guy can kind of wish himself to death (broken heart or not). Now that I think about it, Up does what I would have liked to have seen in The Notebook. Losing a loved one is sad, but living without them can be profoundly sad.
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  • #2
    Tearjerkers That Miss

    Trying too hard to evoke sentimental reactions are films that rely heavily on (flag-waving) American patriotism and sports heroes.

    For example, I think that Gary Cooper was phenomenal in THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES; whereas, Denzel Washington in REMEMBER THE TITANS struck me as phony Hollywood fare. Gehrig's plight did not depend on one's attitude towards baseball and upon being a fan of the sport; whereas, the sports clichés and racial agenda of TITANS appeared entirely aimed at diehard football fans, (not me). I felt no real sympathy towards the Boone and Yoast characters with their plight in coaching an "integrated" high school football team, (which, by 1971, would have been an anachronism in the Washington, D.C. area).

    And, please, don't ask for my heartfelt opinions about RADIO, RUDY, and WE ARE MARSHALL.
    Last edited by Fortean; 08-22-2012, 06:05 PM.
    JEKYLL & CANADA (free .mp4 download @ Vimeo.com)

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    • #3
      Re: Tearjerkers That Miss

      The Pursuit of Happyness.

      I ached for that little boy. The whole way through, instead of cheering for Will Smith to break in, I kept thinking, get a freaking job and give your kid somewhere to live. Then live your dream.

      I cried in the end because I always cry, but I felt dirty and manipulated.
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      • #4
        Re: Tearjerkers That Miss

        The Odd Life Of Timothy Green might fall in this category. At the showing I attended, parents were too busy consoling their horrified/anguished children to have much of a reaction to the film themselves.

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        • #5
          Re: Tearjerkers That Miss

          For me, PAY IT FORWARD is a great example of a film that wanted to move me not only to tears but to social action but instead made me groan because it felt so overwrought.*

          That said, I rarely don't cry during an emotionally manipulative movie, even if my critical side later kicks in, and I realize that said movie wasn't really all that good.

          ETA: * And yet, I just checked my Netflix rating and discovered that I gave it three stars. I'm such a softy.
          Last edited by SuperScribe; 08-23-2012, 08:41 AM.

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