Let’s face it. Sometimes you just need a good cry session. You might not even be sad about anything, yet it feels nice to let the tears flow for no good reason on some occasions. Also, some cry scenes are simply impressive in terms of acting skills and delivery. I don’t really care why we enjoy cry scenes or what psychoanalytic voodoo can explain the need for emotional releases, but I can contribute to humanity in this small way- Here’s a list of the ten best scenes in movies and television to feel your feels.
1 The Fault in Our Stars
Just the premise of two teenagers diagnosed with cancer who fall in love is enough to make you glum. There are about fifty different scenes you could watch to make your heart explode with sadness and dry out your tear ducts for weeks. The scene, however, that gets me the most is the scene when Hazel has to rescue Gus from a gas station parking lot and call 911 to take him to the hospital against his will. Gus finally realizes the extent of his illness, and Hazel watches as Gus screams that he hates himself in an emotional rampage. The snot is waterfalling from his nose. If this scene doesn’t do the trick, just watch the scene when Hazel delivers Gus’s eulogy to him while he’s still alive. You’ll surely melt into a puddle of tears.
2 Remember the Titans
The scene in the hospital after Gary’s car crash is quite the tearjerker. Gary’s former arch nemesis-turned best friend, Julius, walks into Gary’s rooms and finds him lying in a bed, paralyzed from the waist down. A nurse walks in and tells Julius that only family is allowed in the room, and Gary tells the nurse that Julius is his brother, despite the high racial tensions displayed throughout the movie. Gary puts on a brave face for the both of them, as the two commiserate over Gary’s ruined football career. Julius breaks down and tells Gary he should have been with him in the car. It all gets much sadder when you realize in the end that grown up Hayden Panintierre is only voicing over this whole football saga because it’s a background story for why all these people end up at Gary’s funeral several years later. TEARS.
3 Grey’s Anatomy Season 11 Episode 21
The night McDreamy died. I’m tearing up just thinking about it. Considering the entire storyline of Grey’s Anatomy originated with Mer and Der’s famous first hookup, Derek’s death was a heartbreaker for many Grey’s diehards like myself. First, Derek is hit by an eighteen-wheeler (okay, that was a little overly dramatic, Shonda Rhimes, don’t you think?!). Then, he’s transported to a hospital that gives him inadequate care, causing them to miss the diagnosis of a fatal brain bleed (THE IRONY IS REAL BECAUSE HE’S A BRAIN SURGEON, SHONDA, STOP TWISTING THE KNIFE). THEN, Meredith gets to the hospital and has to decide to take Derek off of life support, telling him it’s okay to “go.” AND THEN, Meredith, freshly widowed, tells the surgeon whose mistake resulted in Derek’s death IT’S OKAY. She tells the surgeon to remember this case because it will make her a better doctor. Shonda, it was bad enough when we cried ourselves to sleep the night after Lexie died, smushed under plane wreckage and then you went and killed all our best friends.
4 Good Will Hunting
First of all, the fact that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck just casually wrote one of the best screenplays of all time as their breakthrough into stardom is already unreal. But then you also get one of the greatest cry scenes of all time with the combination of Damon with the late Robin Williams. Will Hunting struggles with his mathematical genius his entire life, until his therapist, Sean, allows him the emotional security and support to feel confident in his gift. Will finally realizes during a therapy session that he has greater potential in life, and Sean tells him “it’s not your fault” over and over again until Will breaks down and the two characters embrace. Matt Damon’s ability to wail on command is pretty astonishing.
5 The Hunger Games
Spoiler alert: Rue dies. And it sucks. Katniss watches over Rue, as the young girl reminds Katniss of her little sister back at home. The two execute a plan to sabotage the remaining tributes, which requires them to separate. After Katniss completes the mission, she hears Rue screaming for her and rushes to help. Katniss finds Rue trapped in a net and frees her…just in time for another tribute to shoot an arrow right into Rue’s stomach. Katniss watches in horror as Rue bleeds out slowly. And as if watching a child die wasn’t bad enough, then Katniss starts singing to Rue’s dead body and memorializes her with a bed of flowers as a sign of respect to her district. *sobs*
6 The Lion King
Dammit, Disney. How could you? Mufasa was like THE BEST DAD. He taught Simba how to not be a douchey king and had THE dopest baptism for him. Mufasa probably also had one of the most painful and graphic Disney deaths ever. Being trampled alive is horrific enough, but what’s even worse is that Simba watched the whole thing happen!!!! AND we’re already pissed because we know that Scar sucks and betrayed Mufasa!! Then Simba finds Mufasa’s dead lion body in the rubble of the stampede and tries to wake him up. It’s THE WORST.
7 Finding Nemo
DAMMIT DISNEY. HOW COULD YOU!? Marlin and Coral were SO cute and had so many little egg babies in their sea anemone. It all happens so fast: the cuteness, the barracuda, the sadness. Then the tears come. Marlin wakes up after being knocked unconscious and realizes that his entire family is dead. ROUGH. The only thing that gives him hope is the single egg left in the nest, aka egg-Nemo. Sure, the movie turns out fun and happy, but this one starts with a bleak opening.
8 One Tree Hill Season 3 Episode 16
We only knew Keith for less than three seasons, but we ALL loved Keith. He was the ultimate underdog, fighting for his deranged brother’s ex-girlfriend’s affection, raising his deranged brother’s ex-girlfriend’s son, and basically always getting screwed over by people because he was so trusting of people. And just when Keith finally gets the woman of his dreams, his deranged brother SHOOTS HIM. It helps a little bit that Dan is haunted by Keith for the rest of his life, but still it’s so freaking sad!!! Because then Karen finds out she’s pregnant with Keith’s baby, and Lucas is super sad, and we love Lucas, and it’s all just very unfortunate.
9 The Last Song
Nicholas Sparks has a way of ripping your soul apart, but you still read all the books and see all the movies anyways!!! When Ronnie’s dad has to be rushed to the ER, and the kids find out he has terminal cancer, it’s bad enough. But then Ronnie starts bonding with her dad and making up for lost time. She even plays the piano again, after refusing to play the instrument for years despite her being a prodigy and being accepted into Juilliard. Jonah, Ronnie’s little brother, has ONE OF THE BEST cry scenes of all time. Determined to finish a stained glass project that he began with his father, Jonah hurts himself in the process and then breaks down, screaming at Ronnie and Will when they find him. His entire face is soaked in tears and snot is just everywhere. If that’s not already awful, the death scene is almost worse. Just as Ronnie finishes composing a piece that her father had started for her, she sees her father’s hand is limp, and his water glass has spilled over. Then silent tears stream down your face until you break out into sobs.
10 The Help
Disclaimer: this is one of my favorite movies EVER, but it also happens to have a bomb cry scene at the end, so it’s relevant. Aibileen, played by Viola Davis (aka GODDESS), is fired from her job at the conclusion of the movie, as it’s revealed to her employer that Aibileen has revealed information about her family in Skeeter’s new book about black maids in the South. Aibileen can’t believe that she’s been fired, and she instinctively rushes to take care of “Babygirl” crying in the next room. She sadly tells Mae Mobley that she has to leave, but she makes her recite her most important lesson before she goes. Aibileen then tells Miss Hilly she’s “a godless woman” before making a tearful exit. Mae Mobley runs to the window and screams for Aibileen to come back. Aibileen sobs on her way down the street, and we’re sobbing with her, but then she also starts to smile because now she’s free, but we’re still crying, and it’s kind of a happy ending, but we’re still in tears? I don’t know, The Help just really gets to me.
Now go grab some tissues, and cue up your Netflix!!