Do you like tear-jerkers?

Write4U2

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Have any of you seen, "p.s. i love you," the film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern?

I watched the movie last night, and although I thought the plot was weaked by the way they managed the backstory, it was easy enough to follow. There were some very tender moments. Tears slid down my cheeks. There was a host of funny laugh out loud dialog, especially from supporting actor and actresses, great scenery of Ireland and NYC.

This is a synopsis of the movie's story line:

On a country road in Ireland over ten years ago, it was love at first sight for Holly, a lost young tourist (Academy Award® winner, Hilary Swank), and Gerry, a charming local lad (Gerard Butler). Hollys formidable mother, (Kathy Bates), disapproved of the couple, concerned that her spirited daughter was too young for marriage. In the years since, the once fearless Holly has become unsure of her own identity.

When Gerry dies with a brain tumor and leaves Holly a widow just shy of her thirtieth birthday, her family and best friends (Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon) are concerned that she will never emerge from her takeout container-strewn Manhattan apartment.

After weeks holed up watching old movies, a birthday cake and tape recording message from Gerry mysteriously arrives, marking the beginning of a series of letters instructing her to perform unusual requests.

With the help of her girlfriends, Holly begins a year of wild adventures and a life journey that Gerry has planned for her, helping her to discover who she is without him and reminding her - p.s. I Love You.

Book (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC1AOI/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

Book (Amazon with search inside): http://www.amazon.com/dp/140130916X/?tag=absolutewritedm-20
 

katiemac

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As a rule, no. I don't enjoy the way most tear-jerkers are formed to try to make someone sad. I'd rather the focus remain on the story, and if I eventually find it sad then that's a different story.

For example, I didn't think Brokeback Mountain was a tearjerker. But it's one of the few movies that has made me tear up.

That being said, I'm much more likely to get emotional (angry, sad, whatever) during my favorite television show than a film--if I do, then it's a great film in my opinion. It has to do with character attachment and proper setup.
 

Alpha Echo

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I really enjoyed that book, though because of personal things going on right now, I haven't watched the movie.

But I do love tear-jerkers. I don't know why. But I enjoy crying. Not if I'm crying b/c of my own circumstances, but I like crying from a movie or especially a book.
 

dageezer

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Nope, not a tear jerker watcher. When I go to a movie, I want to be entertained and leave feeling good. I took my wife to see one once because that's what she wanted to see. I had a good nap but the dinner after was a complete waste of time, she just didn't feel good anymore.

Yes, it went like that the rest of the night.
 

kristie911

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Sometimes I get in the mood for a good cry and watch a good tear jerker but they're not my usual choice. :)
 

Ol' Fashioned Girl

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Love 'em. Always is the #1 tear-jerker for me. First time I saw it, I knew what was going to happen (it being a remake of A Guy Named Joe)... but it was all I could do to walk through the mall afterward and get to the car. Bawled like a baby, I did.

Then again, I'm a sucker for tragic, impossible love stories. Always. Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Portrait of Jennie. Bridges of Madison County. Castaway. Casablanca. Gone with the Wind. How Green Was My Valley. Camelot. King Kong. Last Time I Saw Paris. Mrs. Brown. Phantom of the Opera. Shakespear in Love. just to name a few.
 

joyce

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I watched P.S. I love you last week and thought it was a good movie. Actually, I was surprised and found it better than I expected it to be. I love a good tear jerker. There's a wide range of incidents that can get me all choked up. I'll find myself watching something as the tears roll down my cheeks and then I'll look over at my husband and he's got tears too. We are both sentimental jerks I guess.:)
 

TerzaRima

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P.S. I Love You gave me the vapors. I detest tear jerkers, probably because I am a bit of a softie and I hate to have my chain pulled. Please take me to a double feature of horror flicks and don't stint on the popcorn.
 

maestrowork

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I'm saying it doesn't fit my description of a tear jerker. I've heard the whole romance appellation applied to Casablanca, but think its more of a wartime thriller with a romantic subplot.

Anyway, it's never jerked my tears.

I guess it depends on your point of view. Casablanca is generally considered a romance (albeit not your Harlequin romance) is ranked as either #1 or #2. Perhaps it didn't jerk your tears because you're a man and you don't care for romance. But for many women, it's a bona fide tear-jerker.

Same with Castaway, for example. It can be considered a drama, an adventure, or a romance depending on your point of view and definitely the third act is very tear-jerking. But by tear-jerking we never mean to say the movie is "oh I love you so much I could die" from beginning to end.
 

Write4U2

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I don't consider any of these as "tear jerkers." Just damned fine movies.

What about the movie, "Ghost" with Patrick and Demi? Light moments, thriller(?) with romance. Whoopie (who happens to be my fav actress) was a hoot. Dealing with the dearly departed seems to be a biggie plot line in romance stories.

I'm not usually a cryer, but all I have to do is see someone cry and it makes me weepy.
 

Write4U2

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I guess it depends on your point of view. Casablanca is generally considered a romance (albeit not your Harlequin romance) is ranked as either #1 or #2. Perhaps it didn't jerk your tears because you're a man and you don't care for romance. But for many women, it's a bona fide tear-jerker.

Same with Castaway, for example. It can be considered a drama, an adventure, or a romance depending on your point of view and definitely the third act is very tear-jerking. But by tear-jerking we never mean to say the movie is "oh I love you so much I could die" from beginning to end.

I liked the movie, Castaway. My big problem with it was the acting was horrible. Tom Hanks was good as always, but Helen Hunt? Just gawdawful. I saw no chemistry between them AT ALL! I could have played her part with more depth of feeling, more pathos, more sadness and sentimentality.
 

Just.Jase

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They're good once in a while. Watched The Kite Runner last night, it made me cry more than the book did!
Although I do love a feel-good now and then to brighten everything.
 

Grrarrgh

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I enjoy a good emotional drama. I don't enjoy blatant manipulation *cough*The Notebook*cough*.

Amen. I thought The Notebook was complete drivel. The only tears it evoked were tears for my own wasted time.