The film based on John Green’s emotional bestseller The Fault In Our Stars has hit cinemas, reducing audiences around the world to puddles of tears. Grab your popcorn, tissues and waterproof mascara – here is our list of the top 10 tear-jerkers.
1. The Fault In Our Stars
Based on the wildly popular young-adult novel, there has perhaps been no tear-jerker as highly anticipated as this one – it is apparently the most-liked official trailer in the history of YouTube. Fans of the book may already know what they’re getting themselves in for with this story of two terminally ill teens who fall in love, but that doesn’t mean they are safe from the force of the ugly-cry.
2. The Notebook
You just can’t have a list of tear-jerkers without a Nicholas Sparks movie sneaking in there – and to be honest, we could have compiled this entire list based on his works alone. But it was The Notebook that brought us Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams and the greatest love story of all time. Noah + Allie = raising expectations of relationships since 2004. That scene at the end when Allie realises Noah has been reading her the story of their lives – we just can’t handle the intensity.
3. Titanic
Jack. Jack. JAAAAACK. Oh, if it had been us we definitely would have shared that door with you to save you from your icy fate in the Atlantic Ocean. The 1997 James Cameron epic saw Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet find love in a hopeless place – history’s most famous doomed ocean liner. Combine all that tragedy with a rousing Celine Dion tune, and we could have sunk the thing with our own tears.
4. Bambi
Dear Hollywood, you don’t always need a pair of ridiculously attractive star-crossed lovers to tug at our heartstrings. Sometimes all you need is a cartoon deer and his mum. It’s likely you were all emotionally scarred as children by this Disney flick so we probably don’t even need to bother with a spoiler alert here. The agonising moment Bambi’s mother is shot by hunters is enough to turn even the most hardened meat-lover into a vegetarian.
5. Beaches
Two lifelong friends, a terminal illness, and a soaring theme song – the Wind Beneath My Wings. It’s the ultimate touching chick flick, with all the ingredients necessary to keep Kleenex in business. Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey make us want to grab our BFFs immediately and head straight to a beach house of our own.
6. E.T.
Hold out your glowing finger and be prepared to be overcome with nostalgia. The 1982 family film about a young boy who befriends an alien still has the power to make grown men cry. Two scenes deserve mentions here – E.T’s tragic near-death scene (“I’ll believe in you all my life”) and the farewell scene before E.T returns to his planet (“Be gooood”).
7. It’s A Wonderful Life
Christmas is meant to be the most joyous time of the year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t shed a few tender tears for this annual classic. It tells the story of a man who has given up on his life and decides to end it. Luckily, his guardian angel intervenes and shows him what the world would be missing without him. We choke up whenever we hear those dulcet ending notes of Auld Lang Syne.
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8. My Girl
Remember when Macaulay Culkin was an adorable, fresh-faced child star and not a troubled drug addict It’s all happy days in this 1991 coming-of-age film, starring the equally adorable Anna Chlumsky, until a nest of angry bees ruins everything. Every time we hear the hit Temptations song of the same name, we can’t help but spare a sad thought for young Thomas J – and young Macaulay Culkin, for that matter.
9. Ghost
This film is famous not only for a certain scene involving the Righteous Brothers and a whole lot of clay, but also for being one of the most shameless tear-jerkers ever made. Though it may be cheesier than a cheeseburger, you would be made of stone if you didn’t get a little something in your eye when Patrick Swayze’s character says his final goodbye to Demi Moore.
10. Forrest Gump
Life is like a box of chocolates … you know how it goes. You just can’t help but want to cheer for Tom Hanks’ Forrest, from his bullied beginnings to a lifetime of being caught up in history’s most iconic moments. We shed tears, both happy and sad, as Forrest experiences triumphs and losses. But when he meets his little boy for the first time, well … that’s all we gotta say about that.
– Stuff
