# Movies guys are allowed to cry at **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064 "2011-03-09T17:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/1 "2011-03-09T17:18:31Z")
I will admit I am not the manliest man out there, but I don’t need tissues for Hallmark commercials. However, there are some movies that make me tear up where other guys wouldn’t. While some might cost me a “Man Card,” some of them I think are a free pass. Off the top of my head: Old Yeller - If you’ve ever had a dog this is a no brainer. Lion King - Maybe it’s because I was younger when I saw it, but Simba trying to “wake up” Mufasa: “Dad come on, you gotta get up!” Schindler’s List - Shouldn’t need to explain Saving Private Ryan - Ditto The Notebook - First admit that you saw it, then admit you at least got a lump in your throat. Movies where it might just be me: Up - The beginning, at least Titanic - Couldn’t care less about Leo and Kate, but that one old couple in bed as it sinks. . . ☹ Moulin Rouge - I don’t know why, it just makes me tear up. So what other movies do guys get a pass on, and which ones make other guys cry? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/2 "2011-03-09T17:23:33Z")
Hand over your man card please. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/3 "2011-03-09T17:26:31Z")
Brian’s Song. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/4 "2011-03-09T17:51:02Z")
Field of Dreams is a classic male tear-jerker. I cried a little at the end of the 3:10 to Yuma remake. A common thread between these two is the father-son dynamic, which seems culturally acceptible for a guy to get choked up over. The Notebook and Moulin Rouge? No free passes there! ---
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/5 "2011-03-09T18:05:07Z")
[\*Hotaru no Haka \*(_Grave of the Fireflies_)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_of_the_fireflies). I _am_ speaking from a female perspective here, but…seriously. If this film doesn’t make you cry then you are either Vulcan or dead. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/6 "2011-03-09T18:06:32Z")
The Spitfire Grill had me running for the door at the end because some popcorn salt got in my eye. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/7 "2011-03-09T18:08:28Z")
Not getting teary at the end of “The Iron Giant” doesn’t make you a man, it makes you a monster. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/8 "2011-03-09T18:09:20Z")
Shane The Cowboys ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/9 "2011-03-09T18:13:44Z")
I think the generic answer is sports movies and war movies, and so far this thread bears that out. Sorry, OP, but if there’s ever going to be an answer to this question, it’s not going to include Moulin Rouge and Titanic. Those are chick flicks. Titanic in particular became a hit because early-teen girls got obsessed with it. And movies about the Old Man, maybe. I know a goodly number of guys who were really moved by _Big Fish_. I was, and so was my dad. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/10 "2011-03-09T18:13:45Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Hand over your man card please. and add _Brokeback Mountain_ to the list… ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/11 "2011-03-09T18:28:25Z")
I’ve seen all those movies but _The Notebook_, and cried at exactly zero of them (to be fair, I might have cried at _Titanic_, but only because it was so monumentally shitty or because I was laughing so hard at the horrible dialogue). Movies that _have_ made me tear up: _Bicycle Thieves Ikiru Make Way for Tomorrow Awakenings_ ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/12 "2011-03-09T18:31:43Z")
The last couple of minutes of _Toy Story 3_. Hell, I’m sure Pixar’s computers wept while rendering it. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/13 "2011-03-09T18:33:58Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Hand over your man card please. And your balls too. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/14 "2011-03-09T18:37:33Z")
> [@Sakuma\_Drops](#): > > [\*Hotaru no Haka \*(_Grave of the Fireflies_)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_of_the_fireflies). I _am_ speaking from a female perspective here, but…seriously. If this film doesn’t make you cry then you are either Vulcan or dead. Speaking as a bloke, I completely agree with you, this was the film I was going to mention. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/15 "2011-03-09T18:40:04Z")
LOTR: Return of the King (“You bow to no one.”) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/16 "2011-03-09T18:43:06Z")
Rudy. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/17 "2011-03-09T18:43:10Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Brian’s Song. For sure. > [@Marley23](#): > > I think the generic answer is sports movies and war movies, and so far this thread bears that out. Sorry, OP, but if there’s ever going to be an answer to this question, it’s not going to include Moulin Rouge and Titanic. Those are chick flicks. Titanic in particular became a hit because early-teen girls got obsessed with it. > > And movies about the Old Man, maybe. I know a goodly number of guys who were really moved by _Big Fish_. I was, and so was my dad. Ditto! Other films where I have been guilty of tearing up: Life is Beautiful - everyone gets a pass for this one Braveheart - I’m Scottish Whale Music - long story Snoopy Come Home - since a was a kid, and still do. ---
**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/18 "2011-03-09T18:44:51Z")
I can make it all the way through _A River Runs Through It_, but the last scene and the last couple of lines of narration get me every time. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/19 "2011-03-09T18:50:36Z")
I also have to admit that the scene in Forrest Gump when he is talking to Jenny’s grave really got to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064/20 "2011-03-09T19:03:45Z")
> [@Sakuma\_Drops](#): > > [\*Hotaru no Haka \*(_Grave of the Fireflies_)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_of_the_fireflies). > > I _am_ speaking from a female perspective here, but…seriously. If this film doesn’t make you cry then you are either Vulcan or dead. I agree, but get this, I’ve found a more depressing movie. [Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Zachary) **Warning: The movie isn’t just sad, it is earthquake rattling devastating. It is a documentary. Everyone and everything in it is real and what happens is so tragic…there are no words in the human language to describe my feelings after seeing it.** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-guys-are-allowed-to-cry-at/574064.md?page=2)