I generally hate any film that either involves an animal dying “Old Yeller” style, or otherwise seems to be trying to manipulate me into tears, unless the dead whatever-it-is quickly springs back to life like in “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”. (Many people of the generation older than mine would call that a tearjerker because of the misuse (to them) of their beloved Beatles songs, but as I was the next generation who didn’t have the original Sgt Pepper album up on some pedestal and was more interested in Aerosmith and the Bee Gees, I enjoyed the film.)
I liked “Terms of Endearment” but the big death scene didn’t make me particularly teary. I just liked watching the mom and daughter bicker on the phone for 2 hours, it reminded me a little bit of myself and my mom (except that I didn’t marry an incompetent cheater and my mother would never have had an affair with anyone, much less with the Jack Nicholson character).
That’s about the only one I can think of. I tried to watch “The Notebook” once on cable in some hotel when I had been drinking wine. When the elderly lady had a dementia meltdown, I had a panic attack and had to turn it off. I also sat through “Blue Valentine” and pretty much hated all the characters in it.
I see there’s some list that has “Legends of the Fall” down as a tearjerker. I thought it was just a good costume drama involving Brad Pitt and a bear. Really the bear (Played by the famous bear actor Bart the Bear) was the best part, along with Julia Ormond’s outfits.
