A Good Cry

I’m a big softy.  I can cry at the drop of a hat, so to speak, especially if there is music involved. Music already plays such a big part in my life.  It stirs my soul, and when paired with images that tug in my heart or my own personal connectivity, I can bawl as good as any baby.

Years ago, when my children were little, I used to get-together with some women whose husbands (along with my own) would all be out of town at this same time.  We would plan “Tear-Jerker Movie Night,” and sit and watch movies that made us cry. It felt good, and there was no one there to roll their eyes at our every shed tear.  We loved it!  Nowadays, when I’m watching a movie I already know makes me cry, I just tell my husband in advance, and if he comes through the room, I just motion him on through.  “Nothing to see here – move along,” I say through my gasps.  If it’s a ‘new cry,’ I just say, “Pass the tissue!”

I began thinking about movies that stir me.  The list, however, almost became endless.  Some movies have a scene, some just a moment; with others the entire picture has me reaching for tissue, in many cases, it is the inspirational or 'final' ending...  And there are patterns, so I’ve decided to group them without too much explanation. If you’re not sure what’s so ‘weepy’ about any of these, watch them again, and see if you can find ‘those moments.’  I guarantee they’re there.

With that, here’s just a few movies that make me cry:

Gallipoli

Schindler’s List

Saving Private Ryan

The Adventures of Milo & Otis

Finding Nemo

The Three Lives of Thomasina

Prince Caspian & the Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Ghost

The Natural

Forever Young

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

St. Ralph

Mona Lisa Smile
Little Women (1994)

Mr. Holland’s Opus

When Did You Last See Your Father?

Splash

13 Going on 30

The Good-bye Girl
Big

The "father" of all my tearjerkers!

...And these movies have me crying from the very start!:

The Color Purple 

Dad 
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale 
Toy Story 3 

Table for Five

To Be a Good Sport

Well, I was hoping the World Series would be over by now, but the “boys of October” should now be called the “boys of November.”  Regardless, I will go ahead and post my favorites sports movies as my blog for the week.  The fact that six of these films are baseball films is not an indication that baseball is my favorite sport - they just happen to be movies I enjoy. I hope you will, too.

#11 - Mr. Baseball (1992)

Tom Selleck…HELLO?!?!?

#10 - The Bad News Bears (1976)

It’s just darn funny!

# 9 - Angels in the Outfield (1994)

I grew up in Orange County and the California Angels were my home team.  We spent many Sunday afternoons out at Anaheim Stadium. So, when a movie came out with the “Angels” as the stars, I couldn’t resist.  Plus, seeing a very young Joseph-Gordon Levitt before his rise to stardom was loads of fun! There is another Angels in the Outfield (1951) starring Janet Leigh and Keenan Wynn, and it is the origin of the plot of my #9 pick.

#  - 8 Rollerball (1975)

This is a great sci-fi picture regardless of sport!  Starring James Caan and John Houseman, this movie also makes my May 24 blog of “Classic Pairings,” as the “Sci-Fi” selection. 

# 7 – Ice Castles (1978)

Starring a young Robbie Benson and Lynn-Holly Johnson and its popular theme music by the late Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, this movie tells the story of the quick rise to fame of a Midwestern ice skater and what happens when that fame presents too much pressure.  Ah, true young love conquers all…

# 6 – Moneyball (2011)

Brad Pitt, yes! And although it features the Oakland Athletics (the California Angels’ rivals), it brought to the forefront the fascinating world of building a team through trades and quick deals.  Not only eye candy, but eye opening, as well.

# 5 – Oxford Blues (1984)

For your consideration, another pretty face – Rob Lowe in the role of a Nevada rogue rower, who for the sake of meeting a young lady of royal blood, finagles his way into Oxford University.  He must confront his own demons of being a team player in order to win the heart of the lady, played by Amanda Pays (who is married to Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law fame, and who is the son of actress Jeanne Cooper (star of Young & the Restless – see blog of October 18).  This movie also stars the [whiney] Ally Sheedy.

# 4 – Major League (1989)

I LOVE this movie – yes, it’s ‘naughty,’ but what a goofy bunch of ball players. It’s almost a Bad News Bears of adults! It stars Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, and Corbin Bernsen (see #5) "Wild Thing, I think I love you!"

# 3 – Happy Gilmore (1996)

I am not an Adam Sandler fan by any means, but this movie is so darn cute and sweet!  With many moments of hilarity and a bit of romance, Adam Sandler makes us believe he is the hockey player gone wrong and wants to make good.  And, we love Granny, too!

# 2 – Superstar Goofy (1972)(aka The Goofy Sports Story, 1956)

“A cartoon? Is she daft?” you might be thinking.  This Disney animated is truly a classic.  I cannot keep myself from laughing hysterically over the antics of my favorite (other than Mickey, of course) Disney character.   Watching Goofy perform the ‘correct’ way to Olympic sports and other games is downright the best!

#1 – The Natural (1984)

I’ve written on this film a couple of other times in my blog, so it is no wonder how and why this film makes the top of my favorite sports films.  Every acting performance is tender and poignant (how can you not love Red and Pop whistling tunes to guess the title?) I love this story of ‘what might have been,’ but satisfies the yearnings of ‘what actually can be.’  With a heart-wrenching score by Randy Newman, The Natural is a classic film to be forever adored. "The best that ever was."

Serial Stars

From my earliest days, I remember sitting at my mother’s feet while she did the ironing and watched her soaps.  I am a third generation CBS television soap watcher.  I have not watched for 20+ years, but I do know that when I see one of my old standards, many of the key players are still at it.  My mother and paternal grandmother watched Love is a Many Splendored Thing, As the World Turns, The Guiding Light, Secret Storm, and The Edge of Night (which later moved to ABC). I, in turn, added Search for Tomorrow and The Young and the Restless to my daily watching fare in my later high school and college years.

 

So what does this have to do with movies? Last night, I was surfing YouTube© and joyously found the opening sequences for these shows and spent several minutes recounting those days, placing myself, once again, at my mother’s feet.

Once again, I ask, what does this have to do with movies?  Thinking about what I might write about this week, I decided to go away from my idea list and write about some of those daily actors and actresses who made it from the small screen to the big screen.  There are hundreds, if you even began an attempt at a complete list, but once in a while, there is a small handful that makes it into your memory.  Ever since Joan Crawford filled in for her daughter, Christina, on Secret Storm, there has been the movement for movie stars to grace the soaps, but that is a bit easier. Kathy Bates, Demi Moore, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Pitt, and the list goes on and on and on… are just the start of a mega-list of who started out on the small screen.

Many soap opera stars became stars in their own right.  They went on to do prime time series television and made for television movies.  That list would also be a ‘mile long.’  But since I watched the CBS line-up, here are a few of the ‘big cross-overs’ that still standout for me, (as I am sure that my toddler memory has ‘left the building’):

As the World Turns

William Fichtner

Ming Na

Julianne Moore

Meg Ryan

The Guiding Light

Kevin Bacon

And, already a star, the lovely Patricia Barry (of my blog 2-17-12)

A few old savings...

As always, this blog is to get your memory jogging, too.  It is not for telling my why your soaps were better than these and why you feel that way. It is to share memories. If you were ever a soap watcher, who do you remember before they ‘were stars’?