# Weepies



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

You know the scene. The end of the movie, usually a B grade movie, and the two lovers have to part their ways. The guy says something like _I will always remember you, but I have to leave you now_. In the 1940's there were many of these done, the classic scene is at a train station. But one of the most famous ones, Bogey's line_ here's looking at you, kid _was in Casablanca.

Weepies are movies, books, or operas where you are advised to _get the kleenex out_. If it's a weepie worth it's salt, you'll go through the whole box!

These are often filled with sentimentality and emotion that makes you cry. Some say it's superficical, surface emotions.

Puccini's operas_ La Boheme _and _Madama Butterfly _are examples. Many people hate them, but it seems many more love them. They are the most popular operas in this country, produced on an almost annual basis. Guarantee bums on seats at the opera. I don't mind them but I like other things by Puccini far more.

One of the better kind of weepy novels was Flowers for Algernon, made into the movie Charly in the 1960's. It seemed to start off a trend with weepies about people with disabilities (finding a _miracle cure_, but it's always only temporary).

*So what's your take on weepies? Good, bad or ugly? Choose in the poll and let us have a discussion!*


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

I think there's an element of manipulation in any sentimental/emotionally oriented art, although there are degrees of cynicism vs. naturalism and sincerity regarding the emotional development. 

Anyway, the thing is, when a cheap or cloying melodrama preys upon easy emotions, the part of the brain it taps into is deep and complex, that's why it can be so effective. There is some visceral value there, I guess, but rarely does anything like that give you any deeper content to chew on later. I think that's why Titanic had people crying their eyes out in the 90s, and days later they were making fun of it. On the other hand Tarkovsky's Stalker leaves many people baffled at first, but it can haunt them later.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I have a _Girdle of Venus_ on my palm and apparently that means yes I do like weepies.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I have a _Girdle of Venus_ on my palm and apparently that means yes I do like weepies.


Lol @Palmistry.

I suppose there are weepies out there for everyone with a heart. It takes a more "authentic" kind to get me on the verge of tears. But I enjoy it when it happens. So I do like weepies, when they work.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

La Boheme is disgusting. Old Yeller at least illustrates a parable, but it's still no way to treat a juvenile movie-goer.

Weeping is something you can't avoid when your mama dies. It ain't for playing around with.

:scold:


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Since there aren't many females on this forum, it might not be worth sharing, but there is a particular Chick Flick out there that I never cried so many separate times while I watched it. It's called the Joy Luck Club, if anyone's heard of it, a true movie for women, I don't think men would understand it quite the same way. I teared up like 6 different times, and my mom who was with me ending really crying at the end. It's a wonderful movie, and I strongly recommended it (for women)! 

One of the stories in it (it's a frame-story movie), is about a little girl who grows up being pressured by her mother to be an excellent pianist, causing a lot of strain between them because the girl feels she won't be loved if she doesn't play well enough for her mother.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

I get the weepies quite often when I read these forums.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Since there aren't many females on this forum, it might not be worth sharing, but there is a particular Chick Flick out there that I never cried so many separate times while I watched it. It's called the Joy Luck Club, if anyone's heard of it, a true movie for women, I don't think men would understand it quite the same way. I teared up like 6 different times, and my mom who was with me ending really crying at the end. It's a wonderful movie, and I strongly recommended it (for women)!
> 
> One of the stories in it (it's a frame-story movie), is about a little girl who grows up being pressured by her mother to be an excellent pianist, causing a lot of strain between them because the girl feels she won't be loved if she doesn't play well enough for her mother.


I want to watch that.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I hate being manipulated, but some movies are worth it. However, I don't seek them out. For example, I have a friend with three daughters who cries like a baby watching _Father of the Bride_, and that's enough of a red flag to keep me away.

I remember _Return to Me_ getting to me, partly for the "I miss my wife, but I ache for your daughter" line, partly for the grieving dog, and partly for all the great music.

And since I saw _The Glenn Miller Story_, Moonlight Serenade has always gotten me misty-eyed.


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

I like a good weepie..I dont care who knows it! :trp: 
( In the absence of a weeping smiley I judged that the trumpet one was most appropriate. I have no idea why!)


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

i cant stand that crap


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Interesting responses. Sounds like_ The Joy Luck Club _was much more than a mere _three hankie weepie_.

Re this about weepies and emotion -



regressivetransphobe said:


> ...
> Anyway, the thing is, when a cheap or cloying melodrama preys upon easy emotions, the part of the brain it taps into is deep and complex, that's why it can be so effective. There is some visceral value there, I guess, but rarely does anything like that give you any deeper content to chew on later. I think that's why Titanic had people crying their eyes out in the 90s, and days later they were making fun of it. On the other hand Tarkovsky's Stalker leaves many people baffled at first, but it can haunt them later.


I think it's the difference between what we wish for a character in these things, and what turns out at the end. It's a cliche, it's inevitable. Boy and girl fall in love, but at the end they have to part. Or one of them dies (from consumption, or suicide, or drowning on the Titanic, etc.). Or a person with a disability gets out of that state, enjoys life more and maybe gets a productive life or finds love, then the miracle cure or whatever wears off, and we're back to square one. Our hopes are dashed against the rocks, the cruel _reality_ of life.

It's an outlet, it's about sympathy (yes, manipulated and milked to maximum effect), it's about big dramas and big emotions.

I chose the_ sometimes _option, basically as I like the old black and white films like_ Casablanca_. It's not strictly speaking a weepie, but Ingrid Bergman's acting in that final scene is dripping with syrup and weepiness. She is literally _weeping_ herself. A real weepie from the 1940's that I liked was _Brief Encounter _with a very young Trevor Howard, they used Rachmaninov's music as a soundtrack (perfect!).


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Sid James said:


> I like the old black and white films like_ Casablanca_. It's not strictly speaking a weepie, but Ingrid Bergman's acting in that final scene is dripping with syrup and weepiness. She is literally _weeping_ herself.


One of the greatest movies of all time, IMHO. It's funny; the woman who brings me to tears is the woman who is a turncoat until they play La Marseillaise, and she stands erect and shouts with tears in her eyes, "Vive la France. Vive la liberte!" It gets me every time.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

^^Thanks for reminding me of that. Loved that scene - 




& here's a comment from someone below that youtube clip who is German, bashing the Germans (well, the Nazis, their fascist _fatherland_ song in that scene is drowned out by the French singing the _Marsellaise_).



> One of the best movie scenes ever. It stirs your blood to see how the f### Nazis are shut down﻿ by liberty loving people with a heart. Thumbs up for uploading it!
> *( I am German)*


Glad they have a sense of humour.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Yes, I enjoy weepies when it comes to opera. Some of the best music ever written!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I love La Bohème. But it didn't make me cry.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Turandot is a weepy too isn't it? One of those too-good-to-be-true endings. Most Puccini, tragedy or happy ending, is like that.


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## Guest (May 18, 2012)

It all depends on the subject matter for me. I can't stand the dime-a-dozen chick flicks that are strategically devised to produce emotion of the weepy kind (I'm thinking of just about anything by Nicholas Sparks). But a truly moving story that is able to draw me in and empathize with the characters is golden. Casablanca is an excellent example, although I can't say I have had very strong reactions to it - it is a great movie, though.

I do cry at the end of Ol' Yeller - it is a great story. I'm not ashamed to say it.

One other that gets me every time is a dramatization of United Flight 93 - not the movie United 93, but a made for TV movie. The scenes near the end where the passengers are saying their final farewells to loved ones on the phone before going to stop the terrorists always moves me.

Another is the ending of Schindler's List, where the Nazis have fled, the Russians are on their way, and Schindler and his wife are about to depart, lest the Russians not understand what it was he had done. Schindler breaks down, looking at all of his material possessions he kept - cufflinks, fancy clothes, his car, even his Nazi party pin - that could have been sold to pay for getting just a few more people onto his list, but now they are gone forever. It is very poignant and pulls at my heartstrings.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Turandot is a weepy too isn't it? One of those too-good-to-be-true endings. Most Puccini, tragedy or happy ending, is like that.


I don't see it as that, because in _Madama Butterfly_, she kills herself and in_ La Boheme_, Mimi dies of consumption. Since _Turandot_ has a happy ending, I don't see it as a full blown _weepie_.

But when Liu the servant girl of Calaf kills herself, that is defintely a _weepie_ moment. That was not in the original story or plan of the librettist, Puccini put that in there to pull a few heart strings & to heighten the melodrama.

But I kind of agree that the ending of _Turandot _is kind of fake to me, the sadistic and cruel princess suddenly becomes a softie in Calaf's arms. Maybe it's a kind of deliberate irony? Dunno. I just like the pentatonic flavour of the music, basically, and how PUccini in that opera took on some of the atonality of Berg's_ Wozzeck_ (a big fav of mine), Puccini had studied that score as he was writing _Turandot._ Then there's the best tenor aria in the repertoire, _Nessun Dorma_ (or definitely one of the best!).


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Sid James said:


> Then there's the best tenor aria in the repertoire, _Nessun Dorma_ (or definitely one of the best!).


You mean the most overrated, over performed tenor aria in the repertoire.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Sid James said:


> ^^Thanks for reminding me of that. Loved that scene -
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I prefer the scene where France surrenders sheepishly to the unyielding German might as horns fill the air with the sounds of Wagner.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> You mean the most overrated, over performed tenor aria in the repertoire.


What you say makes me _weep!_ :lol:



Couchie said:


> I prefer the scene where France surrenders sheepishly to the unyielding German might as horns fill the air with the sounds of Wagner.


Well if you watch the end of _Casablanca_, Bogey bumps off the German captain (some top brass) who comes to the airport to prevent the two resistance fighters (Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid) from escaping. Good riddance. Another (Wagner loving?) Nazi goon meets his maker.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Seeing Tevye deny his daughter at the railway station until she's out of earshot brings a lump to my throat. One of his daughters (can't remember if it's the same one) moves to Krakow - I dread to think what may have happened to her decades later. Fiddler on the Roof was a musical, but what a great film!


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Sid James said:


> But I kind of agree that the ending of _Turandot _is kind of fake to me, the sadistic and cruel princess suddenly becomes a softie in Calaf's arms. Maybe it's a kind of deliberate irony? Dunno. I just like the pentatonic flavour of the music, basically, and how PUccini in that opera took on some of the atonality of Berg's_ Wozzeck_ (a big fav of mine), Puccini had studied that score as he was writing _Turandot._ Then there's the best tenor aria in the repertoire, _Nessun Dorma_ (or definitely one of the best!).


I find that Turandot is figurative, or even a allegory. It's sort of an extreme (or perhaps not so extreme) breaking down of hatred. It certainly is ideal, but I don't find it as fake.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I love nothing more than a good weepie, and I hate nothing more than a bad one.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

The problem with weepies for me is, I can't predict when something is going to get to me, and when it does, the emotion takes on a life of its own beyond any reason - kind of feeding itself. As I'm telling myself how stupid it is, I'm getting more and more stuck in the feeling.

Movies that have gotten to me - October Sky, Awakenings, Babe and just about any other animal movie out there, including the last two big horse-racing films.


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

I try to pay as little as possible attention to what is being "said" when listening to Puccini.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

I love movies. All kinds of movies. If they can make me cry, even better.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

regressivetransphobe said:


> I think there's an element of manipulation in any sentimental/emotionally oriented art, although there are degrees of cynicism vs. naturalism and sincerity regarding the emotional development.
> 
> Anyway, the thing is, when a cheap or cloying melodrama preys upon easy emotions, the part of the brain it taps into is deep and complex, that's why it can be so effective. There is some visceral value there, I guess, but rarely does anything like that give you any deeper content to chew on later. I think that's why Titanic had people crying their eyes out in the 90s, and days later they were making fun of it. On the other hand Tarkovsky's Stalker leaves many people baffled at first, but it can haunt them later.


But here's the thing: it's hard to know when a composer/director/writer is trying to "manipulate" you, and when he's simply trying to tell a story effectively and reach you on an emotional level. Moreover, qualities like "shallowness" or "profundity" are highly subjective. In other words, maybe some people _did_ actually see TITANIC as profound (I never saw that movie, so I don't know what I think). Someone below mentioned the scene in SCHINDLER'S LIST where Schindler cries. This happens to be my favorite movie scene of all time; especially in the context of the whole film, I find it extremely poignant and weep openly at it. Others, however, call the scene "manipulative" and hate it. So, like I said...it's subjective.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

elgars ghost said:


> Seeing Tevye deny his daughter at the railway station until she's out of earshot brings a lump to my throat. One of his daughters (can't remember if it's the same one) moves to Krakow - I dread to think what may have happened to her decades later. Fiddler on the Roof was a musical, but what a great film!


Chava was the one who moved to Krakow -- and I've had the same thought as you about what eventually may have happened to her.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Sid James said:


> ^^Thanks for reminding me of that. Loved that scene -
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A film set in a country forced to be a French protectorate.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

I do cry everyday, but rarely am I sad.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

DrMike said:


> Another is the ending of Schindler's List, where the Nazis have fled, the Russians are on their way, and Schindler and his wife are about to depart, lest the Russians not understand what it was he had done. Schindler breaks down, looking at all of his material possessions he kept - cufflinks, fancy clothes, his car, even his Nazi party pin - that could have been sold to pay for getting just a few more people onto his list, but now they are gone forever. It is very poignant and pulls at my heartstrings.


That's the one scene from the movie that I wish had been deleted. Crying over his cufflinks etc. was too much of a stretch for me. I always advise moderation when it comes to turning on the faucet.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Bulldog said:


> That's the one scene from the movie that I wish had been deleted. Crying over his cufflinks etc. was too much of a stretch for me. I always advise moderation when it comes to turning on the faucet.


Maybe you should watch the movie again. Or, if I may, suggest an alternative?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_on_Trial


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

scratchgolf said:


> Maybe you should watch the movie again.


It's a great movie; I've already watched it a few times from start to finish.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Bulldog said:


> It's a great movie; I've already watched it a few times from start to finish.


And I trust that you trust yourself. How could I ever hope to do more?


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

I don't crave "likes". I crave the opposite. And through my craving, I speak truth and lies. This is not my problem.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

My favorite movies are ET and Field of Dreams so I guess I do.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

hpowders said:


> My favorite movies are ET and Field of Dreams so I guess I do.


Two great films. Pay attention


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Bulldog said:


> That's the one scene from the movie that I wish had been deleted. Crying over his cufflinks etc. was too much of a stretch for me. I always advise moderation when it comes to turning on the faucet.


His cufflinks?! Schindler was crying because he didn't do more for the Jewish people when he had the chance; the cufflinks, the pin, etc. were just incidentals. Also, the crying itself was quite restrained -- you don't even see Schindler's face, because the others in the scene are surrounding and embracing him.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> His cufflinks?! Schindler was crying because he didn't do more for the Jewish people when he had the chance; the cufflinks, the pin, etc. were just incidentals. Also, the crying itself was quite restrained -- you don't even see Schindler's face, because the others in the scene are surrounding and embracing him.


Yes, I know they were incidentals. Without that scene, it would have been a perfect movie.


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## Crystal (Aug 8, 2017)

It depends. Good weepies make me cry.


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

*So what's your take on weepies? Good, bad or ugly?*

Am I into watching weepies? The answer is definitely NO. But that doesn't mean that I don't cry watching some movies. The very name "Weepies" carries with it a sense of sentimentalism/emotionalism that regressivetransphobe pointed out in post #2.
Probably the best way to answer this post is to show the reply I made to "What is your all time favorite movie":

If I had to choose only one, which is like asking a parent to state the name of their favorite offspring at a family dinner, I would have to say Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai."

The first time I watched this film I was literally floored. The scene where the rowdy lodgers are making fun of the farmers because they eat millet to make sure they can feed the samurai they're hoping to enlist rice had me on the floor crying. I couldn't believe it. Kurosawa's ability to reach out, grab my emotions, and elicit the response he wanted me to have was unexpected, powerful, and genuine. Later in the movie when Mifune goes on his rant about farmers it happened again. There are also many scenes in his movie "Red Beard" that have the same effect on me. The climatic scene in the more recent movie "A Monster Calls" had the same, unexpected, emotional response from me....I fell out of my seat onto the living room flooring sobbing like a baby. Don't get me wrong, I don't watch movies for this kind of visceral reaction nor do I judge a movie by this. I'm probably more in the "emotionally unavailable" category than I am in the "sentimental slob" category, so this kind of cathartic response is burned in my memory and dear to my heart.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I'm not sure what a weepie is. I think I do, in which case I don't cry from listening/watching them. I enjoy them as it is as a work of entertainment or art.


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

Old Yeller (1957). Damn you, Walt Disney.


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## Pyotr (Feb 26, 2013)

geralmar said:


> Old Yeller (1957). Damn you, Walt Disney.


A true classic. One of my top 10 films of all time. The greatest coming-of-age film ever, a genre I usually don't like. Made before political correctness; you'll never see a real dog and real bear fight it out again. I cried for weeks when I first saw it. If you haven't seen this film yet, put it on your bucket list immediately.


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