Watching another person cry is an uncomfortable and intense experience, even when that person
is only on a screen.
When done well, crying scenes can pack a powerful and emotional punch, but there are plenty
of crying scenes are just plain awkward to sit through.
From unintentionally hilarious to just plain cringe-worthy, here are some of the worst.
Very sad spoilers ahead.
The Room
In the climax of Tommy Wiseau's cult classic The Room, Johnny has just lost everything.
His fiancee has left him, his best friend hates him, and his life has proven to be just
a shallow mirage.
In his rage and grief, he destroys the apartment he once shared with Lisa, the love of his
life.
The problem is that, as anybody who has seen this so-bad-it's-good film can attest, Wiseau's
acting prowess resembles that of an alien asked to replicate human behavior after watching
two episodes of Days of Our Lives.
"I did not hit her, it's not true!
It's bulls---!
I did not hit her.
I did naht!
O hai, Mark."
As Johnny flails about in a cyclone of destruction, his bizarre, guttural wailing takes the awkwardness
of this scene to the next level.
"Ahhhh!
Why, Lisa, why.
WHY?"
It almost sounds like he's crying, but the discerning eye would be hard-pressed to find
any real tears on Wiseau's face.
The scene is horrific, surreal and hard to watch, but then again, so is the rest of The
Room.
Vampire's Kiss
Nobody does over-the-top quite like Nicolas Cage.
From his bonkers performance in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans to the magnum opus
that is The Wicker Man, he sets a high bar for the overdramatic.
"Oh, no!
NOT THE BEES!
Not the bees!"
But those movies don't hold a candle to how over the top Cage gets in Vampire's Kiss.
The film is full of classic bits, but if there's a single moment that embodies the awkward
glory of Cage's performance, it's when he cries.
His character has just tried to off himself, but the gun he was using was loaded with blanks.
In his anguish, he whimpers quietly before erupting into bombastic hoots.
"BWHOOOOO!"
Cage's filmography is filled with classic amped-up emotional breakdowns like this, but
Vampire's Kiss is definitely one of the most memorable.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Daniel Radcliffe has turned in many memorable performances starring in the Harry Potter
series, expertly nailing moments of comedy, tragedy, and the trials of adolescence.
But when you play the same character for as long as he has, you're bound to have a few
moments that fall flat.
At the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry has just witnessed the return
of the evil Voldemort, as well as the death of his friend Cedric Diggory Teleporting from
this nightmare back into the epic conclusion of the Triwizard Tournament, the contrast
between Harry's grief and the jubilant, oblivious crowd is chilling.
It doesn't help when Jeff Rawle, playing Cedric's father, swoops in and overacts as well.
"WAHHHHHHH!"
With two actors uncomfortably sobbing over a corpse, the scene shifts from poignant to
just plain awkward.
A scene like this isn't supposed to be fun to watch, but it's also probably not supposed
to be this uncomfortable.
Moulin Rouge!
It's a safe bet that director Baz Luhrmann never learned the meaning of 'subtlety.'
While this has often led to some of the most sweeping, beautiful and unforgettable scenes
in film history, other times… not so much.
"They're trying to kill you!"
"Shut up!"
This duality is best exemplified in Moulin Rouge!, where audiences are left squirming
through some comedically over-the-top crying from Ewan McGregor.
In the film's climax, McGregor's character Christian is caressing the body of his love,
Satine, who has just died in his arms.
Christian begins with some soft whimpering, but soon revs up to an almost musical crescendo.
"UNGH HUH HUNH HUHHH!"
Considering that the film is a musical, this isn't entirely inappropriate.
While Luhrmann includes many scenes in Moulin Rouge! that were actually SUPPOSED to be funny,
this crying scene is probably the funniest moment in the entire film.
Signs
The most vulnerable scene in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs is carried out by four very talented
and capable actors.
Unfortunately, with a family eating what they believe will be their last meal before an
alien invasion, we get a prime example of there being too much talent in one room.
"Stop crying!"
"Graham..."
"Don't yell at her!"
"Alright…"
Everyone in this scene is a wonderful actor, but with all the weeping and Mel Gibson aggressively
stabbing at his food, the scene goes past poignant and into hilarious.
It's hard not to laugh as an all-American family breaks down over french toast and spaghetti.
Rocky III
The Rocky franchise is a national treasure, and Sylvester Stallone brings the iconic,
eponymous boxer to life with an emotional fragility that has endeared him to audiences.
That emotion is front and center when Rocky has to say goodbye to his dying trainer.
A heavyweight boxer sobbing crocodile tears down his smashed-up face is obviously not
gonna be pretty.
But man, is it tough to watch.
[inaudible Rocky mumbling]
The scene is heartbreaking, but Stallone's overacting takes it from tragedy to unintentional
comedy.
We may love Rocky for how in touch he is with his emotions, but Stallone may have done his
job a bit too well this time.
The Spider-Man trilogy
There are few cinematic wailers better (or worse, depending on your perspective) than
Tobey Maguire.
In Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Maguire cries so much as Peter Parker that it was
tough to narrow things down to just one scene.
When he's not fighting crime, you're bound to find him scrunching his face up into a
tiny ball of despair.
That said, Peter Parker is a great character precisely because of how human he is.
There's honestly a lot to love about how strange Maguire looks when he cries, because let's
be real: we all look awful when we cry.
Real tears are ugly.
As uncomfortable as it may be to watch, Maguire's waterworks in the Spider-Man movies are about
as real as they get, meme-worthy facial expressions and all.
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