by Nikki Everett

Created on: December 03, 2009

Every guy has had a laugh at how emotional women can be while watching movies they refer to as "chick flicks". But everyone knows those same guys probably had a time or two their eyes welled up with tears as they were touched by the magic of Hollywood's tug on their heartstrings.

The reason we know is because almost everyone has experienced it at least once in their lifetime. It may have been while watching Disney's, Bambi, when they were 5 years old - the mother deer dying gets me still - but there are moments caught in the making of movies that can touch an audience intimately. As in any quality film, it takes the total sum of the fine acting skills, cinemetography, and stellar script writing to make the right mixture for a tearjerking scene.

Grief is an emotion we all can relate to and when portrayed with authenticity the results can be a movie scene that utterly guts you In Steel Magnolias, M'Lynn's ( Sally Field) grief through the death of her daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts) sends most into tears everytime. The sheer rawness of her emotions show with every shot of her face and the scene in the cemetary will have you reaching for the last of your tissues. The greatest part of this scene is when you laugh through the tears as Ouiser (Shirley McLaine) gets offered up to be slapped by Clairee (Olympia Dukakis).

The grief becomes the viewer's own as they become fond of not only those around a character that dies, but also when that character is likable. When Forrest's (as played by Tom Hanks) beloved Jenny dies in Forrest Gump, there isn't a dry eye in the house. Especially when Forrest stands under the tree they sat in as children and tells her gravestone about their child growing up, it's a scene likely to cause at least a lump in the throat.

In some movies, you can begin to love the most unlikely of characters like criminals and prisoners. Perhaps it is human nature to want to see those who have learned their lessons set free or maybe it is to find that one element in a criminal which reminds you of their humanity. In the Green Mile, John Coffey is a criminal wrongly accused who ultimately dies in the electric chair. After John facilitates several miracles happening, you watch with gut wrenching sadness as the switch is thrown.

Hollywood has been capable of making us cry when a dog dies as if he were our very own long lost pal. At the ripe age of 7 years old, the movie Old Yeller made a lump in my throat as big as a boulder and tears streamed from my eyes. And just when I thought there would never be another movie to make me cry with abandon over a dog, Marley and Me with Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson proved me wrong. Not only will you laugh at Marley, the world's worst dog, while he destroys their house, but you grow to love him. Bring a whole box or two of tissues with you for the ending because you'll need them.

There are hundreds of film scenes which have touched that special place deep within us invoking a flood of tears. Male or female - it matters not - we all are capable of relenting to the power of a good script, good acting, excellent camera work and the emotions that a blended mix of them can bring to surface. Without all those moments, most movies would bore you to tears instead.

Learn more about this author, Nikki Everett.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.