I hate to cry. No matter the reason, I think whoever said it makes you feel better was a flipping nut. All it does for me is to cause a headache and make me tired, so I avoid it whenever possible.
With one exception…
A handful of movies I absolutely love. The kind that pretty much demand you have a box of tissues – and bottle of ibuprofen – handy. But sometimes a writer just needs inspiration…and I’m in dire need of that at the moment. So what did I choose?
A Walk To Remember.
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This movie is guaranteed to make me almost sob for most of the last half an hour…but it’s also chock full of romance, tenderness, and swoon-worthy moments. I mean…Shane West? Oh yeah.
In a nutshell, Landon Carter (West) and his friends have been making fun of the preacher’s daughter, Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), for quite some time. When he winds up in trouble and is forced to tutor underprivileged kids and take part in the school play…activities Jamie participates in simply because she’s a good and outgoing person…he gets to know the real her, and they fall in love.
I’m on the fence at this point. The movie is eleven years old, so the main plot is far from a secret…unless you haven’t seen it…so I won’t give anything away. I’ll just share some of my favorite parts with you.
Jamie has a list of things she wants to do, and Landon does his best to make as many as he can a reality.
My favorite scene in the movie has zero romance though. A little background for those who haven’t seen it. Landon’s father left his family for another woman. His mother forgave him, but throughout most of the movie, Landon is bitter and wants nothing to do with him. Until his dad does something so touching it finally brings the two back together.
If this doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you need to watch the whole movie.
This is from the play Landon was forced to participate in. If you watch the expressions on his face, you’ll see the moment when he realizes he actually cares about this girl. And as a heads up, the kiss wasn’t in the script. (the school script)
Now…. If you haven’t seen the movie, grab a box of tissues and head on over to Amazon.com (free instant video if you have Prime). If you don’t, rent it or buy it because it’s well worth the watch.
I may continue watching some of my favorite scenes, but I’m going to try to write a new chapter tonight.
Just as a side note, I was curious about the dedication, so I looked it up.
The inspiration for A Walk to Remember was Nicholas Sparks’ sister, Danielle Sparks Lewis, who died of cancer in 2000. You’ll need to click on ‘Background and Production.’ It doesn’t go into a whole lot of detail, but it’s interesting.
I have seen A Walk to Remember at least 15 times; also own it on VHS (tells you how long). Each time I see it, I cry.
Dianne…you wouldn’t believe how many VHS tapes I own…and A Walk to Remember is one of them. I don’t know that I’ve seen it more than half a dozen times, but it does make me cry every time, and I doubt that will ever change. Shane West plays his part too well to sit through it without tearing up. 🙂
I hate crying too. It is why I try to avoid movies like the one above, and it’s why I don’t read Nicholas Sparks. I haven’t watched a Nicholas Sparks movie in a long time because they always made me want to cry..I think The Notebook was the last one I watched.
Stormi…I don’t go out of my way to watch that kind of movie. My daughter is usually the one
naggingasking me to watch one with her. To my knowledge, all I’ve seen is A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, and Last Song, which I didn’t want to watch at all because I’m not a big Miley Cyrus fan…but it was surprisingly good…and I don’t remember crying. Whew! 🙂