What a perfect Christmas card photo this would be: Rudolph-themed stuffed animals, ornaments from several generations decorating the tree, adorable cat nestled in the tree skirt… wait. The cat definitely has a look which says: “Back away from me now and I won’t sharpen my claws on your camera.” That look is why I’ve never tried to dress up my cats in adorable holiday-themed sweaters and hats. I prefer to keep my skin intact.It will surprise no one that I’m not a “fluffy bunny sweetness and light” person. Yet at Christmas this strange hidden side of me appears, causing me to watch cute holiday cartoons. I have been known get all sniffly at certain holiday movies. I even sport a pair of reindeer antlers complete with lights.
Since I still have to function as a normal human, I’ll cut myself off before the sentiment incapacitates me. For instance, I haven’t watched It’s a Wonderful Life in about ten years, because I blubber like an idiot at the same scene every time. Every time! You know the one: Where George Bailey runs back onto the bridge after seeing how Mary’s life turned out. He starts praying “I want to live again” and it starts to snow, signaling us that everything’s back to normal. I could keep the Kleenex company in business on that movie alone.
I even used to cry at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We haven’t yet wat
ched it this year, so I can’t say for sure I’ve become a hardened character regarding the moment the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes.So—tell me I’m not alone here! What holiday screenwriting is so brilliant that it makes you cry every time? What favorite book is so well written that you love it but won’t reread it unless you’re alone in the house and have a stack of tissues ready? I’ve listed my major two, and I’ll add the movie Scrooged. Guess which places. Yep. The scene where the adult Bill Murray sees his mother and the scene at the end where he asks Karen Allen to come back to him.
As for books: One of my “needs Kleenex” reads is Patricia Wentworth’s Nothing Venture. The other one is The Brother’s Keeper by Tracy Groot, at whose keyboard I grovel. I've memorized whole passages from these books without even trying. The former pushes all my "romantic gal" buttons. Trust me on the latter: My groveling is well deserved.
Okay, it’s your turn. I’ve got plenty of boxes of tissues ready. Let the blubbering begin!
8 comments:
Alice, my daughter and I have been watching all the Christmas movies on the Hallmark and Family channels. It doesn't take much to get the tears flowing, even at the corniest.
I find since I've had kids that I cry a lot easier. Anything Little House on the Prairie will do it for me. Dang you, Pa.
As for books, I avoid stuff that makes me cry. That's how shallow I am.
I confess, I’m a crier. Like you Alice, I cry during both It's a Wonderful Life and the Grinch and, for good measure, the original Miracle on 34th Street. As for books, I still remember sobbing uncontrollably during the part in The World According to Garp when Walt dies. And I cried all throughout the Book of Ruth. I’ve even cried at the ending of a couple of my own books, and not because they were finally finished. How silly is that?
I'm known to be a weeper--at movies, weddings, funerals, graduations, etc. Even when I'm writing a sad scene in one of my manuscripts, tears will start running down my face. Stoicism is just not my thing.
So, here's my wish for all Midnight Ink blog readers--that you have such a happy holiday season, tears of joy run down your cheeks!
Hey, Alice, I've been known to cry watching TV commercials. Remember those Kodak moments? Got me every time. The other night I was watching SOUTH PACIFIC. I've seen both the show, movie, and TV movie versions countless times, but I still bawl at the end.
As for Christmas movies, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET will do it to me every time, and then there's A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS. I try to counteract those by laughing through A CHRISTMAS STORY at least once each season.
I think the book that made me cry the most was Patricia Gaffney's THE SAVING GRACES. When you read a book written by a romance author, you expect a happy ending. Didn't happen.
What? Me cry? (Okay, I do.) But usually not over Christmas movies. Anything with someone winning against the odds. RUDY does it for me everytime. Have a Merry Christmas, Alice.
Augh, I forgot about Miracle on 34th Street. The moment when Natalie Wood makes them stop the car and runs into the house Santa promised. Oy.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Kleenex-free night!
I'll second the "Miracle on 34th Street." For some reason, the scene at the post office makes me tear up. :)
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