20 Comedy Movies That Were So Emotional That They Also Made People Cry

Some of the best comedy movies did not become successful just because they had hilarious jokes and punchlines. They gained popularity because they also portrayed some elements of sadness along with the theme of joy.

#1 P.S. I Love You

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“Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) loses the love of her life when Gerry Kennedy (Gerard Butler), her husband, passes away from an illness. Gerry makes preparations since he is aware of how Holly will react to his passing. She starts to get letters from him starting on her 30th birthday that are meant to help her cope with her loss and inspire her to start fresh.”

#2 When Harry Met Sally

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“Following the lives of Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan), who cross paths repeatedly throughout their lives, is the movie When Harry Met Sally. Although their bond is immediately apparent, one of them is usually in a relationship when they first meet. Additionally, they had a turbulent relationship from the start, always arguing and fighting.

The happy ending between Harry and Sally is inevitable, but what makes it so wonderful is how they came to be together. Following years of passive-aggressive/will-they-won’t-they tension, Harry decides to abandon the act and surprises Sally at a New Year’s Eve party. Instead of merely asking her out, he tells her all the things about her that he adores in a romantic monologue about creating a life together. Nothing compares to the original monologue, which has been recreated and imitated in contemporary film.”

#3 50/50

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“It may seem difficult to believe, but there is a comedy about the highs and lows of a friendship when one of the characters is diagnosed with terminal cancer. The comedy is excellent and witty, but it is also unavoidably depressing.

With his comedic timing and sense of humor, Seth Rogen never fails to make audiences laugh, but in the movie 50/50, he manages to give a heartfelt portrayal as the devoted friend of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character who is fighting cancer and whose prognosis is denoted by the title. Due to the situation’s ambiguity, there are both ups and downs (laughing/in need of tissues).”

#4 American Graffiti

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“The groundbreaking teen comedy American Graffiti, which is set in 1962, depicts a group of freshmen high school graduates on their last day before heading off to college. Even after so many years, this movie still evokes warm memories. One reason for that might be the ending, which discloses that two characters perished in vehicle accidents and one went missing in Vietnam following the events of the film.

Even if it would ruin the movie’s innocent tone, this has to happen. Lucas aimed to make American Graffiti nostalgic while maintaining a sense of realism. The early 1960s were fantastic for many people in Lucas’s generation because of their youth. As they grew older, they saw that the world is not as innocent as they once thought. American Graffiti’s climax demonstrates this.”

#5 Planes, Trains And Automobiles

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“The message that Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is trying to convey is that nobody should have to spend the holidays alone. The plot centers on Neal (Steve Martin), who makes it home in time for Thanksgiving while traveling with Del (the late John Candy). Planes, Trains, and Automobiles laid the foundation for numerous improbable buddy road-trip movies to come, despite not being the first of its sort.

After their arduous, protracted voyage, Neal and Del say their goodbyes at the railway station at the end of the movie. After experiencing a sense of relaxation, Neal sits by himself on the train and thinks back on his time with Del. His flashbacks reveal a hidden indication that he had been missing the entire time: Del is alone. Neal hurries back to find Del out of sentimentality. Del joins Neal and his family for Thanksgiving as the movie comes to a close. Even though the movie spends a lot of time doing ridiculous things, the conclusion is quite heartbreaking.”

#6 Roman Holiday

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“A European princess (Audrey Hepburn) touring post-war Europe runs away from the unrelenting and suffocating responsibilities of her station and spends 24 magical hours in Rome with a dashing American newspaper reporter (Gregory Peck), who realizes he’s stumbled into the biggest story of his career. This story is so simple that it has been recycled countless times in the decades that have followed.

Despite spending most of the movie lying to one another, the two finally come to terms with the fact that they are soulmates. They both realize that they cannot be together despite their strong connection, and the princess returns to her duties with a newfound sense of independence over her life. She bids the reporter farewell in the closing shot as she gets ready to leave for her native nation. We watch as he departs on his own, having experienced true love for a fleeting moment, through the elaborate corridors of the Roman Colosseum.”

#7 The Big Lebowski

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“Yes, there is an emotional conclusion in a film about a guy (the dude) who spends the entire time in his pajamas and a Walter (John Goodman) who chastises the audience. In The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges plays Jeffrey Lebowski, also known as “The Dude,” who just wants to go bowling with his pals and live a straightforward existence until a case of mistaken identification completely changes everything. The Dude eventually finds a way to escape the situation and return to the bowling alley, but not without suffering some negative effects. Donny (Steve Buscemi), a friend of the Dude and Walter who hangs out with them at the bowling alley, is the actual tragedy in the movie. He occasionally says one or two innocent things, but Walter keeps telling him to be quiet. The two pals barely shed any tears when Donny dies after a heart attack. It’s awful to see someone so kind get pushed aside, but the Dude and Walter sprinkle Donny’s ashes over an oceanside cliff in a moving and unforgettable scene at the end of the movie.”

#8 Don’t Look Up

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“The movie Don’t Look Up depicts the tale of two scientists who, upon learning that a comet is heading toward Earth, make every effort to warn the public of its potentially fatal repercussions. The sad/funny thing is that nobody seems to give a damn.

This satirical movie shows what happens to essential news in the present age, which causes the main characters to experience amusing situations while trying to save everyone. The majority of the characters are oblivious, especially Jonah Hill’s character, which allows for many funny and quotable comments. Everything is amusing up until the horrible ending, which leaves the world feeling bleak.”

#9 Dr. Strangelove

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“One of the best political satire films ever created is largely recognized as Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. The 1964 masterpiece parodied the Cold War that was still in progress, but like other timeless classics, Duck Soup (1933) and The Great Dictator, its satire’s bigger messages and philosophies are still just as important today. The destruction of all life on Earth by nuclear war marks the movie’s ominous conclusion.

Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again” is used in the movie, and it lends a bittersweet irony to the great visual punchline. The juxtaposition of “We’ll Meet Again” with nuclear conflict highlighted the futility of optimism from World War II in the era of nuclear weapons and mutually assured destruction.”

#10 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

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“Marvel Studios has blended action with hefty amounts of humor (not always to everyone’s taste) ever since Iron Man rocked the world in 2008. The first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies are the most humorous of all of their tentpole franchises, therefore it seems appropriate to classify them as comedies. Surprisingly, before Thanos snapped his fingers at the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War, they were the two MCU movies with the most pathos.

While the first Guardians of the Galaxy featured a few intense emotional moments (anyone remember “We Are Groot”? ), Vol. 2 ends with a funeral. Although Yondu’s funeral is ultimately redeeming and heartfelt, it is still a funeral for the surrogate father figure who, like Groot in the previous movie, gives his life so that his loved ones can survive. Young and old viewers alike certainly weren’t prepared for the closing scene of this summer blockbuster to feature a close-up of a talking raccoon sobbing as he sees his comrade laid to rest.”

#11 In Bruges

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“Hit guys Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) travel to Belgium to hide out after a particularly challenging job. When they arrive in the medieval city, Ray despises it, but Ken is enchanted by its beauty and tranquility. Their encounters with visitors, locals, an American dwarf, and a prospective romance for Ray make their experiences seem more and more bizarre and possibly life-altering.”

#12 The Grand Budapest Hotel

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“Wes Anderson is renowned for directing lighthearted yet depressing tragicomedies that manage to maintain a delicate tonal balance. In line with real life, there are portions of Anderson’s films that will make you laugh out loud and other parts that will make you cry. At Royal’s funeral, The Royal Tenenbaums comes to an end. The documentary filmmaker Steve Zissou suffers a second loss towards the conclusion of The Life Aquatic.

And in The Grand Budapest Hotel, probably Anderson’s crowning achievement, Ralph Fiennes’ hypercamp concierge M. Gustave is assassinated by a fascist military squad while defending his dependable lobby boy Zero from unjust accusations. One of M. Gustave’s most adored sayings is repeated in Zero’s voiceover narration: “There are still faint glimmers of civilization surviving in this savage abattoir that was once known as humanity.””

#13 Intouchables

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“A wealthy quadriplegic (François Cluzet) and his recently discharged caretaker (Omar Sy) form an odd bond. With the last scene showing the real people who inspired the characters, this movie has quite a heart touching ending.”

#14 Marley & Me

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“People who went to see this family comedy, which centers around a lovable, troublesome dog probably didn’t expect it to end with the titular Marley being put to sleep after suffering an attack of gastric dilation volvulus. However, any movie about a pet’s life can probably be expected to set the waterworks flowing (see Old Yeller).

There were undoubtedly a lot of crying children (and adults) as the lights came up on this one. It’s true that the movie finishes with his family burying him and paying their respects, so it’s not like there isn’t a huge heaping dose of emotional catharsis. It still has resonance today, since “Marley & Me ending” is always the second result in any Google search for the movie.”

#15 Harold And Maude

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“This cult favorite stars Gordon as a lovable, quirky 80-year-old and Cort as a deadpan disillusioned 20-year-old who is fascinated with s*icide. They meet at a funeral and begin a forbidden romantic relationship in which they look at the tired question of what life is all about from new angles.”

#16 Napoleon Dynamite

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“Many individuals don’t fully grasp the significance of the unique movie Napoleon Dynamite. The movie, which is frequently criticized for its “plotlessness,” is really about how someone like Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) moves through it. He has a developmental disability (possibly Asperger’s syndrome) that makes him socially awkward, and the main focus of the movie is how the kid finds it difficult to carry out everyday tasks like attend prom or perform in a talent show.

That’s why the conclusion is so powerful. Napoleon realizes he’s happier just doing the things he enjoys after jumping through hoops to have what he believes to be a normal life, including asking the snobby popular girl Trisha (Emily Kennard) to the school dance and trying to get his best friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) elected school president. Napoleon is playing tetherball by himself when Deb (Tina Majorino), a girl who could have made him happy the entire time had he not tried to step outside of his comfort zone, joins him in the movie. The scene is the most fitting conclusion Napoleon could have imagined.”

#17 Meet The Parents

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“Robert De Niro played an irate grandfather in the irreverent, outlandish family comedy Meet the Parents, which also inspired sequels and got a generation of youngsters talking about milking cats. In order to get permission to marry Pam’s (Teri Polo) daughter, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) meets Pam’s parents for the first time in the movie. The sole issue? Jack (De Niro), the father of Pam, is an ex-CIA agent whose goal is to make Greg’s life as difficult as possible.

Greg chooses to give up and board the next flight home after being psychologically tortured for virtually the whole movie. Jack rushes to correct his error and meets Greg at the airport after realizing that he had driven a nice man away. In a very moving scene, Jack asks Greg to be his son-in-law as the movie comes to a close. The film’s moving conclusion turns it from a terrifying in-laws fever dream to a heartwarming family romp.”

#18 The Purple Rose Of Cairo

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“This may be the most well-received film that Woody Allen and Mia Farrow collaborated on during their heyday in the 1980s. Its ending, which is still totally terrible all these years later, accounts for a big portion of that.

In her role as Cecilia, Farrow portrays a downtrodden housewife from the 1930s. She tries to escape the misery of her daily reality by turning to the solace of the movies while trapped in an abusive, loveless marriage. She has a particular obsession with a brand-new comedy-adventure movie starring handsome archeologist Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). When Tom, a fictional character, discovers Cecilia seated in the audience, he acquires awareness through the power of magic. In order to be with her, he actually emerges off the movie screen. The real-life Tom actor, Gil Shepherd (Daniels, doing double duty), turns up and falls in love with Cecilia, making her decision to leave her beast of a husband difficult.

She must choose between staying in the actual world with Gil and leaving with Tom, and she chooses the latter. She learns that Gil never genuinely loved her though after Tom left. To convince Tom to return to his world, he was merely lying to her. Cecilia returns to the theater to see a new movie while homeless and devastated. In the final scene, Cecilia can be seen grinning through her tears and escaping her pain through the magic of movies. But we are aware that this reprieve is very momentary.”

#19 Mrs. Doubtfire

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“In Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Williams plays actor Daniel Hillard, who devises a scheme to pose as a housekeeper named Mrs. Doubtfire in order to see his children following a contentious divorce that left him without custody. Before being revealed as Daniel towards the conclusion of the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire improves Miranda’s (Sally Field) and their three kids’ lives by staying on full-time.

Miranda would often accept Daniel’s Mrs. Doubtfire impression as delightful and warmly welcome him back to the family in most other family comedies. Still, Mrs. Doubtfire doesn’t go the simple approach. In the end, Miranda does allow Daniel back into their lives, but only so he can visit the kids sometimes unattended. Although it isn’t the anticipated joyful conclusion, it is more representative of the lives of separated families. Big obnoxious gestures won’t bring a family back together; instead, the key is learning to get along, and that’s precisely what it teaches. The movie concludes with a heartfelt sequence in which Daniel concedes that to have a good relationship with his family, he will have to follow Miranda’s rules, as well as a tearful speech on his new television program about the value of family.”

#20 (500) Days Of Summer

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“Writer of greeting cards and hopeless romantic Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is taken entirely by surprise when Summer (Zooey Deschanel) abruptly breaks up with him. Tom rediscovers his actual joys in life as he thinks back on their 500 days together to try to understand why their relationship soured.”