No matter how tough you are or how much you can bench, every guy has his tipping point.
Just as long as it’s not a scene from “The Notebook” or “Atonement.”
Here are the top 10 saddest moments in guy movie history.
10. Wyatt Earp is my friend. “Tombstone,” 1993
Perhaps Val Kilmer’s best role, his portrayal of Doc Holliday in the 1993 George P. Cosmatos film “Tombstone” has its own place in guy movie history, and no scene continues to pull more heart strings than “Wyatt Earp is my friend.” It sums up the bonds between friends and brothers, even in the face of adversity and long odds.
Turkey Creek Jack Johnson: Why you doin’ this, Doc?
Doc Holliday: Because Wyatt Earp is my friend.
Turkey Creek Jack Johnson:Hell, I got lots of friends.
Doc Holliday: …I don’t.
Maybe not the saddest moment, but if you shed a tear, it’s excused.
Val Kilmer starts us off, but another of his characters will cause one of the other moments on our list later on.
9. “The Outsiders” 1983
Christ. The whole freakin movie.
Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of the S.E. Hinton book that we’ve all read at some point goes down with “The Warriors” about the two best movies about white kids in gangs. (By the way, did you know that Diane Lane was in this movie? She still looks good…)
We’ll settle on the tearjerker scene when Johnny Cade dies.
So, this is what you get for helping people?
You punk!
Come on, Johnny, don’t die.
Come on, don’t die on me now.
Please!
Bastards!
8. The ending. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” 1969.
Damn Bolivans. Butch and Sundance and the Hole-in-the-Wall gang taught us to root for the bad guys sometimes.
7. “Don’t ever stop!” — Rocco dies. “Boondock Saints” 1999
Our shout out to Boston: The improbable of improbables, “Boondock Saints” was not a box office bomb, it was a nuclear explosion. But it’s one of the most popular action movies in New England.
Rocco, who taught us the true meaning of the f-word, dies toward the end of the movie, and it was sad to see the comic relief and general best friend die. But then again, every Italian in that movie died.
6. Remember us. “300” 2006
Dilios: “Remember us.” As simple an order as a king can give. “Remember why we died.” For he did not wish tribute, nor song, nor monuments nor poems of war and valor. His wish was simple. “Remember us,” he said to me. That was his hope, should any free soul come across that place, in all the countless centuries yet to be. May all our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones, “Go tell the Spartans, passerby, that here by Spartan law, we lie.”
5. William Wallace yells “freedom.” Braveheart 1995.
“Braveheart” is known for some of the best Middle Ages battle scenes in cinema history. The girlfriends watch it with us because of a cunning and deep love story, the loss of one woman and the arrival of another.
And this early quote draws emotion as well:
Young William: What are they doin’?
Argyle Wallace: Saying goodbye in their own way. Playing outlawed tunes on outlawed pipes.
4. Go to them. “Gladiator” 2000
A true warrior’s death. “Gladiator” was the first great film of the 21st century, and it had an ending worthy of a tear or two, even from a dude.
3. “Earn this.” “Saving Private Ryan” 1998
Tom Hanks has no small plaque on the guy movie hall of fame, but this tops the list with his moving character, Captain John H. Miller. When he dies, it’s … it’s just FUBAR man.
2. Mickey dies. “Rocky III” 1982
He trained, motivated and believed in Rocky Balboa. The loss of the trainer and mentor nearly destroys Rocky, and if you cried when Mickey said “I love ya kid” you’re certainly not alone.
1. Goose dies. “Top Gun” 1986
GOOSE!
So many guys have seen “Top Gun“, and many of us have seen it dozens and dozens of times and no matter how much poker is being played or beer is being consumed or laughs are being had, the room goes quiet when Goose dies.
“Top Gun” has a little bit of everything in the guy movie realm — best friends, competition, explosions, jet planes, a father complex, a hard-to-get girl, beach volleyball, and beer.
And it has led to a generation of women that find themselves serenaded to “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by the Righteous Brothers.
However, for these few minutes, we pause. There’s nothing funny going on.
Blast staff writer Daniel Peleschuk and several of John’s buds contributed to this report