Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most talked-about movies of the year, and it has become A24’s highest-grossing movie ever. The film is one of the most inventive sci-fi movies in recent years, but along with its bizarre adventure comedy, audiences were surprised by the sheer amount of heart too.
However, the multiversal movie is not the only film to throw audiences for a loop with its heartfelt message. Redditors have called to attention tons of movies that have way more heart than they were expecting. Between dramas starring comedy actors, a film about talking farm animals, and a popcorn flick based on a toy franchise, the most unexpected movies have made viewers shed a tear or two.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Being the latest of many multiverse movies, Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most ridiculous films in recent memory. The film is so creative and throws the wildest ideas at audiences and audaciously asks them to go along with it, including verse-jumping and overriding consciousnesses.
However, it’s soon revealed why all of this is happening, and it becomes more about a messy relationship between a mother and daughter than a random sci-fi movie for random’s sake. YagYuiJuBei notes, “It was indeed fun, but also had an exceptionally strong emotional core that the sense of humor complemented every step of the way.”
Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Be Kind Rewind follows two video store employees who accidentally erase the contents of every video, and they have to reshoot every movie themselves, but on a much lower budget. On the face of it, the film seems like just another wacky comedy where Jack Black screams his lines in his typical high-energy manner. And in some ways, that’s what audiences get, as he still dresses up like RoboCop and Miss Daisy.
However, Low-Cantaloupe9426 puts it best, explaining, “One of the most wholesome heartwarming endings I’ve seen.” Reshooting the movies itself becomes a business, and it brings the town’s small community together, and it reminds the town’s civilians of its art history.
Click (2006)
Click seems like another Adam Sandler sci-fi vehicle à la Pixels, and the movie is full of ridiculous humor. But it’s also a cautionary tale and viewers won’t want to make a single mistake in their lives after watching it, no matter how big or small. Stony_phased comments, “Was not ready for the gut punch at the end… This movie had a massive impact on how I see life, I still refer to it with my wife.”
While the film was not the most critically acclaimed movie in the world, many audiences thought Click was heart-wrenching too. However, the film’s ending falls into one huge eye-rolling cliche, as Michael (Sandler) wakes up on a bed and everything turned out to be a dream all along, ruining what impact the final act had.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles is one of the best and funniest Thanksgiving movies ever, as it follows an odd couple reluctantly working together to get home in time for the holiday. Jonovan notes that it’s way more heartwarming than they expected, but given that it’s written and directed by John Hughes, audiences would be silly not to expect some kind of life lesson or heartfelt ending.
The 1987 movie delivers on both of those fronts. However, if one Planes, Trains & Automobiles fan theory is correct, the movie isn’t remotely heartfelt at all and is actually completely sadistic, as some suspect that Del killed his wife and put her body is in his giant suitcase.
The Batman (2022)
Even though Batman is generally a dark property and every film in the franchise is dark and gritty, The Batman was absolutely pitch-black. Watching it on HBO Max, some viewers might even wonder what’s wrong with their TV settings. And there’s a suitably fitting dark tone too. But as the final scene sees Batman and Catwoman saying goodbye in the daylight, Alive_Ice7937 explains, “For a film that’s got a pretty grim tone overall, it ends on a surprisingly romantic note.”
However, many have noted that the scene is familiar to the final sequence in Furious 7 when Dom and Brian are cruising along the street until they reach a crossroad. And once the audience sees it, they can’t unsee it, and that thought might ruin the scene for fans forever, especially if they imagine Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” playing over the top.
Bumblebee (2018)
After Transformers: The Last Knight made just $ 600 million in 2017, the series was on its last legs. That number sounds like a lot of money, but with a budget of $ 217 million (as per The Numbers), a marketing budget of the same amount, and the movie theaters’ cut, the film left multiplexes still in the red. As a result, Paramount made the brave decision to dial the series back and make a smaller but more cohesive story.
That movie ended up being 2018’s Bumblebee. Tilfordkage explains, “Watched with my kids expecting a silly action movie, was pleasantly surprised.” Following five huge action movies, a heartfelt narrative is the last thing any general audience would expect, but it ended up being a great movie in a bad franchise.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Younger audiences wouldn’t have had a clue about how emotional Top Gun: Maverick was going to be. Based on the movie’s huge box office success, thousands of audiences were expecting some realistic action sequences and weren’t prepared to be crying like babies. This deleted user did exactly that.
The Redditor mentions, “Went in expecting an action movie with guys wearing leather jackets and aviators. Got out of the theater having cried like three times and got a bunch of chills.” Viewers go for the epic jet sequences, and they stay for the compelling relationships, but nothing is half as emotional as the return of Iceman.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home is the eighth live-action Spider-Man movie, and it’s full of the typical exciting web-slinging that audiences have come to expect. However, it’s also by far the most unexpectedly emotional Spider-Man movie. TareXmd explains, “The last Spiderman. I cried like 3-4 times …”
The 2021 MCU movie had three different generations of fans crying rivers. And though the Amazing Spider-Man series is the least loved of the three, Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker has the most emotional moments. The moment when he saves MJ from falling to her death will have grown men struggling to hold back tears.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
It seems like Redditors watching movies based on comedy actors’ leading roles and being shocked by the unexpected drama is a recurring theme. Along with Jack Black in Be Kind Rewind and Adam Sandler in Clickaudiences probably switched on Stranger Than Fiction expecting an outrageous Will Ferrell romp.
Russellamcleod puts it best, noting, “The trailers for Stranger Than Fiction did not prepare me for what I was about to see. “In fairness, the trailer did depict the film as a laugh-out-loud comedy, but it’s instead a surreal dramedy that interweaves fantastic elements and Shakespearean-like tragic events, and it’s completely unique.
Babe (1995)
Babe is about a group of talking farm animals and, on paper, it sounds like a live-action DreamWorks movie. But the 1995 movie is so much more than that. And Rosebunse points out, “From the man who brought you Mad Max! “The Redditor is referring to George Miller who wrote Babe’s screenplay and also created the Mad Max movie franchise.
But that’s hardly surprising, as the Mad Max movies have a surprising amount of heart in them too. The most recently released Mad Max: Fury Road does a great job at depicting a dystopian future without using any expositional dialogue, and Max and Furiosa form an unexpectedly heartfelt bond.
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