On Watching Sad Movies

I've read the book, cried through the book and then finally, the movie based on the book shows up at the top of my Netflix queue and I pop it in the DVD player for some evening entertainment. There's a strange type of gravity that operates in the Cecil home as far as where the TV is and where the other denizens of the house are. Slowly, one by one, they are drawn downwards towards the flickering screen and other entranced viewers.
What movie am I talking about, you may ask? (Or, you may not ask...) Marley and Me, of course! Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston and a large golden retriever unite forces in this funny but ultimately tragic movie. My mom comes down first and assures me that, after having seen the last fifteen minutes of the movie, it is very sad. Of course it's sad! The movie ends with the dog's death! A slow, sad drawn-out death, too.
Patrick comes down next. The TV's on, it's rated PG. Score! I've never actually seen him cry during a movie so this one marks a first.
Once Annie's done with her shower, she joins us clad in a towel for the last twenty minutes of the movie. She knows it's a sad ending and repeatedly cries out, "I don't want to watch this!" and then her attention returns to the movie. Marley's too old to walk up the stairs, more cries that she doesn't like this movie. The tears come when Marley won't come inside the house. They take him to the vet but before they do, the family has to say their final goodbyes to this beloved monster. The floodgates open and Annie is actually crying. Not a few tears quickly wiped away in a dark room but tears accompanied by sobs, sniffs, the whole nine yards. I think that the only thing that kept her from cuddling with my mom was the fact that she was still only wearing a towel.
I'm crying too but as I observe Annie's hysterics, I can't help but laugh at her over-the-top reaction. She hates sad movies because they breach the "ice-queen" facade. Finally, the screen fades to black, I put the disk back in the Netflix envelope, and slip it in the mailbox. Hopefully, the next movie on my queue will be a comedy, for Annie's sake, at least.