History Main / InelegantBlubbering

* Pulled off beautifully by Stallone in ''Film/FirstBlood''.
-->We were in this bar in Saigon and this kid comes up, this kid carrying a shoe-shine box. And he says "Shine, please, shine!" I said no. He kept askin', yeah, and Joey said "Yeah." And I went to get a couple of beers, and the box was wired, and he opened up the box, fucking blew his body all over the place. And he's laying there, he's fucking screaming. There's pieces of him all over me, just... like this, and I'm tryin' to pull him off, you know, my friend that's all over me! I've got blood and everything and I'm tryin' to hold him together! I'm puttin'... the guy's fuckin' insides keep coming out! And nobody would help! Nobody would help! He's saying, sayin' "I wanna go home! I wanna go home!" He keeps calling my name! "I wanna go home, Johnny! I wanna drive my Chevy!" I said "With what? I can't find your fuckin' legs! I can't find your legs!"

* The hero of ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' when he discovers that his wife and child are dead. There's even snot involved. This was an actor and director decision and invoked intentionally. And it totally works.
** The original plan for the scene was for him to do a normal [[ManlyTears discreet-few-tears-down-each-cheek dignified cry]]... but Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott agreed that what Maximus was seeing demanded (as Crowe put it) a "full-blown snot-fest".

* Played for laughs with JP in ''Film/GrandmasBoy''. There were multiple strings of spit coming from his mouth, and his eyeliner was smudged as well.

* ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon''; Ichiban spends most of the last half hour after the final boss fight bawling and begging [[BigBadFriend Masato]] to pull a HeelFaceTurn and forget his ambitions. It almost works... [[spoiler: then Masato's lackey [[HeelFaceDoorslam guts him]] just as he comes to his senses.]]

Liable [[{{Narm}} to turn drama into unintentional comedy]] if mishandled. This can be done intentionally, as a form of {{Bathos}}. But [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools tropes are tools]], and this trope can be PlayedForDrama for a powerful {{Tearjerker}} too. When it's intentionally PlayedForLaughs, it can lead to the character wiping their eyes and blowing their nose on something that [[CouldntFindATissue isn't a tissue.]] Compare DeterioratesIntoGibberish. Contrast BeautifulTears, when someone's crying ''is'' considered to be pretty.

Liable [[{{Narm}} to turn drama into unintentional comedy]] if mishandled. This can be done intentionally, as a form of {{Bathos}}. But [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools tropes are tools]], and this trope can be PlayedForDrama for a powerful {{Tearjerker}} too. When it's intentionally PlayedForLaughs, it can lead to the character wiping their eyes and blowing their nose on something that [[CouldntFindATissue isn't meant for that purpose.]] Compare DeterioratesIntoGibberish. Contrast BeautifulTears, when someone's crying ''is'' considered to be pretty.

Liable [[{{Narm}} to turn drama into unintentional comedy]] if mishandled. This can be done intentionally, as a form of {{Bathos}}. But [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools tropes are tools]], and this trope can be PlayedForDrama for a powerful {{Tearjerker}} too. Compare DeterioratesIntoGibberish. Contrast BeautifulTears, when someone's crying ''is'' considered to be pretty.

* In ''Literature/ADrownedMaidensHair'', {{phony psychic}}s the Hawthorne sisters stage séances for grief-stricken customers. One of their easiest and most reliable marks is a man named Horace Burckhardt, who lost his wife Agnes to DeathByChildbirth thirty years ago, and always sobs hysterically while talking to "her." Hyacinth makes fun of him behind his back, calling him the Weeping Walrus and saying, "People shouldn't carry on like that unless they're good-looking."

* John Conner in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' completely loses it when he realizes that, in order to prevent Judgement Day, his guardian, friend, and father figure will have to perform an HeroicSacrifice. He is just a kid, though.

Liable [[{{Narm}} to turn drama into unintentional comedy]] if mishandled. This can be done intentionally, as a form of {{Bathos}}. Compare DeterioratesIntoGibberish. Contrast BeautifulTears, when someone's crying ''is'' considered to be pretty.

** In 1994, when Kim Il Sung died, they did just that. News reporters, factory workers, tough male soldiers, etc all pounded the pavement, wrung their fists, and wailed loudly.
** They did so likewise [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZsVP2WoE9E when Kim Jong Il died in December 2011]]. Again, it was mandatory (which make some viewers of footage of them inconsolably wailing think that they are feigning it).

* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': The guard on the Wizard's audience chamber.

* ''Fanfic/Law and Arson'', a Rescue Bots fanfiction, depicts Heatwave crying like this after breaking his leg while responding to an apartment fire.

* Whatever else you may say about him, American President UsefulNotes/RichardNixon loved [[HappilyMarried his wife]] and broke down at her funeral, sobbing openly, profusely, and at times uncontrollably during the ceremony.

A literary trope, mostly, since we do not have to see the character sobbing. Often lampshaded. Plus actors can more easily mimic tears than the full effect. You may, however, see this on reality tv or daytime talk shows where it's an actual person ugly-crying for real.

* ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'': After The Grinch’s heart grew three sizes he cried like this in warmth and remorse after he realized the true meaning of Christmas near the end of the movie.

* In ''{{Theatre/Pygmalion}}'' and ''Theatre/MyFairLady'', Eliza cries this way, especially in the earlier scenes before she learns ladylike manners. In the opening scene, her crying when Higgins insults her dialect is written in the script as "Oh, boo—hoo—oo—" and Higgins calls it "detestable boohooing." In a later scene, he also tells her that when she cries she looks "as ugly as the very devil."

A character cries. But not just any old crying, but full-on '''ugly''' crying. It tends to be loud, complete with a runny nose and red, puffy eyes. [[YourMakeupIsRunning If the character is wearing mascara, expect it to run — badly.]]

A character cries. It is not pretty. It tends to be ''loud''. Expect the character to, afterwards, need to blow his/her nose and have red, puffy eyes. [[YourMakeupIsRunning If any makeup is involved, expect it to run — badly.]]

A literary trope, mostly, since we do not have to see the character sobbing. Often lampshaded. Plus actors can more easily mimic tears than the full effect.

* Helen Parr in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' displays it when she thinks her husband is having an affair. Special focus is given to the numerous pieces of toilet paper she has been perusing. It's toilet paper and not tissues because this happens at Edna Mode's home and, "There's no crying at E's place."

* ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'': At one point in "The Four Is Lava", Gaty starts bawling her eyes out.
** ''Podcast/PretendingToBePeople'': After utterly failing most of their rolls in pursuit of a lead, the Contention boys are reduced to sitting on the sidewalk outside of the police station, sobbing.

* Kiyotaka Ishimaru from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' does this (complete with tears ''and'' sweat) [[spoiler:after Mondo Oowada is revealed as the murderer of Chihiro Fujisaki in Chapter 2 and he is executed at the end of the second trial]]. The scene is intensified in the anime version, where little puddles of tears are added to the effect.
** Himiko Yumeno from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' breaks down sobbing [[spoiler:when she finally expresses her grief over Angie and Tenko’s deaths in chapter 3.]]

* ''Fanfic/Law and Arson'', a Rescue Bots fanfiction, depicts Heatwave crying like this after breaking his leg while responding to an apartment fire.

* ''Shifts'' by Fernwithy covers ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' from the point of view of Remus (who spends most of it on Order business at Dudley's prep school.) Needless to say, the Inelegant Blubbering comes in near the end.
* ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'': Paul sobs his heart out on John. Later he wipes his nose on one of John's {{wing|edHumanoid}}s.
--> ''I deserve this,'' John reflected.
* ''Fanfic/{{Heirverse}}'': Pretty much everyone at some point though special mention goes to [[spoiler: Aizen in CF as he desperately tries not to break down in front of Gin and "fails miserably" as he bitterly [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] ]]
* ''Fanfic/RespawnOfTheDead'': In the {{prequel}}, Medic gets so drunk he throws up on Heavy after [[spoiler:kissing him for the first time]]. After Heavy cleans himself up, he comes back to find that Medic is crying in a completely undignified manner which would be totally unlike him [[InVinoVeritas if he hadn't just drunk eight beers]].
* ''Fanfic/SecretDreamer'': Several times, most notably in Chapter 10, when Severa [[spoiler:visits her father's grave]].

* Kurenai in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3665921/48/Black-Flames-Dance-In-The-Wind-Rise-of-Naruto Black Flames Dance in the Wind: Rise of Naruto]]'' is found by Asuma crying with snot running from her nose due to Naruto having hung Yakumo's paintings in her bedroom[[note]]Said paintings all depict either Kurenai's gruesome death or Yakumo committing suicide[[/note]] and leaving a clone behind to silently remind her of his very real threat to kill her.
* ''Fanfic/JuniorOfficers'' does this twice with Shellington:
** Once in "The Swell Shark" during [[spoiler:his mental breakdown]].
** Again in "River Riding Adventure, Part 2" while he [[spoiler:blames himself for Barnacles' injury]].
* In ''Fanfic/ThePandaChronicles'' chapter "Mama's Boy", [[WesternAnimation/TurningRed Jesse]] ugly cries over Aaron T. while begging for his forgiveness over not believing him about being sick.
* A picture from the ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity'' fan blog Ask-II-Humanized has Baseball [[https://ask-ii-humanized.tumblr.com/post/169750804942/things-have-been-gloomy-since-balloon-and wailing over Nickel's elimination]].