Oh, they’ll sneak up on you. You’ll be chuckling along with a funny movie when suddenly – hey, what’s that lump in your throat all about? They get you when your guard is down, those comedies with little bits of sadness tucked in. If you’re looking for a movie that’ll make you laugh AND tug at your heartstrings, I’ve got just the list for you:

Planes, Trains , and Automobiles. This Steve Martin/John Candy movie could be called an anti-buddy-comedy. Forced by circumstances to travel together (via planes, trains… you can guess the rest) from New York to Chicago at Thanksgiving time, Neal (Martin) can’t wait to be rid of the over-exuberant Del (Candy), but then softens when he learns more of Del’s story.

Big . Tom Hanks plays a boy who wakes up in the body of a grown man. Hanks is adorable as the suddenly “big” Josh trying to navigate in the adult world. Watch out for the ending, though, have tissues ready!

Sideways. Melancholy Miles (Paul Giamatti) takes his more gregarious friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church)  through wine country on a buddy-trip before Jack ties the knot. Lots of wine and hi-jinks ensue, revealing much about the lead characters. Miles can be a real “Debby Downer”, which is played to comedic effect, but some of the realizations on this boy’s trip are a little more melancholy.

The Bucket List. Ok, with a title like this you could probably guess that something sad might be on the horizon. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman mine the situation laughs, though, as a billionaire and a mechanic who share a hospital room after being diagnosed with terminal illnesses. Working on a list of things they want to do before they die becomes a healing exercise for both.

Click. Wait, this is an Adam Sandler movie. There’s no crying in Adam Sandler movies! Well, get ready to be proven wrong. In this movie Sandler plays a workaholic husband and father who finds a remote control device that lets him pause, fast-forward, and rewind events in his life.  Of course, he comes to many realizations, mainly that the things that he thought were important in his life, aren’t.

In Bruges. This comedy about a suicidal hit man is admittedly pretty dark, but the writing and performances in this film really pull you in, and the scenes between the hit man Ray (Colin Farrell) and his partner (Brendon Gleeson) can be particularly affecting.

Little Miss Sunshine. Dysfunctional family road trip! Everyone is this family has issues, but they all pile into a barely-working van to drive young Olive (wonderfully played by Abigail Breslin) to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine contest. Funny moments are peppered with poignant ones, and you’re bound to tear up at least once along the way.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Another road trip movie. Why are road trips the perfect vehicle for sad comedies? In this one, an unstoppable asteroid is hurtling toward Earth and certain annihilation. What to do in the days you have left? One man (Steve Carrell) decides to drive off and find his high school sweetheart before the world ends. He’s joined on his quest by his quirky neighbor (Keira Knightly), and hilarity ensues. But there’s still that asteroid out there…

WALL-E. In this animated movie from Pixar, WALL-E is a trash-collecting robot on a deserted and ravaged planet Earth. After years alone on the planet, another robot suddenly appears,  giving WALL-E a new purpose. Funny and endearing, you’ll root for the little guy as he tries to interact with his environment and save the future of the planet.

Up. All right, Pixar, enough with the heartstring-pulling! A retired balloon salesman rigs up his house with thousands of balloons, and he (and his house) sail off into the sunset. Except he has a stowaway, an eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer Scout named Russell. The unlikely duo have many adventures along the way, and of course learn many valuable lessons about life and love.