1991 Kids Movie Delivered a Generation's First Heartbreak
For many millennials and Gen X viewers, My Girl was the first movie that truly broke their hearts. The 1991 coming-of-age film follows 11-year-old Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) and her best friend 10-year-old Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin) for an adventurous summer that ends in tragedy-and many fans still aren't over the ending today. (Spoilers ahead ...)
In November 1991, the warm nostalgic tone of the My Girl marketing, released just ahead Thanksgiving break, wooed us into believing the movie was just a sweet buddy film. The clips in trailer make the film seem so "small-town summer of 1972." Vada and Thomas J. ride their bikes around, saying all these funny, enjoyable lines. Even the soundtrack behind the preview is the chipper 1964 "My Girl" hit song by The Temptations. But all that was foolery.
Once they got eager movie fans in the theater seats, they pulled a fast one. Thomas J. goes into the woods alone, looking for his BFF Vada's lost ring, and the script takes an emotional turn that forever shocked young viewers.
Even when Thomas J. naively kicked that beehive, nothing tipped viewers off to what was coming. Soon enough, the bees were swirling and stinging him, but at the most, this would mean a scary hospitalization, right? Wrong.
In the next scene, without warning, sweet Thomas J. is pronounced dead. Viewers learn the terrible news of Thomas J.'s untimely death at the same time as young Vada. Vada's innocent face drops from a smile to dreadful realization, and the impact of this unforgettable moment emotionally eviscerated audiences.
And the My Girl creators weren't done yet either. Together with Vada, viewers must walk through devastation and grief. Moviegoers, too, sit on the stairs in Vada's house (also a funeral home), looking in at Thomas J. in his tiny coffin. When Vada approaches the open casket, bawling and saying the iconic line, "He can't see without his glasses!" audiences were crushed right along with her. When poor broken Vada took off on that desperate, mad dash down the street, viewers wanted to make that same kind of exit from the theater. Get us out of here!
Decades later, the film's heartbreaking ending still ranks among the saddest movie moments ever. Popular entertainment sites continue to place My Girl alongside some of cinema's most emotional tearjerkers. Fans voted the movie No. 1 on Ranker's "12 Kids Movies With Really Depressing Endings." Collider includes My Girl in their "10 Best Movies About Childhood Trauma, Ranked." And one Collider critic even calls the movie "One of the Most Emotionally Devastating Movies of All Time."
Related: 1987 Movie Ballad Became a Love Song That Defined a Generation
For many '90s kids and teens, the shocking death in the movie My Girl was their first encounter with death and grief. The desire to rewind, go back, start over was overwhelming. Sad things do happen. People we love die. We could die! The pretty picture of childhood innocence became stained and curled at the edges. More horror movie than family movie, it was impossible to unsee and unfeel this story.
While the movie wrecked young hearts, it was also so darn well done. The film builds a believable, cherished friendship. It taps into all the realness of growing up and being frustrated by our parents and confused by our feelings and the world.
Chlumsky's emotional authenticity in the role of Vada is bar none. The young actress did more with her eyes than most actors can do with their whole bodies. And this is Culkin during during his peak Home Alone famousness, yet he switched it up and took on this unexpected and emotional role, and it worked! It really worked!
Decades later, My Girl still occupies a unique place in pop culture-not just as a coming-of-age movie, but as one of the first times many young viewers learned how deeply a story could hurt. Memes and clips of the film, particularly the "Where is his glasses?" scene, pop up on TikTok and Instagram as viewers, now grown-ups, recall this early heartbreak.
Here's an example of a recent TikTok ode to My Girl:
@bombxel Mi trauma cinematográfico #MYGIRL#miprimerbeso#vada#thomasj
♬ sonido original - Bombxel
Many young viewers may feel a bit of their childhood innocence was lost watching this film in its day. The emotional memory of first heartbreak holds fast. At the same time, maybe it was better for many to watch this, hopefully alongside a loving adult who could break it down in a safe space afterward. But would it have been so hard to give audiences a little warning?
Also, for anyone who was traumatized by the movie My Girl back in the '90s, the actor Macaulay Culkin, 45, is doing just fine. See? Here he is a few weeks ago with his longtime partner Brenda Song at a basketball game:
Here's young Macaulay Culkin around the time he'd have been filming My Girl:
Watch the official movie trailer for My Girl:
And if you're glutton for punishment and want to rewatch the ending, here it is:
My Girl is currently available for streaming on Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, Fandango at Home, and Prime Video, where subscription and other fees may apply.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 2:19 PM.