schmaltz

noun schmaltz

• bathos — In literary criticism, bathos is a sudden change in speech or writing from a serious or important subject to a ridiculous or very ordinary one.
• heartbreaker — a person, event, or thing causing heartbreak.
• hearts and flowers — maudlin sentimentality: The play is a period piece, full of innocence abused and hearts and flowers.
• hokum — out-and-out nonsense; bunkum.
• human interest — a quality of a story or report, as in a newspaper or on a newscast, that engages attention and sympathy by enabling one to identify readily with the people, problems, and situations described.