advice anyone?

after living for almost 25 years, i still have no idea how to comfort people or give advice
i despise it and do not think I'm fit to give anyone advice but when a person you're close to comes to you weak in the knees and begging for advice, u cant help but try
i found myself scratching my head and digging to the roots of my brain just to find the right words to say. even after all the scratching and digging, i only managed to say all the cliche things other people say when someone's sad. "get over him", "i feel sorry for you", "i feel your pain", "I'm here for you"
i know for a fact that those sentences won't cure anything. it just makes you force a polite smile and lets you know that you're not alone. but then again, no amount of kindness or warm wishes would help you get through your pain. at the end of the day, its your own personal battle to fight.
i just dont know what to say or do when other people are sad. when people whine about things that seem sad to them but petty to me, i tend to grin or laugh. seriously, that isn't something you would want to hear when you're looking for sympathy.

on another note, i finally watched turtles can fly last week. its been loitering in my hard disk for months and when boredom hit, i watched it. aiman said it was a sad movie so i was kind of expecting myself to cry. halfway through, and i still wasn't crying. ajim messaged me asking me what i was doing. i told him about the movie and how i was waiting for the sad scenes to make me weep. he sort of laughed and said he didn't think i was going to cry. i asked him why he was so sure, he said he just knew. he even bet me that i wasn't going to shed a single tear. i didn't believe him until i finished watching the movie. he was right, i didnt cry. it was kind of sad though. it was heartbreaking to watch all those armless and legless refugee kids. im not in the mood for a movie review. next time maybe. in conclusion, i suck at giving advice and i didnt cry watching a sad movie.