When I was nine years old, my mother took me to the movie theater to watch a newly released movie. I was OBSESSED with weather as a child. I had weather videos on VHS and would watch them constantly. So when Twister came out in theaters on this day 22 years ago, my little 9-year-old ass was SO there. That same night, the tornado sirens went off in the middle of the night. It was all very dramatic.
Twister stars the late, great Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as meteorologists, Bill and Jo Harding. They are storm chasers who dream of getting the perfect data from inside of a tornado to create an early warning system to save families. Jo’s dad was killed by a tornado when she was a child and it has been a personal mission to save others from the same fate.
They created a contraption known as Dorothy, which will get lifted inside of a tornado, but only if they get it directly into the path. Jo and Bill were married but have since filed for divorced due to Jo’s childhood trauma and Bill’s supposed fear of commitment. Bill is getting remarried to start his life anew, but needs Jo to sign the divorce papers. But not before they take Dorothy’s prototypes out for one last chase together during an historic outbreak of storms.
This movie is jam packed with stars (like Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz and Philip Seymour Hoffman), pseudo-storm lingo that is only partially correct and over the top acting. The CGI is special and the effects are silly and I LOVE this movie. I can put on a one woman rendition and play all of the parts because I have seen it THAT many times. It was written by Michael Critchon and Anne-Marie Martin and directed by Jan de Bont. This movie may be one of the most quotable movies out there.
In my opinion, the best roles Bill Paxton ever played were Coconut Pete on Club Dread and Bill “The Human Barometer” Harding on Twister. I even went to an Alamo Drafthouse screening of this movie and it was special. This is one of those films I will never get sick of, no matter how many times I watch it. And living in Tornado Alley, when spring hits and those April thunderstorms start, it puts you right in the mood to watch for green skies and drive around on “Bob’s Road.”
Happy 22nd Birthday Twister! Here’s to 22 more years of being a Springtime classic.
