In Defense Of Melissa, The Most Misunderstood Character In 1996's 'Twister'
When I first watched the 1996 classic film “Twister” as a kid, I remember being in awe of the tornadoes on screen and the characters who dedicated their lives to tracking them.
In the movie, Bill (Bill Paxton) visits Jo (Helen Hunt) at her field site in Oklahoma to get their divorce papers signed. It’s supposed to be a short visit, so Bill brings along his current fiancée, Dr. Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz). But when tornadoes strike, Bill does not resist the allure of his old job as a storm chaser ― and his ex-wife. He joins Jo’s scientific mission to deploy a new tracker technology into a tornado and eventually falls in love with Jo again.
As a kid, I remember cheering for Bill and Jo. But now rewatching the film as an adult, all I can think about is the person who gets swept up and left behind by the two human disasters: Bill’s fiancée, Melissa.
Melissa is the most misunderstood character in the film who is treated as an interloper by everyone she meets. She is a fertility therapist who thought she was marrying a TV weatherman, but in reality, Bill and his old scientist buddies are all thrill seekers who do not understand why someone like Melissa would not want to risk her life in the same way that they do.
Melissa could have been a negative nag, but she is genuinely curious about her fiancé’s past profession as a storm chaser: “I find this kind of interesting, I’m gonna tag along” is how she answers when Bill suggests leaving her behind while he hangs out with his ex-wife and old pals ― a suggestion that becomes an infuriating pattern in the film.
Melissa is out of her depth, but she gamely drives a truck behind the caravan of storm chasers, and almost dies when a wind-blown vehicle narrowly misses her. Despite his future wife’s near-fatality, Bill keeps dragging Melissa into more tornado hunts.
Melissa, understandably, screams and is scared after two waterspouts rock the truck she is in, while Bill and Jo hug in excitement about seeing the weather phenomenon.
In the end, Melissa’s biggest sin is that she does not want to hunt tornadoes and finds it “crazy” that her fiancé and the people he once worked with do this for a living.
Why I’m more impressed with Melissa than any other character
Melissa’s steadfast characterization was not recognized during its time. In 1997, Gertz received a Worst Supporting Actress nomination for a Razzie Award because of her portrayal of Melissa in “Twister.”
But she is the character I am riveted by as an adult. Melissa is much more calm and reasonable than I would be if I got dragged into chasing multiple tornadoes in one day with my fiancé’s ex-wife. In a lesser movie, Jo and Melissa would be outright enemies vying for Bill’s affection. As Helen Hunt put it in a 2024 oral history for the film, “In some early drafts of the script, [Jo and Melissa] were kind of catty with each other, but we both thought, ‘Boy, is that a mistake,’ and we just never did that.”
Thank goodness. What makes Melissa the character I root for now is that she is welcoming to strangers who do not welcome her back. She clocks Jo’s motives from the jump. Melissa knows Jo is still in love with Bill, and she calls her out on it during their first meeting at the diner: “You’re still in love with him, aren’t you? Not that I blame you.” She remains polite to Jo, even though Jo will not sign the divorce papers preventing her and Bill from getting married.
Two decades after the film’s release, there is a small but growing number of fans like me who see what an unfair position Melissa was put in, and want justice for her. Melissa is a woman ahead of her time who managed the pressures of her career and her crumbling relationship with grace. Go on TikTok and you will see videos from fellow Team Melissa fans who point out how rude it is for your fiancé to leave you behind with a guy who jabbers on about tornado “suck zones” while he rides alone with his ex-wife in a different car.
In fact, Melissa is what makes “Twister” work. As our audience surrogate, Melissa is the one who asks the scientists how exactly tornados and their warning systems work. She does not have a flashy job like storm chasing, but she is as dedicated to her career as Jo and Bill are to theirs. She answers phone calls from patients even when a cow is hurling past her in a tornado (“I gotta go, Julia. We got cows.”).
But to thrill-seekers like Bill and Jo, Melissa’s 9-to-5 job is not as impressive. When Bill tells Jo that his future wife is a therapist, it’s with a hesitant pause and a side-eye, not with a declarative boast. He is still seeking his ex-wife’s approval and does not recognize the gem that Melissa is, but I ― and my fellow Melissa fans ― do.
“Jami Gertz doesn’t get all the glory like Bill and I did,” Helen Hunt recalled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “She had the less flashy part, but I think she was part of the secret sauce that made it fun to watch. Maybe more than people realize.”
There are a lot of thrilling set pieces in “Twister.” When tornadoes of unprecedented strength hit Oklahoma, all hell breaks loose: a cow flies past the road, a drive-thru movie theater gets demolished, and cars crash through storm shelters. The danger brings our main characters closer together. But for me, the moment that makes me clap in the film is when Melissa has had enough.
After surviving a sideswipe from an F4 tornado and living through a day of traumatic storms, Melissa is done. Bill tells her he will see her in the morning as he traipses off to another dangerous adventure with Jo, and Melissa informs him that she will not be there. “I can’t compete with this. I wouldn’t even know where to start,” she says matter-of-factly. “Funny thing is, I’m not that upset. What does that mean?”
When Bill avoids responsibility and says he didn’t mean for any of this to happen, Melissa takes the high ground and gives Bill her blessing: “She needs you,” meaning Jo.
Melissa remains civil and smiles when Bill asks if she will be OK after a day where she is clearly not. “Don’t worry about me, I know my way home,” she replies like the boss she is and then walks away, head high.
I cheered at this matter-of-fact declaration. Jo and Bill are lost, but Melissa knows who she is and what she deserves. It’s what made me a proud member of the Melissa fan club. Come join me.