The innocent character in Twister was Jami Gertz's.
The love triangle between Bill, Jo, and Melissa indicates that Jan de Bont's Twister is indeed a romance film even if it is primarily a disaster thriller. Therefore, even if the action scenes with Bill and Jo sprinting to put "Dorothy" in the path of a tornado and clear the path in time excite viewers, they also cannot help but be eager to see how the love triangle unfolds. Given Twister's clear overtreatment of Bill and Jo's relationship, some would find it easy to view Jami Gertz's character negatively. Melinda is not a villain, though.
The Twister Character of Jami Gertz Deserves More Respect
In Twist, Melissa is never mean-spirited, outwardly jealous, or negative. She tags along for storm chases—even if she is terrified—as most sane people would be—to help her fiancé. Though it's obvious Jo is still in love with Bill, Melissa treats Jo respectfully as well. Then, when Jami Gertz breaks off with Bill, her character maintains composure. Melissa knows Bill and Jo are supposed to be together, so instead of being resentful she ends her relationship with Bill with compassion (while still honoring herself and her feelings).
Twister: A Novel of Love, Loss, and Tornadoes
Jan de Bont's 1996 American disaster movie Twister stars Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It chronicles the journey of advanced storm chasers on the verge of divorce, Bill and Jo Harding, who must band together to build an advanced weather alert system by positioning themselves in the cross-hairs of very powerful tornadoes. Jo's early years were marred by the trauma of losing her father to a fatal F5 tornado, so guiding her on the road of a storm chaser. Having created a new technology with her team under the name "Dorothy," Jo aims to make Tornadoes more predictable so that people may get to reach safety. Jo's fixation caused a distance between her husband, but new discoveries might bring them back together as they work on their toughest challenge yet: an approaching system that will generate still another F5.
The victim of circumstance character developed by Jami Gertz in Twister
Though Twister's goal is not to portray Melissa as the bad guy and she seems innocent, the circumstances of the matter mean that some will always view Melissa negatively. The movie on the weather disaster asks the viewers to support Bill and Jo's reconciliation. Nevertheless, Melissa never asks to be the "other woman," thus the narrative does not clearly blame her for the couple's first breakup. Though Twister intended not to depict Melissa as the bad guy and she seemed innocent, the circumstances of the matter mean that some would always view Melissa negatively.
