Movies News Talk
At first look, Twister—the action-packed disaster film about the adrenaline-fueled world of storm chasers—may seem like any other disaster movie. But a shockingly different source—the venerable 1940 romantic comedy His Girl Friday—inspired her story and character development most greatly.
Michael Crichton, renowned Jurassic Park author, and his wife Anne-marie Martin wrote the initial Twister script. A PBS documentary piqued Crichton's interest in storm chasers, but he battled to create a gripping story to entwine around the exciting field of storm chasing.
In an interview with Vulture, director Jan De Bont—who brought Twister to life on film—said in reference to Crichton's inspiration from an unanticipated source He turned to the venerable screwball comedy, His Girl Friday instead of other disaster films.
Based on the dynamic, bickering interaction between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell's characters in His Girl Friday, Crichton and Martin developed their Twister script. Grant is a newspaper editor trying to win back Rosalind Russell, best reporter, before she marries another man. In an attempt to reignite their passion, he invites her to cover one last story together.
The basis of Bill and Jo Harding's relationship in Twister is this romantic ideal. Rather than covering a news item, they follow a storm together as a metaphor for their path to re-connection. Like Grant and Russell, Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton's characters bickers nonstop all through the movie. Their relationship gains complexity and humor from this lighthearted banter, which also balances the tornado spectacle.
"A couple tries to get back together, and they like to argue a lot, and there's some humor in it," De Bont says deftly summarizing the parallel. Twister distinguishes itself among other disaster movies with this special mix of action and romance.
His Girl Friday had a major impact on Twister, turning it from a traditional disaster movie into a screwball romance dressed as an exciting action film. This surprising turn lets viewers relate to the characters on a more intimate level than in a generic disaster film.
The film's emotional depth and relatability—created by Bill and Jo's complex relationship, romantic chemistry, and sharp exchanges—increases its engaging power. We see the subtleties of their relationship, their shared passion, and their path toward reconciliation rather than merely observing characters battle to survive.
Twister becomes a more interesting and multi-layered movie by including Rom-com components, so transcending the constraints of a just action-driven genre. It shows that, when inspired from unanticipated sources, even a disaster movie can be heartwarming, funny, and emotionally moving.
Accomplished storm chasers on the brink of divorce, Bill and Jo Harding must team to create an advanced weather alert system by walking the path of destructive tornadoes. Driven to understand and forecast tornadoes, Jo, traumatized by the loss of her father to a fatal F5 tornado during her childhood, is Hoping to give people an opportunity to flee the threat, she spends her life storm chasing and creates a breakthrough technology called "Dorothy" to enhance tornado prediction.
Jo's unrelenting quest of knowledge and understanding of tornadoes causes a distance between her and her husband; but, their common love of storm chasing and the birth of a new, strong storm system pulls them back together. Their ultimate challenge is an approaching system capable of releasing another F5 tornado, a force of nature pushing their capacity to the very limit.