Okay, so Twisters came out this weekend, which means I had to watch Twister again, and I really need to gush about this movie.
Twister is one of two disaster movies that I can watch repeatedly without it getting old (Armageddon is my other favorite). And part of it is because of the characters.
Jo, Bill, and Melissa aside; who were all magnificent characters, I adored Jo’s team just as much!!!
Tim ‘Beltzer’ Lewis came off like Jo’s second in command. Usually when Jo went off ahead and the group stopped to gather data, Beltzer seemed to take charge. He was usually one of the first people Jo called for and would be the first to start giving orders. Beltzer is a bit of a nerd, having quoted Star Wars in his excitement when he thought they were going to get ‘Dorthy’ up. He also a bit of a goof, saying ‘he was without apparel’ when Bill kept insisting he wasn’t butt naked when they met. It is also clear Beltzer has been doing this for a while because he was part of the retelling of stories from the early days along with Dustin and Rabbit.
Haynes travels a little with Beltzer for the first half of the movie. The two have a close relationship as they are usually together in scenes. Beltzer physically moves Haynes away to give Jo and Bill space in the beginning and even holds Haynes to give her comfort when Aunt Meg got hurt. The two also sing Oklahoma together when everyone was excitedly chasing after the first tornado of the day. Haynes for her part seems to be one of the data technicians. She helps monitor the data reports and she knows what she is looking at, being the one to identify that the F5 tornado at the end of the movie was going to shift before anyone else did. She is also usually handling data print outs.
In the next vehicle you got Robert ‘Rabbit’ Nurick. Rabbit is a pretty heavily featured character and part of that is because he is the primary navigator of the group. The cab of Rabbit and Sanders’ truck is full of maps which Rabbit uses to help find the fastest and most efficient ways for the group to chase the tornado. Rabbit has to know the area well, has to fully understand how to read maps, and how to quickly adapt. Rabbit is also particular. His first scene is him snapping at Sanders due to one of his maps being folded instead of rolled. He also tries to sooth others, explaining very patiently to Aunt Meg that she can’t drive herself to the hospital due to her car being in a tree.
Rabbit rides is a car with Sanders. Sanders is one of the younger members of the group. He is still pretty excitable, being one of the people to chime in over the radio when they were looking at a tornado and having nothing useful to really add except that it was ‘beautiful’. Sanders also helps with data analysis and navigation.
The next vehicle is probably the most green members of the group. Joey and Laurence. Both of them know Bill, so they were there when Bill was earlier, but they are more inexperienced than the rest of the team. Laurence was probably on his first major field project. Jo had scolded him at the beginning for not properly maintaining the equipment and he referred to Beltzer as ‘Sir’. He is only one to suggest they throw in the towel after the first close call and when they are taking cover in the drive in, Laurence was the only person to try to hide in a car instead of underground. He also froze in fear and Jo had to pull him out. So he likely hasn’t done this before. Joey in addition was a little inexperienced but he and Laurence were monitoring the satellite data. Joey is also a little looser in his priorities. When the others are excited about the data they were getting from ‘Dorthy’ finally flying, Joey yells ‘we are going to be so popular!’
The two also appear to be close. Not only are they in a truck together but at the end of the movie when Laurence collapses on the ground in relief, Joey immediately starts playing rock-paper-scissors with him until Dusty interrupts and Laurence then clings to Dustin’s leg. They are younger, more playful, and Dusty clearly enjoys that.
Speaking of Dusty, let’s talk about Dustin Davis. Dustin is probably the most goofy one, and the craziest after Jo and Bill. However unlike those two, he doesn’t have a death wish either. Dustin is one of the older and more experienced members of the team. He knows a lot about tornadoes but he’s very unorthodox. He knows the principles and the concepts but he has no patience for the scientific terms so he makes up his own that make sense to him. He is also the most outgoing of the group, going out of his way to look after Melissa and try to make her feel welcome to the group. He keeps the rest of the team smiling.
Then we have Jason ‘Preacher’ Rowe. Preacher is another older more experienced member. He seems to be in the middle of experiences, with Dusty, Rabbit, Haynes, and Beltzer on one side with Sanders, Laurence, and Joey on the other. He likes upbeat music and judging from his name and his ‘finger of god’ comment, he was likely religious.
The entire team are very intelligent individuals. They are working hard on their research project, something they are on one of their last field projects for if they don’t get results judging from Dusty’s comment about the grant money running out at the beginning. They are all adrenaline junkies for the most part (minus Laurence) but they aren’t crazy either. The entire team shows they know when to have fun and when to get serious. They know when the danger is too much and when the risks are not worth the potential rewards.
They are also a very ride or die team. Jonas was portrayed to be an enemy of Bill’s. According to Bill; he, Jo, and Jonas started in the same lab together (it’s quite possible that Jonas was part of Jo’s group when they met Bill and eventually Jonas split off to do his own thing). Jo mentions that Jonas would let Bill take the lead and then swoop in and take his ideas or the credit. It has created a huge rivalry between Jonas and Bill, which Jo’s team clearly takes Bill’s side on. Jonas doesn’t once acknowledge the others but they are quick to make fun of Jonas and his team.
The entire team also adores Jo’s Aunt Meg. Aunt Meg is the team aunt. They all adore her and she loves them. She knows this is what they ‘live for’, so she uses her home as a rest stop for them. A place where they can recharge and regroup. They come by for showers, changes of clothes, food, and momentary rest. She cares for them all and they care about her. Knowing she was in danger, the entire team rushes out to find her without a moment of hesitation. They all try to make Meg feel better and even look after her dog while she is in the hospital.
I honestly always loved this movie because of the chemistry with all the characters, how they interact, and how they all weave through the story.
I will probably watch it again soon, but I just wanted to gush about how much I adore these characters!!!!
My mom realized today that my 1-year-old niece twirls her hair (now that she has enough hair to twirl) to soothe herself. Guess who else has twirled her hair since she had enough hair to twirl to self-soothe and still does... her Aunt Meg... She also does the same "snuffy face" smile that I do... 😭
