MovieChat Forums > Twister (1996) Discussion > Melissa Reeves

Melissa Reeves

posted 9 years ago by bbodygirlcaprice
10 replies | jump to latest

I love this movie in nearly every way, shape in form, and have been watching since its 1996 debut when I was seven. Besides wishing the movie were longer, my main criticism is how Bill treated Melissa. Maybe its Bill's preference, but to me Jo had too much of an attitude and rowdy demeanor, compared to Melissa. Not to mention that in my view Jami Gertz is much more attractive.

Bill was constantly pushing Melissa aside, or making her ride with someone else, and is ignorant enough to drag his ex along in his truck with Melissa being relegated to back seat isolation. She shows up with him to get the papers signed, excited about their upcoming marriage, and his new weatherman position. To her it's just another day that turns to destruction of her love and future plans, as in about fifteen or so minutes after arriving in the field, she is all of a sudden dragged on a wild goose chase, with not even the damn papers signed. Later on she is definitely put through some terrifying moments, first Jo's Jeep dropping from the sky in front of her whilst driving Bill's (gorgeous) Ram 2500, then the "sisters" waterspouts, and finally the drive in scene. All the while being ignored, having to be stuck with Dusty, and probably feeling awkward at Aunt Meg's. Speaking of Aunt Meg, even she kind of pushed Melissa away when she was attempting a polite "Well, I, it was a pleasure meeting you" goodbye.

When it was all said and done about 3/4th's into the movie, Melissa, despite all that she had been through, ended her and Bill's relationship in a most civil, and commendable fashion. She even wished aunt Meg well. So with all of this said (through my lousy writing skills, sorry!) Bill didn't know what he had - he destroys his relationship and his shiny new Ram. Anybody would be blessed to have an angel like her, I know I sure wish I could find a woman like Melissa, as she is an absolute sweetheart, honest, soft spoken, cute with that Southern accent, beautiful, and just an absolute lil' doll in that white suit! I just want to hug her when she's crying exclaiming, "No I am not okay, this is not okay....okay?".

So what do y'all think? Melissa seems to get a lot of hate.

[–] suxx-1 9 years ago

I get what you mean. Melissa really isn't a bad person at all. It's just that there is an almost palpable incompatibility between her and Bill. It's clear that the two of them belong to very different worlds and there would always have been a certain distance between them that could never be breached. It's just something that can't be forced, whereas the passion that Bill and Jo share naturally acts like a magnet, drawing the two inexorably towards each other.

I don't hate Melissa. In fact, I admire her for the hard decision she had to make, which will spare both her and Bill a lot of pain in the future.

[–] bbodygirlcaprice 9 years ago

Very well put, thank you. I know her and Bill couldn't have worked out script wise, as he was still a tornado chaser at heart, and Melissa was terrified of the constant chaos - she prefers the quiet and composed safe,comfy life. Plus as much as I am on Melissa's side, it honestly would have made for an awkward ending, and a more boring movie in general: everyone was rooting for Bill to return to what he does best, and Melissa is sort of seen as "holding him back" and domesticating him. Bill's "new life", was simply a subconscious stop-gap, as even he himself later realized when he said "I never meant for any of this to happen" You can take Billy away from the tornadoes, but you can't take the tornadoes away from Billy.... for very long, at least. Bill and Jo's obsession with tornadoes are what salvaged their relationship, while sinking another one.

Would have been interesting though, if Melissa had become fascinated by storm chasing, yet still had all of her good qualities. Then maybe she and Bill could have been happily married, while honeymooning in tornado alley.

[–] DrWhen 9 years ago

That's one of the two places the movie really falls down. The other is the other team where apparently we're not supposed to like because they got corporate sponsors and drive black vehicles. Even more lame they try to make Melissa unlikeable by giving her a bad southern accent. Any good writer could do better than that but often big budget movies are driven by committee.

[–] bbodygirlcaprice 9 years ago

Yeah that too. Jonas might have been a douchebag, but he was far from evil. He just played it smarter financially, unlike say Jo, who was as Dusty put it "running out of grant money. Of course they ended up killing Jonas as the "evil guy" must get what he "deserve's". As for Melissa's accent, I may be the only one who actually likes it, makes her sound even sweeter to me.

[–] JensyMcKilroy 9 years ago

Yeah, Jami is attractive - however, not so much in this flick with that God awful haircut. I actually thought Helen Hunt was better looking in this film, even though I do not typically find Hunt very attractive to begin with. Her voice and attitude, mixed with her looks, have been a turn off for me ever since her sitcom days. But they made Jami/Melissa undesirable IMHO. In the movie her accent is terrible, she has a bad haircut, and her overall attitude/demeanor is cold. I do agree that she is treated rather poorly though throughout the film. She is an 'outsider' to this group, and their world, and they act weird towards her much of the time.

The character dynamics in this film, from Bill to Jo to Melissa, were all pretty pathetic overall.

[–] purplenad2004 9 years ago

I think they probably did that on purpose. They probably made her get a haircut so Helen Hunt could shine since it was supposed to be all about her character. They did something similar in the movie "Sleepless In Seattle." All of the other women in the movie had the same short poodle perm hairstyle while they gave Meg Ryan a long, flowy wig. They only allowed the little girl to keep her long.

[–] MichaelDavid94 8 years ago

I never had any hate for the Melissa character, in fact, I always felt sorry for her. She was thrown into this mess of a day, put in constant danger, and humiliated while listening (with everyone else there) that her fiancé is basically still in love with his ex. I thought she was very classy ending things the way she did. And she was still doing her own job, trying to help her patients, though out the movie also. That was most likely the worst day of her life by far.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Boricanator (1458) 4 years ago

I just rewatched the movie and I agree. I felt bad for Melissa, especially when she hears the conversation between Bill and Jo on the radio.

She was actually very nice.

It’s not that Bill didn’t know what he had. It’s that their relationship could not work. Melissa says that after the motel is trashed, and you can tell by Bills face that, deep down, he always knew they weren’t right for each other. He was trying to be something he’s not.

Fortunately, they both understood that before he got divorced and got married.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

I do agree with you, he was being incredibly rude to her however in Bill's defense he did suggest that Melissa take the truck home while he dealt with Jo and got the papers signed (I guess he would have gotten Dusty to give him a ride back), Melissa however said "no I find this very interesting I'm gonna tag along"