Summary
The disaster thrillerTwisterwas among the most successful movies of 1996 and was packed with memorable quotes that movie lovers still remember to this day. With a funny script, strong performances, and incredible visuals,Twistertold the story of passionate storm chasers trying to utilize a tornado research device during a severe outbreak that threatened to kill them all. Filled with plenty of humor, excitement, and fast-paced action, this enduring story was praised by critics and even took home two Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound.
With anupcoming stand-alone sequel titledTwisterson the horizon, there has never been a better time to look back on the greatest movie quotes fromTwister. With a passionate performance from Helen Hunt, an enjoyable turn from Bill Paxton, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the hilarious comic relief, there were countless memorable quotes throughout this highly engrossing disaster film. From therapy talk to flying cows,Twisterhad some truly great movie quotes.
10“I Can’t Hold It Anymore”
Jo’s Father
The opening scene ofTwisterbegan with a flashback to an Oklahoma farm in 1969, which gave a lot of insight into the character of Jo Harding. Just prior to Jo’s sixth birthday, she and her family were subjected to a tornado, the likes of which they had never seen before and which Jo’s father struggled to protect her and her mother from. As the family huddled in their storm shelter, Jo’s father did everything in his power to keep the roof secure before uttering the phrase, “I can’t hold it anymore.”
With this, Jo’s father was sucked out of the cellar by the raging F5 tornado as Jo and her mother watched in horror. This was a core event in Jo’s life and the catalyst for her fascination with tornadoes and life’s mission of learning more scientific information about them to save any other young child from going through the trauma she endured. Jo’s father’s brave sacrifice saved her life and allowed her to grow into the passionate storm chaser she became.
9“He’s In It For The Money, Not Science”
Bill Harding
With the phrase “he’s in it for the money, not science,” Bill Harding told audiences everything they needed to know about his rival Jonas Miller. While both of these characters exhibited a desire to learn true nature of tornadoes inTwister, Bill’s explanation of Jonas’s motivation provided insight into the psychology of storm chasers and how some scientists were pursuing this knowledge for the good of humanity while others only wished to benefit themselves. This was further exemplified by how Jonas belittled his rival storm chasers in television news interviews.
As much as Bill’s description of Jonas gave insight into the psychology of Jonas, it also highlighted a lot about Bill himself. AlthoughBill had at first appeared to have moved on from his storm-chasing lifestyle inTwister, once he found himself face-to-face with a tornado, his old desire to get into the eye of the storm immediately reappeared. While Jonas may have been “in it for the money,” Bill was “in it” because it’s what he needed to do, because storm chasing was the reason he was put on this earth.
8“You Mean To Tell Me Billy Knows What A Storm Is Thinking”
Dr. Melissa Reeves
When Dr. Melissa Reeves first got together with Bill Harding, she had no idea the extent of his fascination with storms and tornadoes. WhileTwisterbegan with Bill simply trying to get Jo Harding to sign their divorce papers so he could get married to Melissa, his new fiance was soon confronted with the true nature of his storm-chasing lifestyle. WhenMelissa finally got some one-on-one time with Jo, she could hardly believe the idea that Bill was such an expert on storms that he almost knew what they were thinking.
This personification of storms and tornadoes was seen throughoutTwisteras the group of storm chasers showed respect and admiration for the destructive potential of these natural phenomena. In almost every scene, Melissa learned new information about Bill, and asTwisterprogressed, she learned how little she actually knew about the man she was prepared to marry. While Bill appeared to move on from his storm-chasing ways, Melissa slowly started to accept the fact that Jo was reviving his interest in his old lifestyle.
7“She Did Not Marry Your Penis”
One of the funniest recurring jokes inTwisterwas related to the therapist, Dr. Melissa Reeves, trying to keep up with the responsibilities of her work while in the midst of a storm-chasing adventure. ThroughoutTwister, Melissa was seen on the phone speaking with of her clients, and although the audience was only privy to one side of the conversation, it seemed that her client had doubts about the true nature of his marriage. This was exemplified when Melissa shouted into the phone, “She did not marry your penis.”
While this was already a laugh-out-loud piece of dialogue that imbued the intense disaster scenes with some much-needed levity, it became even funnier as Melissa’s conversation continued. WhileMelissa spoke to her client about his feelings of inadequacy, she then conceded that his penis may have had something to do with the reason he got married. Melissa hilariously added, “Okay, alright, she did not only marry your penis.”
6“The Suck Zone”
Dusty Davies
Philip Seymour Hoffman gave an incredible performanceas Dusty Davies, the friendly, goofy, and dark-humor-loving tornado expert assisting with the mission to utilize the Dorothy instrument inTwister. With plenty of funny quotes throughoutTwister, perhapsDusty’s most memorable linewas when he explained “the suck zone” to Dr. Melissa Reeves. From somebody who has devoted their life to studying storms, Dusty’s description of this zone was hilarious in its simplicity.
Dusty explained to Melissa that “the suck zone” was “the point basically at which the twister sucks you up.” To be fair to Dusty, he followed this statement by saying, “That’s not the technical term for it, obviously.” However, Dusty’s hilariously casual language when speaking about the complexities of those who research hurricanes, storms, and tornadoes was part of what made him one of the best characters inTwisterwho added comic relief to every scene he was in.
5“Grab Your Ankles And Stick Your Butt In The Air”
Rabbit
One ofTwister’smost important scenes came when the storm chasers visited Jo’s Aunt Meg in nearby Wakita for rest and food in between storms. Aunt Meg was extremely hospitable and provided the group with steak, eggs, and her famous gravy as they all reminisced about times past and spoke about their storm-chasing adventures. The most hilarious of these interactions came from Rabbit (Alan Ruck), whose advice for a severe lightning storm was to “grab your ankles and stick your butt in the air.”
Rabbit spoke with complete sincerity when giving this advice and was quickly backed up by Haynes(Wendle Josepher), who said, “he’s right if you’re gonna get hit, it’s the safest orifice.” The highly humorous way that this group of expert storm chasers spoke about the deadliest of natural disasters showcased how much action they had seen over the years trying to gather scientific evidence on tornadoes. While Rabbit’s advice may have seemed absurd, he was also speaking from a place of experience.
4“Is There An F5?”
While the storm chasers inTwisterdiscussed all the different types of tornadoes at Aunt Meg’s house, Dr. Melissa Reeves could only listen with fascination at how dangerous storms could become and where they ranked on the Fujita scale. They told Melissa about the different categories, from the relatively mild F1 to the destructive impact of an F4, which Bill Harding said would “relocate your house fairly efficiently.” However, once Melissa asked, “Is there an F5?” the group was briefly stunned to silence.
They explained that anF5 was a very rare type of storm, and only one of them had previously encountered such destruction. This was a callback to the opening scene ofTwister,where Jo Harding lost her father to an incredibly dangerous storm and then devoted her life to researching them. This also powerfully foreshadowed the dangerous F5 that Bill and Jo would face in the climax ofTwister.
3“Check Out That Sky… I Think We’ve Seen Enough”
Jo Harding
ThroughoutTwister, Jo Harding was seen as an incredibly determined and tenacious woman who showed no fear when going directly into the heart of an ongoing storm. With a passion for science and an insatiable need to learn more about the nature of tornadoes, she did everything in her power to utilize the Dorothy instrument that could help improve the advanced warning system from three minutes to 15 minutes. However, in the final minutes ofTwister,when her colleagues told her to “check out the sky” in preparation for another storm, she finally said, “I think we’ve seen enough.”
This realization from Jo that she had achieved her goal and no longer had to put herself in harm’s way was an important moment of character growth for her. WithJo’s romance with Bill reignited, they still had plenty of work to do together to create their advanced warning system, but now they could do that safely and finally focus on repairing their broken marriage. This line from Jo that they’d “seen enough” was a clue to the audience that the couple may have a chance at staying together permanently after the credits rolled.
2“I Always Thought It Was A Metaphor”
One character who was consistently shocked throughoutTwisterwas the unfortunate Dr. Melissa Reeves. As Bill Harding’s new partner, Melissa had no idea what she was getting herself into when she accompanied her boyfriend in his plan to get Jo to sign their divorce papers. Before too long, Melissa found herself in the midst of a storm-chasing adventure and realized that Bill had been serious about his passion for chasing tornadoes.
While audiences did not get to seeBill and Melissa’s relationship before the events ofTwister, the way she spoke about them as a couple revealed he did not tell her the full extent of his love for storm-chasing. This was evident from Melissa’s statement: “When you used to tell me that you chased tornadoes, deep down, I always thought it was a metaphor.” While Melissa may have thought this before the movie began, by the end ofTwister, she had learned that he meant every word literally.
1“Cow. Another Cow. Actually, I Think That Was The Same One”
Bill and Jo Harding
Without a doubt, the best quote fromTwistercame from Bill and Jo Harding as they encountered livestock while in the middle of an epic storm-chasing session. This was when the duo encountered a major tornado that was eating and destroying everything, including the local cows. As the storm ranged around them,a cow flew by and mooed through the sky as Jo simply commented in astonishment, “cow” and when the same thing happened moments later, all she could say was “another cow.”
While this made for a terrifying sight,the iconicTwisterscenebriefly became hilarious when Bill retorted, “Actually, I think that was the same one.” While this appeared to be an absurd situation, it perfectly captured just how terrifying this storm was and the devastating consequences if their car had been swallowed up by its impact.Twisterhighlighted the extremes of natural disasters, and although the “cow” scene was one of its funniest, it was also one of its most effective.
Twister
Cast
In Twister, Bill and Jo Harding, advanced storm chasers on the brink of divorce, must join together to create an advanced weather alert system by putting themselves in the cross-hairs of extremely violent tornadoes. Jo’s childhood was stricken by the trauma of losing her father to a deadly F5 tornado, setting her on the path of a storm chaser. Having developed a new technology with her team named “Dorothy,” Jo seeks to make Tornadoes more predictable to give people a chance to make it to safety. Jo’s obsession created a rift between her husband, but new breakthroughs may bring them back together as the two pursue their greatest challenge yet - an incoming system that will produce yet another F5.
