I have only walked out of a movie once. I was nine years old, and after watching Helen Hunt’s father get sucked out of a storm cellar in the opening scene of Jan De Bont’s “Twister,” I asked my mom if we could leave.
“Twister” came out on May 10, 1996, nearly a year after a tornado had torn through Great Barrington and I spent an anxious day watching the sky turn green and listening to updates on WSBS in my grandparents’ kitchen. So when the lights went down and “Twister” started, it felt too real to be fun.
But let me be clear: “Twister” is fun. A cow flies. Philip Seymour Hoffman waxes poetic about the “Suck Zone.” And when I did eventually go back to watch again, I remember the collective gasp let out when Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt sought shelter in a barn full of sharp farming instruments. It was big and loud, and I felt a giddy relief when it was over.
But in the lead up to its sequel “Twisters,” which opens at The Triplex this week, I have been wondering: Is it still fun to watch a natural-disaster movie?
In a world where climate change is fueling extreme weather at a rapid pace, the events of these movies are no longer escapist, what-if scenarios: 22 tornadoes have killed 40 people in America this year alone. Hurricanes and “super” storms are increasingly prevalent. Being sucked up into the sky or washed into the sea feels that much more plausible than it did 30 years ago.
The fun has shifted into the macabre—”Twisters” is as big, thrilling, and fun as its predecessor, but there is a darker pall to the destruction. As these spectacle-filled blockbusters align with our day-to-day lives, it feels like we are whistling past the graveyard every time the lights go down in the theater.
Now Playing
“Fly Me to the Moon”
A space-race rom-com with Scarlett Johanssona and Channing Tatum.
Sharp, stylish, and full of ’60s style, “Fly Me to the Moon” is a classic rom-com set during the heart of the space race. As the Apollo 11 launch nears, NASA brings in marketing maven Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) to protect their image (and potentially fake the moon landing), putting her on a romantic collision course with launch director Cole (Channing Tatum).
“Despicable Me 4”
The latest entry in the beloved family franchise comes to The Triplex.
Sometimes it takes an evil genius to be a dad. Gru and family welcome baby Gru Jr. in “Despicable Me 4″—and immediately find themselves on the run from new supervillains Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Sofia Vergara) in this latest entry in the beloved family franchise.
Coming Soon
“Deadpool & Wolverine”
Two of the biggest names in comics team up to save the multiverse (and break the fourth wall) in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman officially join the MCU in their signature foul-mouthed, violent fashion when these iconic superheroes are brought together to fight a new super-powered foe. Opens July 26.
“How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer”
Eleven bestselling books, two Pulitzer Prizes, six marriages, and nine children. Take an intimate look at the life of a towering figure of American literature in “How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer,” the new documentary from Director Jeff Zimbalist. Stay after the 7:15 screening on August 9 when Maggie Mailer sits down with The Bookstore’s Matt Tannenbaum to discuss her father’s life and legacy.
