A Little Eulogy for Bill Paxton

Hi guys,

I wanted to write a little note of appreciation for Bill Paxton, who passed away in late February.  He was in some pretty major movies over his busy career, including "Titanic" (1997),  "Tombstone" (1993), and "Nightcrawler" (2014).  Even if you didn't know him by name, he had the all-American man thing down so pat that you would surely recognize him from his work across the last few decades.

I'd like to offer my little token of thanks for a perhaps less-lauded entry in Mr. Paxton's filmography.

At the commencement of this blog, I mentioned that my love of film emerged from somewhat unlikely beginnings.  That not-quite-promising early moviegoing experience notwithstanding, my future as a film-obsessed human was pretty clear early on due to one fact: throughout my childhood, I was OBSESSED with certain movies.

I don't mean to suggest that I was obsessed with THE BEST movies.  In fact, the list films I watched compulsively throughout childhood and adolescence is pretty motley and by no mean typified by high quality.  Nevertheless, those movies are dear to my heart because at the time they played a (perhaps surprisingly large) role in my life, they clearly met some psychological need in my little developing cinephilic brain.

Membership in that proud(?) pantheon of cinematic greatness(?) is 1996's "Twister," which starred Helen Hunt and none other than Bill Paxton.

GUYS I LOVED "TWISTER" SO MUCH.

SO MUCH that I rented it from Blockbuster (throwback!) and watched it constantly for several months after its release to VHS (throwback!), probably much to the consternation and possible confusion, maybe even concern, of my parents.

So much that I'm convinced that, were I to watch it again now, I would be alarmed at how perfect my memory of every scene and line is, much like when I recently watched another member of the Obsessed-with-in-Childhood List (OwiCL): "First Wives Club" (1996).

WHAT.

IT HAD GOLDIE HAWN, BETTE MIDLER, AND DIANE KEATON.  THEY ARE QUEENS OF COMEDY.

COME AT ME.

Anyway, to return to the topic at hand, which is explaining why I loved "Twister" so much:

Maybe it's because "Twister" was the only disaster movie in town at the time (and by "in town" I mean "that I was allowed to watch when I was in 5th grade"), and I love me some disaster movies.

Maybe it's because "Twister" preceded by a scant two months the release of "Independence Day" (1996), which is unambiguously a better and also very different version of a disaster movie, but somehow did *not* attain OwiCL membership (despite inclusion of my beloved Fresh Prince).

Maybe it's because I enjoyed and admired the courage of people rushing toward a storm rather than away from it, and I loved their ability to (admittedly in a manner stretching credulity) survive those storms intact.

Maybe it's because it was a weird mash-up of thrill, terror, and a little humor that I love so well.

I mean just look at this trailer!!

Still pretty great!

Whatever the reason, 5th grade me really loved this movie and therefore owes a debt of film-loving gratitude to Bill Paxton.  I was sad to hear of his passing, especially when he was still so early in life, and I'm thankful for the role he played in a movie that contributed to my ongoing love of cinema.

Thank you, Bill!

{Heart}