Passes the Bechdel test
A Star Is Born
2018. Directed by Bradley Cooper, written by Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
8 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 8 scenes out of 131. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers-and falls in love with-struggling artist Ally (Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer - until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
- Released
- 05 Oct 2018
- Genres
- Drama, Music, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 88 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 101 wins & 289 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Jack 389 lines, man
- Ally 384 lines, woman
- Rez 48 lines, man
- Ramon 47 lines, man
- Lorenzo 38 lines, man
- Bobby 35 lines, man
- Noodles 24 lines, man
- Wolfie 22 lines, man
- Emerald 19 lines, man
- Drag Bar Emcee 18 lines, man
Full cast, 62 people
- Lady Gaga as Ally Campana
- Bradley Cooper as Jackson Maine
- Sam Elliott as Bobby Maine
- Andrew Dice Clay as Lorenzo Campana
- Rafi Gavron as Rez Gavron
- Anthony Ramos as Ramon
- Dave Chappelle as George "Noodles" Stone
- Alec Baldwin as Alec Baldwin
- Marlon Williams as Marlon Williams
- Brandi Carlile as Brandi Carlile
- Ron Rifkin as Carl
- Barry Shabaka Henley as Little Feet
- Michael D. Roberts as Matty
- Michael Harney as Wolfie
- Rebecca Field as Gail
- Derek Kevin Jones as Etta James
- Willam Belli as Emerald
- Dennis Tong as Donte
- Josh Wells as Sooki
- Greg Grunberg as Phil (Jack's Driver)
- Shangela as Drag Bar Emcee
- Eddie Griffin as Pastor
- Drena De Niro as Paulette Stone
- Sanaa Chappelle as Frankie Stone
- Leandro De Niro Rodriguez as Leo Stone
- Jacob Schick as Bryan (Catering Manager)
- Gabe Fazio as Tommy
- Benjamin Rice as Studio Engineer (Ben)
- Halsey as Music Awards Presenter
- William H. Slattery III as Hearing Doctor
- Matthew Libatique as Photographer
- Robert S. Wilhelm Jr. as Music Awards Announcer
- Luenell as Cashier
- Lukas Nelson as Guitarist
- Anthony LoGerfo as Drummer
- Alberto Bof as Pianist
- Corey McCormick as Bassist
- Jesse Siebenberg as Steel Guitarist
- Tato Melgar as Percussionist
- Don Was as Super Group Bassist / Leader
- Victor Indrizzo as Super Group Drummer
- George Doering as Super Group Guitarist
- Michael Bearden as Super Group Keyboardist
- Lenny Castro as Super Group Percussionist
- Chris Kelly as Chris Kelly
- Don Roy King as Don Roy King
- Gena Rositano as Gena Rositano
- Greg Scarnici as Greg Scarnici
- Michael Mancini as Michael Mancini
- Richy Jackson as Choreographer
- Christine Grady as iHeart Radio / SNL Dancer
- Imani Wisdom as iHeart Radio / SNL Dancer
- Christopher Martinez as SNL Dancer
- Amanda Balen as SNL Dancer
- Montana Efaw as Concert Dancer
- Caroline M. Diamond as Concert Dancer
- Sloan-Taylor Rabinor as Concert Dancer
- China Taylor as Concert Dancer
- Hunter Goligoski as Concert Fan (uncredited)
- Julian Astudillo as Concertgoer (uncredited)
- Frank Anello as SNL Producer (uncredited)
- Charlie as Charlie
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 131
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 to 6 | 9 | 7 |
| 7 to 9 | 1 | 19 |
| 10 to 12 | 25 | 86 |
| 13 to 15 | 28 | 65 |
| 16 to 18 | 32 | 34 |
| 19 to 21 | 21 | 37 |
| 22 to 24 | 13 | 31 |
| 25 to 27 | 7 | 10 |
| 28 to 30 | 21 | 14 |
| 31 to 33 | 5 | 6 |
| 34 to 36 | 4 | 6 |
| 37 to 39 | 4 | 22 |
| 40 to 42 | 8 | 7 |
| 43 to 45 | 6 | 8 |
| 46 to 48 | 1 | 11 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 4 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 5 |
| 55 to 57 | 22 | 15 |
| 58 to 60 | 10 | 9 |
| 61 to 63 | 7 | 8 |
| 64 to 66 | 4 | 7 |
| 67 to 69 | 9 | 9 |
| 70 to 72 | 10 | 26 |
| 73 to 75 | 17 | 19 |
| 76 to 78 | 3 | 11 |
| 79 to 81 | 7 | 27 |
| 82 to 84 | 8 | 16 |
| 85 to 87 | 7 | 9 |
| 88 to 90 | 29 | 23 |
| 91 to 93 | 9 | 18 |
| 94 to 96 | 9 | 24 |
| 97 to 99 | 25 | 24 |
| 100 to 102 | 2 | 14 |
| 103 to 105 | 25 | 32 |
| 106 to 108 | 4 | 9 |
| 109 to 111 | 4 | 3 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 14 |
| 115 to 117 | 10 | 9 |
| 118 to 120 | 7 | 4 |
| 121 to 123 | 1 | 0 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 1 |
| 127 to 129 | 2 | 4 |
| 130 to 131 | 6 | 2 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
ALLY: Oh, come on. JACK ALLY: Oh, I'm gonna be thinking No, you're not. You're about your nose for a very full of shit. long time.
ALLY: No, it's okay. Thanks. FEMALE CASHIER: I'm sorry. I had to.
ALLY: I'm good. Hi! JACK ALLY: It's so good to see you. How are you? That was so good.
ALLY JACK: No. No, I'm not. Please! Yeah, you're gonna do the Come on. one that I love. It's gonna be great, come on. ALLY: Come on, Jack. Please don’t.
ALLY: I don't know where my mom is. PAULETTE: I can understand that.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 37 are women's.
423 lines from women, 711 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
8 women and 35 men in the cast. 9 women and 23 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 5 of 1,177.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 51 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 37% of the words (4,230), men 63% (7,092).
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
20
Two men
56
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 32% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Bradley Cooper (man)
- Written by
- Bradley Cooper (man), Will Fetters (man), Eric Roth (man)
- Produced by
- Bradley Cooper (man), Bill Gerber (man), Lynette Howell Taylor (woman), Todd Phillips (man), Jon Peters (man)
- Shot by
- Matthew Libatique (man)
- Edited by
- Jay Cassidy (man)
- Production design by
- Karen Murphy (woman)
- Cast by
- Mary Vernieu (woman), Lindsay Graham Ahanonu (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
7 women, 20 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
8 women, 13 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 6 men, 9 not listed
-
Other crew
5 women, 6 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 2 men, 6 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 8 men, 5 not listed
-
Writing
1 women, 8 men
-
Directing
2 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 35 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Lady Gaga 32, Brandi Carlile 37
Men
Anthony Ramos 26, Marlon Williams 27, Rafi Gavron 29, Bradley Cooper 43, Dave Chappelle 45, Alec Baldwin 60, Andrew Dice Clay 61, Sam Elliott 74
Exhibit H: the money
It made 12.1 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $36 million
- Box office
- $436 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 131 scenes and 1,177 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
