Passes the Bechdel test
Above the Law
1988. Directed by Andrew Davis, written by Andrew Davis and Steven Seagal and Steven Pressfield.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 194. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Nico Toscani, a former CIA agent, Aikido expert, and hard-as-nails Chicago police sergeant, has sniffed out the nefarious activities of crooked FBI operatives while investigating an international drug ring. However, when the suspects are allowed to walk away scot-free, Toscani finds himself with his back to the wall, putting his friends, colleagues, and family in harm's way. Now, a frenzied race against the clock to stop a psychotic drug lord and thwart a sinister political assassination plot begins. But no one is above the law. Who can stand in the way of justice and incorruptible Nico, Chicago's finest?
- Released
- 22 Apr 1988
- Genres
- Action, Crime, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6 / 10
- Metascore
- 45 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Nico 218 lines, man
- Jackson 51 lines, woman
- Zagon 43 lines, man
- Fox 39 lines, man
- Sara 28 lines, woman
- Agent Neeley 27 lines, man
- Lukich 20 lines, man
- Branca 16 lines, man
- Father Genarro 16 lines, man
- Watanabe 12 lines, woman
Full cast, 51 people
- Steven Seagal as Nico Toscani
- Pam Grier as Delores 'Jacks' Jackson
- Henry Silva as Kurt Zagon
- Sharon Stone as Sara Toscani
- Ron Dean as Detective Lukich
- Daniel Faraldo as Tony Salvano
- Joe Greco as Father Joseph Gennaro
- Vince Viverito as Giuseppe
- Chelcie Ross as Nelson Fox
- Jack Wallace as Uncle Branca
- Michael Rooker as Man in Bar
- Matt McColm as Man with Gun in Bar (uncredited)
- Ronnie Barron as CIA Bartender
- Michelle Hoard as Lucy
- Joseph F. Kosala as Lieutenant Strozah
- Nicholas Kusenko as FBI Agent Neely
- Thalmus Rasulala as Deputy Supt. Crowder
- Miguel Nino as Chi Chi
- Ralph Foody as Federal Clerk
- Metta Davis as Rossa Toscani
- Sandy Holt as Hostess
- Clare Peck as Judge
- Gregory Alan Williams as FBI Agent Halloran
- Patrick Gorman as CIA Interrogator
- Tom Milanovich as Man in Bar
- Lee de Broux as CIA Interrogator
- Gene Hartline as Man in Bar
- Danny Goldring as Zagon's Aide
- Zaid Farid as Street Dude
- Anthony Cannata as Wiseguy Hitman
- Mario Nieves as Man with Gun
- Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Bomb Woman
- Cheryl Hamada as Watanabe
- Toni Fleming as Zingaro
- India Cooper as Sister Mary
- Christopher Peditto as Alex
- Juan RamÃrez as Machete Man
- Terry Stewart as Machete Man's Buddy
- Lisa Tejero as Refugee Woman
- Chris Karczmar as Refugee Man
- John Drummond as TV Reporter
- Clare Peck as Judge Alspaugh
- Tom Muzila as Aikido Fighter
- Craig E. Dunn as Aikido Fighter
- Marc Katz as Aikido Fighter
- Haruo Matsuoka as Aikido Fighter
- Mark Boone Junior as Man in Window (uncredited)
- John C. Reilly as Thug in Bar (uncredited)
- Gary Ryder as Priest (uncredited)
- Timothy W. Tiedje as CIA Thug (uncredited)
- Alex Ross as Luigi
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 194
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 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 6 to 10 | 0 | 24 |
| 11 to 15 | 7 | 20 |
| 16 to 20 | 4 | 6 |
| 21 to 25 | 0 | 21 |
| 26 to 30 | 7 | 15 |
| 31 to 35 | 4 | 3 |
| 36 to 40 | 0 | 12 |
| 41 to 45 | 4 | 7 |
| 46 to 50 | 5 | 8 |
| 51 to 55 | 1 | 6 |
| 56 to 60 | 0 | 10 |
| 61 to 65 | 6 | 18 |
| 66 to 70 | 1 | 3 |
| 71 to 75 | 2 | 9 |
| 76 to 80 | 7 | 17 |
| 81 to 85 | 2 | 22 |
| 86 to 90 | 2 | 4 |
| 91 to 95 | 1 | 12 |
| 96 to 100 | 9 | 15 |
| 101 to 105 | 1 | 15 |
| 106 to 110 | 16 | 23 |
| 111 to 115 | 5 | 11 |
| 116 to 120 | 0 | 12 |
| 121 to 125 | 0 | 20 |
| 126 to 130 | 0 | 1 |
| 131 to 135 | 8 | 6 |
| 136 to 140 | 8 | 7 |
| 141 to 145 | 1 | 1 |
| 146 to 150 | 0 | 7 |
| 151 to 155 | 1 | 5 |
| 156 to 160 | 0 | 6 |
| 161 to 165 | 1 | 4 |
| 166 to 170 | 0 | 6 |
| 171 to 175 | 9 | 8 |
| 176 to 180 | 0 | 20 |
| 181 to 185 | 1 | 55 |
| 186 to 190 | 0 | 15 |
| 191 to 194 | 0 | 3 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
SARA: -- Mama... you got your medicine? Don't forget the baby's sweater -- ROSA: I know about babies. SARA: You sure you're all right?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 20 are women's.
113 lines from women, 465 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
7 women and 29 men in the cast. 5 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 35 of 609.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 74 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 20% of the words (1,230), men 80% (5,014).
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
5
Two men
47
Exhibit F: behind the camera
None of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 11% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Andrew Davis (man)
- Written by
- Andrew Davis (man), Ronald Shusett (man), Steven Pressfield (man)
- Story by
- Andrew Davis (man), Steven Seagal (man)
- Produced by
- Andrew Davis (man), Steven Seagal (man)
- Shot by
- Robert Steadman (man)
- Edited by
- Michael Brown (man)
- Music by
- David Michael Frank (man)
- Production design by
- Maher Ahmad (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 17 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 5 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men
-
Production
0 women, 3 men
-
Art
0 women, 2 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 34 on average. Men: 44 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Sharon Stone 30, Pam Grier 38
Men
Daniel Faraldo 10, Steven Seagal 35, Vince Viverito 45, Chelcie Ross 45, Ron Dean 49, Jack Wallace 54, Joe Greco 55, Henry Silva 61
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $7.5 million
- Box office
- $18.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 194 scenes and 609 lines of dialogue. How the test works
