Fails the Bechdel test
Analyze This
1999. Directed by Harold Ramis, written by Kenneth Lonergan and Peter Tolan and Harold Ramis.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Living in the shadow of his famous psychiatrist father, with multiple issues to deal with while getting ready to remarry, New York City psychologist Dr Ben Sobel, has one more problem to take care of after a fender bender with powerful mob boss Paul Vitti. Secretly suffering from intense anxiety attacks that render him incapable of doing what he is best at, the notorious gangster decides to pay the good doctor a visit, hell-bent on resolving his deep-seated issues before the annual meeting of Big Apple's Mafia Dons. Now Ben has a pressing two-week deadline to come up with an effective solution, as his conflicted but dangerous patient takes no for an answer. Can Ben analyze this?
- Released
- 05 Mar 1999
- Genres
- Comedy, Crime
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 60 / 100
- Awards
- 4 wins & 7 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ben 398 lines, man
- Vitti 319 lines, man
- Jelly 84 lines, man
- Laura 60 lines, woman
- Sindone 37 lines, man
- Michael 33 lines, man
- Jimmy 23 lines, man
- Isaac 22 lines, man
- Mangano 19 lines, man
- Manetta 13 lines, man
Full cast, 71 people
- Robert De Niro as Paul Vitti
- Billy Crystal as Dr. Ben Sobel
- Lisa Kudrow as Laura MacNamara Sobel
- Chazz Palminteri as Primo Sidone
- Kresh Novakovic as '50s Gangster
- Bart Tangredi as Young Vitti, Sr.
- Michael Straka as Young Dominic Manetta
- Joseph Rigano as Dominic Manetta
- Joe Viterelli as Jelly
- Richard C. Castellano as Jimmy Boots
- Molly Shannon as Caroline
- Max Casella as Nicky Shivers
- Frank Pietrangolare as Tuna
- Kyle Sabihy as Michael Sobel
- Bill Macy as Dr. Isaac Sobel
- Rebecca Schull as Dorothy Sobel
- Pat Cooper as Salvatore Masiello
- Leo Rossi as Carlo Mangano
- Aasif Mandvi as Dr. Shulman
- Neil Pepe as Carl
- Tony Darrow as Moony
- Michael Haley as Producer
- Ian Marioles as Soundman
- DonnaMarie Recco as Sheila
- Vince Cecere as Tino
- Jimmie Ray Weeks as FBI Agent Steadman
- Bob Cea as FBI Agent Ricci
- William Hill as FBI Agent Provano
- Ira Wheeler as Scott MacNamara
- Luce Ennis as Belinda MacNamara
- Elizabeth Bracco as Marie Vitti
- Gina Gallagher as Theresa Vitti
- Francesca Mari as Anna Vitti
- Vinny Vella, Jr. as Anthony Vitti
- Mickey Bruno as Miami Soldier
- Dave Corey as Miami Hall Guard
- Fred Workman as Justice of the Peace
- Daniel W. Barringer as Dream Sequence Gunman
- John Polce as Dream Sequence Gunman
- Drew Eliot as Priest at Funeral
- Grace DeSena as Tommy Angels' Widow
- Joe Catalfumo as Exuberant Mourner
- Michael Guarino, Jr. as Stevie Beef
- Michael Harkins as Paretti's Family
- Ondine Harris as Paretti's Family
- Matthew Vega as Paretti's Family
- Clem Caserta as Handsome Jack
- Tony Ray Rossi as Potatoes
- Judith Kahan as Elaine Felton
- Ted Neustadt as Rabbi
- Pasquale Cajano as Joe Baldassare
- Gene Ruffini as Frankie Zello
- Alfred Sauchelli, Jr. as Mo-Mo
- Tony DiBenedetto as Johnny "Bigs"
- Frank Aquilino as Eddie "Cokes"
- Tony Bennett as Tony Bennett
- Joseph Bonanno as Joseph Bonanno (archive footage)
- Joe Gallo as Joe Gallo (archive footage)
- Kenny Alfonso as Car Chase Driver (uncredited)
- Phillip V. Caruso as Wedding Photographer (uncredited)
- Anthony Caso as Johnny Angel (uncredited)
- Richard D'Alessandro as Gangster (uncredited)
- Trish Dempsey as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- Tony Devon as Bobby Angel (uncredited)
- Benim Foster as SWAT Team Leader (uncredited)
- Russell Gibson as Mafio Capo (uncredited)
- Joseph Hardin as Man in Commercial (uncredited)
- James Morricone as Wise Guy (uncredited)
- Michael Rothberger as Soldier (uncredited)
- Paul Scannapieco as Freddie the Fruitman (uncredited)
- Vinny Vella as Mobster at Meeting (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 103
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 | 4 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 to 12 | 5 | 13 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 43 |
| 16 to 18 | 4 | 56 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 19 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 104 |
| 25 to 27 | 16 | 16 |
| 28 to 30 | 5 | 68 |
| 31 to 33 | 9 | 15 |
| 34 to 36 | 2 | 61 |
| 37 to 39 | 10 | 90 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 16 |
| 43 to 45 | 2 | 6 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 51 | 4 | 52 |
| 52 to 54 | 15 | 51 |
| 55 to 57 | 5 | 28 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 56 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 8 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 19 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 27 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 40 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 1 |
| 76 to 78 | 4 | 83 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 2 |
| 82 to 84 | 6 | 23 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 11 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 2 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 14 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 80 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 6 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 13 |
| 103 to 103 | 3 | 5 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 8 are women's.
90 lines from women, 1037 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
7 women and 48 men in the cast. 6 women and 25 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 21 of 1,152.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 248 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 8% of the words (1,103), men 92% (12,087).
Exhibit D: 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
0
Two men
80
Exhibit E: behind the camera
5 of the 16 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Harold Ramis (man)
- Written by
- Harold Ramis (man), Peter Tolan (man), Kenneth Lonergan (man)
- Story by
- Kenneth Lonergan (man), Peter Tolan (man)
- Produced by
- Paula Weinstein (woman), Jane Rosenthal (woman)
- Shot by
- Stuart Dryburgh (man)
- Edited by
- Craig Herring (man), Christopher Tellefsen (man)
- Music by
- Howard Shore (man)
- Production design by
- Wynn Thomas (man)
- Costumes by
- Aude Bronson-Howard (woman)
- Cast by
- Laura Rosenthal (woman), Ellen Chenoweth (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
0 women, 21 men, 2 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 4 men
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 5 men
-
Art
0 women, 3 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 35 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Lisa Kudrow 35
Men
Kresh Novakovic 24, Michael Straka 29, Bart Tangredi 38, Chazz Palminteri 46, Billy Crystal 50, Robert De Niro 55, Joe Viterelli 61, Joseph Rigano 66
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $80 million
- Box office
- $177 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 103 scenes and 1,152 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
