Fails the Bechdel test
Anger Management
2003. Directed by Peter Segal, written by David Dorfman.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
12 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Mild-mannered timid businessman Dave Buznik works for a pet clothing company out of New York City. He's got an abrasive boss named Mr. Frank Head who frequently takes credit for his work and steps on him in return. He's got a loving girlfriend, Linda, whose best friend is her condescending college ex, Andrew. But when a misunderstanding aboard an airplane goes haywire, Dave is ordered by the court to undergo anger management therapy at the hands of specialist Dr. Buddy Rydell, who is an unpredictable, psychopathic character. As the relationship between Dave and Buddy becomes more tense, when the unorthodox treatment wreaks havoc Dave's life, and Buddy might be the only one who can save him from a problem he recognizes right away in his patient, that could only get worse.
- Released
- 11 Apr 2003
- Genres
- Comedy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 52 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Dave 414 lines, man
- Buddy 291 lines, man
- Linda 45 lines, woman
- Chuck 29 lines, man
- Head 25 lines, man
- Judge 18 lines
- Andrew 16 lines, man
- Lou 15 lines, man
- Sam 14 lines, man
- Walt 14 lines, man
Full cast, 65 people
- Adam Sandler as Dave Buznik
- Jack Nicholson as Dr. Buddy Rydell
- Marisa Tomei as Linda
- Luis Guzmán as Lou
- Allen Covert as Andrew
- Lynne Thigpen as Judge Daniels
- Kurt Fuller as Frank Head
- Jonathan Loughran as Nate
- Krista Allen as Stacy
- January Jones as Gina
- Woody Harrelson as Galaxia / Security Guard Gary
- John Turturro as Chuck
- Kevin Nealon as Sam
- Conrad Goode as Bailiff / Lexus Man
- Gina Gallego as Bar Waitress
- Nancy Carell as Flight Attendant
- Marisa Chandler as Flight Attendant
- Don Diamont as Man in Seat
- Isaac C. Singleton, Jr. as Air Marshall
- Bobby Knight as Bobby Knight
- John McEnroe as John McEnroe
- Rudolph Giuliani as Mayor Rudy Giuliani
- Judith Nathan as Judith Nathan
- Tony Carbonetti as Tony Carbonetti
- Bob Sheppard as The Voice of the Yankees
- Robert Merrill as Robert Merrill
- Roger Clemens as Roger Clemens
- Derek Jeter as Derek Jeter
- Lori Heuring as Anger Management Receptionist
- Stephen Dunham as Maitre d'
- Jeff Morris as Porter
- Tony Genaro as Cabbie
- John Kirk as Bar Waitress's Lawyer
- Ken Rosier as Buddy's Lawyer
- Clint Black as Masseur
- Rob Steiner as Dave's Co-Worker
- Lorna Scott as Lady in Restroom
- Bonnie Hellman as Wife at Table
- Joe Howard as Husband at Table
- Kevin Dunigan as Man #1 in Anger Group
- Paul Renteria as Man #2 in Anger Group
- Kevin Grady as Baseball Fan
- Sidney Ganis as Neighbor
- Larry Morgan as Pool Player
- Cody Arens as Boy at Yankee Stadium
- Michael Arthur as Police Officer
- Jonathan Osser as Young Dave Buznik
- Melissa Mitchell as Sara
- Alan James Morgan as Young Arnie Shankman
- Lindsey Weber as Arnie's Sister
- Halley Eveland as Wedgie Boy
- Taylor Segal as Laughing Girl
- Nikki Segal as Girl Playing in Water
- Zack Abramowitz as Baseball Fan (uncredited)
- Arnold Chon as Buddhist Monk (uncredited)
- Dawn Drake as Girl on Plane (uncredited)
- John Farrer as Yankees Fan (uncredited)
- Heather Graham as Kendra (uncredited)
- Tom Malloy as Yankees Left Fielder (uncredited)
- Kristen Moser as Lauren (uncredited)
- Sarah Beth Nelson as Kelly Canfield (uncredited)
- John C. Reilly as Older Arnie Shankman (uncredited)
- Harry Dean Stanton as Blind Man (uncredited)
- Nils Allen Stewart as Tiny (uncredited)
- Dan Vitale as Monk (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 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 71
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 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 to 4 | 8 | 11 |
| 5 to 6 | 4 | 36 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 22 |
| 9 to 10 | 2 | 66 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 13 |
| 13 to 14 | 4 | 18 |
| 15 to 16 | 7 | 15 |
| 17 to 18 | 6 | 59 |
| 19 to 20 | 0 | 14 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 42 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 80 |
| 25 to 26 | 3 | 40 |
| 27 to 28 | 5 | 26 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 40 |
| 31 to 32 | 0 | 16 |
| 33 to 34 | 10 | 51 |
| 35 to 36 | 4 | 6 |
| 37 to 38 | 8 | 10 |
| 39 to 40 | 0 | 24 |
| 41 to 42 | 0 | 12 |
| 43 to 44 | 0 | 48 |
| 45 to 46 | 0 | 8 |
| 47 to 48 | 3 | 13 |
| 49 to 50 | 0 | 16 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 13 |
| 53 to 54 | 10 | 7 |
| 55 to 56 | 5 | 14 |
| 57 to 58 | 1 | 19 |
| 59 to 60 | 8 | 22 |
| 61 to 62 | 0 | 18 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 23 |
| 65 to 66 | 0 | 14 |
| 67 to 68 | 0 | 2 |
| 69 to 70 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 to 71 | 13 | 32 |
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, 11 are women's.
101 lines from women, 858 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
12 women and 40 men in the cast. 5 women and 9 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 15 of 1,005.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 200 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 11% of the words (1,263), men 89% (10,721).
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
1
Two men
38
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 10 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Peter Segal (man)
- Written by
- David Dorfman (man)
- Produced by
- Barry Bernardi (man), Jack Giarraputo (man)
- Shot by
- Donald McAlpine (man)
- Edited by
- Jeff Gourson (man)
- Music by
- Teddy Castellucci (man)
- Production design by
- Alan Au (man)
- Costumes by
- Ellen Lutter (woman)
- Cast by
- Roger Mussenden (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
8 women, 15 men, 4 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 15 men, 6 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 15 men, 6 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 10 men, 6 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
10 women, 3 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 8 men, 8 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 4 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 45 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
January Jones 25, Krista Allen 32, Marisa Tomei 38, Lynne Thigpen 54
Men
Adam Sandler 36, Jonathan Loughran 37, Allen Covert 38, Luis Guzmán 46, Kurt Fuller 49, Jack Nicholson 65
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $75 million
- Box office
- $196 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 71 scenes and 1,005 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
