Passes the Bechdel test
As Good as It Gets
1997. Directed by James L. Brooks, written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
34 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 120. -
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
New York City. Melvin Udall, a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer, finds his life turned upside down when neighboring gay artist Simon is hospitalized and his dog is entrusted to Melvin. In addition, Carol, the only waitress who will tolerate him, must leave work to care for her sick son, making it impossible for Melvin to eat breakfast.
- Released
- 25 Dec 1997
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 67 / 100
- Awards
- Won 2 Oscars. 38 wins & 54 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Melvin 278 lines, man
- Carol 229 lines, woman
- Simon 138 lines, man
- Frank 31 lines, man
- Beverly 18 lines, woman
- Dr. Bettes 16 lines, man
- Jackie 10 lines, woman
- Vincent 8 lines, man
- Spencer 7 lines, man
- Doctor 6 lines
Full cast, 69 people
- Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall
- Helen Hunt as Carol Connelly
- Greg Kinnear as Simon Bishop
- Cuba Gooding Jr. as Frank Sachs
- Shirley Knight as Beverly Connelly
- Jesse James as Spencer Connelly
- Yeardley Smith as Jackie Simpson
- Lupe Ontiveros as Nora Manning
- Skeet Ulrich as Vincent Lopiano
- Harold Ramis as Dr. Bettes
- Lawrence Kasdan as Dr. Green
- Bibi Osterwald as Neighbor Woman
- Ross Bleckner as Carl
- Bernadette Balagtas as Caterer
- Jaffe Cohen as Partygoer
- Laurie Kilpatrick as Partygoer
- Alice Vaughn as Partygoer
- Brian Doyle-Murray as Handyman
- Kristi Zea as Mother at Table
- Annie Maginnis Tippe as Daughter at Table
- Patricia Childress as Cafe 24 Waitress
- Rebekah Johnson as Cafe 24 Waitress
- Missi Pyle as Cafe 24 Waitress
- Leslie Stefanson as Cafe 24 Waitress
- Tara Subkoff as Cafe 24 Waitress
- Shane Black as Cafe 24 Manager
- Peter Jacobson as Man at Table
- Lisa Edelstein as Woman at Table
- Stan Bly as Cafe 24 Customer
- Randall Batinkoff as Carol's Date
- Jamie Kennedy as Street Hustler
- Justin Herwick as Street Hustler
- Maya Rudolph as Policewoman
- John F. O'Donohue as Detective Ray
- Dr. David A. Kipper as Hospital Doctor
- Mary Elizabeth Still as Nurse Receptionist
- Chloe Brooks as Child at Cafe 24
- Cooper Brooks as Child at Cafe 24
- Sharon L. Alexander as Female Passerby
- Holly Denys as Female Passerby
- Alison Rose as Psychiatric Patient
- Kathryn Morris as Psychiatric Patient
- Wood Harris as Cafe 24 Busboy
- Linda Gehringer as Publisher
- Julie Benz as Receptionist
- Antonia Jones as Nurse
- Kaitlin Hopkins as Woman in Lobby
- Jimmy Workman as Sean from the Bakery
- Danielle Spencer as Veterinarian
- Todd Solondz as Man on Bus
- Tom McGowan as Maitre'd
- Danielle Brisebois as Singer
- Matt Malloy as Men's Store Salesman
- Paul Greenberg as Bar Waiter
- Kirk Ringberg as Food Waiter
- Dave Hawthorne as Bartender
- Dunya Djordjevic as Art Dealer (uncredited)
- Alex Ballar as Flower Store Customer (uncredited)
- Jason Thomas Campbell as Valet (uncredited)
- Amy Anzel as Ballet Dancer (uncredited)
- Eliza Harris as Ballet Dancer (uncredited)
- Eddie L. Fauria as NYC Transit Cop (uncredited)
- Frank Slaten as Miffed Party Goer (uncredited)
- Laura Mayes Byrnes as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Oriana Nicole Tavoularis as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Roger Ferreira as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Bronwyn Cornelius as Bartender (uncredited)
- Maurice LaMarche as Fred Bishop - Simon's Dad on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
- Ava Lee Scott as New Yorker
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 120
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 | 1 | 21 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 26 |
| 10 to 12 | 24 | 11 |
| 13 to 15 | 6 | 15 |
| 16 to 18 | 8 | 17 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 12 |
| 22 to 24 | 3 | 14 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 3 |
| 28 to 30 | 4 | 14 |
| 31 to 33 | 10 | 15 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 6 |
| 37 to 39 | 1 | 8 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 7 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 12 |
| 46 to 48 | 10 | 11 |
| 49 to 51 | 8 | 7 |
| 52 to 54 | 3 | 5 |
| 55 to 57 | 26 | 21 |
| 58 to 60 | 7 | 32 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 to 69 | 11 | 9 |
| 70 to 72 | 18 | 12 |
| 73 to 75 | 26 | 39 |
| 76 to 78 | 9 | 5 |
| 79 to 81 | 6 | 2 |
| 82 to 84 | 7 | 16 |
| 85 to 87 | 11 | 15 |
| 88 to 90 | 4 | 10 |
| 91 to 93 | 2 | 12 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 11 |
| 97 to 99 | 21 | 24 |
| 100 to 102 | 12 | 15 |
| 103 to 105 | 9 | 20 |
| 106 to 108 | 3 | 11 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 11 |
| 112 to 114 | 8 | 31 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 0 |
| 118 to 120 | 19 | 19 |
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.
CAROL: No, I didn't. So why are you h... BEVERLY: I didn't know you had a secret admire. CAROL: Huh? BEVERLY: You met the gift.
CAROL: I'm a waitress. BEVERLY: In Manhattan.
CAROL: You stand there and I'll wave to you from the back window. BEVERLY: Call me as soon as you're settled. CAROL: I love you. CAROL: Sensitive, huh?!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 34 are women's.
277 lines from women, 527 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
34 women and 30 men in the cast. 9 women and 15 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 55 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 34% of the words (3,375), men 66% (6,683).
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
7
Two men
42
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 30% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- James L. Brooks (man)
- Written by
- Mark Andrus (man), James L. Brooks (man)
- Story by
- Mark Andrus (man)
- Produced by
- Kristi Zea (woman), Bridget Johnson (woman), James L. Brooks (man)
- Shot by
- John Bailey (man)
- Edited by
- Richard Marks (man)
- Music by
- Hans Zimmer (man)
- Production design by
- Bill Brzeski (man)
- Cast by
- Karen E. Etcoff (woman), Francine Maisler (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
14 women, 16 men, 18 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 25 men, 9 not listed
-
Other crew
7 women, 12 men, 12 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 10 men, 10 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 9 men, 9 not listed
-
Editing
4 women, 3 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 46 on average. Men: 35 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Yeardley Smith 33, Helen Hunt 34, Lupe Ontiveros 55, Shirley Knight 61
Men
Jesse James 8, Skeet Ulrich 27, Cuba Gooding Jr. 29, Greg Kinnear 34, Harold Ramis 53, Jack Nicholson 60
Exhibit H: the money
It made 6.3 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $50 million
- Box office
- $314 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 120 scenes and 824 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
