Passes the Bechdel test
Beetlejuice
1988. Directed by Tim Burton, written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren and Larry Wilson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
10 women characters. 11 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 17 scenes out of 146. -
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
Adam and Barbara are a normal couple...who happen to be dead. They have given their precious time to decorate their house and make it their own, but unfortunately a family is moving in, and not quietly. Adam and Barbara try to scare them out, but end up becoming the main attraction to the money making family. They call upon Beetlejuice to help, but Beetlejuice has more in mind than just helping.
- Released
- 30 Mar 1988
- Genres
- Comedy, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 7.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 7 wins & 11 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Barbara 149 lines, woman
- Adam 139 lines, man
- Lydia 121 lines, woman
- Delia 72 lines, woman
- Betelgeuse 67 lines, man
- Charles 62 lines, man
- Otho 46 lines, man
- Juno 26 lines, woman
- Jane 13 lines, woman
- Receptionist 12 lines, woman
Full cast, 30 people
- Alec Baldwin as Adam
- Geena Davis as Barbara
- Winona Ryder as Lydia
- Catherine O'Hara as Delia
- Jeffrey Jones as Charles
- Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse
- Glenn Shadix as Otho
- Sylvia Sidney as Juno
- Patrice Martinez as Receptionist
- Dick Cavett as Bernard
- Robert Goulet as Maxie Dean
- Maree Cheatham as Sarah Dean
- Susan Kellermann as Grace
- Carmen Filpi as Messenger
- Annie McEnroe as Jane Butterfield
- Rachel Mittelman as Little Jane
- Hugo Stanger as Old Bill
- Maurice Page as Ernie
- J. Jay Saunders as Moving Man #1
- Mark Ettlinger as Moving Man #2
- Cindy Daly as 3-Fingered Typist
- Douglas S. Turner as Char Man
- Gary Jochimsen as Dumb Football Player
- Bob Pettersen as Dumb Football Player #2
- Duane Davis as Very Dumb Football Player
- Simmy Bow as Janitor
- Adelle Lutz as Beryl
- Tony Cox as Preacher
- Jack Angel as Preacher (voice)
- Charles Schneider as The Hanging Man (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 146
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 4 | 7 | 7 |
| 5 to 8 | 12 | 3 |
| 9 to 12 | 4 | 4 |
| 13 to 16 | 1 | 8 |
| 17 to 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 21 to 24 | 8 | 6 |
| 25 to 28 | 11 | 13 |
| 29 to 32 | 5 | 7 |
| 33 to 36 | 14 | 13 |
| 37 to 40 | 16 | 14 |
| 41 to 44 | 2 | 4 |
| 45 to 48 | 5 | 4 |
| 49 to 52 | 16 | 7 |
| 53 to 56 | 13 | 4 |
| 57 to 60 | 2 | 3 |
| 61 to 64 | 0 | 3 |
| 65 to 68 | 11 | 16 |
| 69 to 72 | 16 | 4 |
| 73 to 76 | 4 | 7 |
| 77 to 80 | 26 | 9 |
| 81 to 84 | 1 | 13 |
| 85 to 88 | 18 | 8 |
| 89 to 92 | 9 | 6 |
| 93 to 96 | 13 | 10 |
| 97 to 100 | 26 | 34 |
| 101 to 104 | 11 | 6 |
| 105 to 108 | 21 | 17 |
| 109 to 112 | 10 | 16 |
| 113 to 116 | 15 | 9 |
| 117 to 120 | 25 | 23 |
| 121 to 124 | 26 | 9 |
| 125 to 128 | 17 | 14 |
| 129 to 132 | 3 | 5 |
| 133 to 136 | 9 | 9 |
| 137 to 140 | 11 | 23 |
| 141 to 144 | 5 | 0 |
| 145 to 146 | 12 | 7 |
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.
LYDIA: Delia hates it. LYDIA: I could live here. DELIA: Settle down, Lydia. I wonder where we are going to get counseling for you out here.
LYDIA: I plan to have a stroke from the amount of MSG that's in this food. DELIA: This is our first meal in this house, Lydia. Why don't we all do our little private parts to make it a pleasant one?
BARBARA: An appointment for what? RECEPTIONIST: What do you want? BARBARA: We need some help. RECEPTIONIST: Already? You just bit the big one nine months ago and you want help?
RECEPTIONIST: D-90's. You spend a hundred and twenty-five years on earth, BARBARA: Why three?
RECEPTIONIST: You'll have to wait if you don't have an appointment. BARBARA: How long do we have to wait?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 54 are women's.
407 lines from women, 347 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
10 women and 16 men in the cast. 11 women and 13 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 778.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 16 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 52% of the words (4,134), men 48% (3,787). Women have 54% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
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
46
Two men
29
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Tim Burton (man)
- Written by
- Warren Skaaren (man), Michael McDowell (man)
- Story by
- Michael McDowell (man), Larry Wilson (man)
- Produced by
- Michael Bender (man), Larry Wilson (man), Richard Hashimoto (man)
- Shot by
- Thomas E. Ackerman (man)
- Edited by
- Jane Kurson (woman)
- Music by
- Danny Elfman (man)
- Production design by
- Bo Welch (man)
- Costumes by
- Aggie Guerard Rodgers (woman)
- Cast by
- Janet Hirshenson (woman), Jane Jenkins (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 10 men, 5 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 13 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 8 men, 4 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 3 men, 4 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 38 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Winona Ryder 16, Patrice Martinez 24, Geena Davis 32, Catherine O'Hara 34, Sylvia Sidney 77
Men
Alec Baldwin 29, Glenn Shadix 35, Michael Keaton 36, Jeffrey Jones 41, Dick Cavett 51
Exhibit H: the money
It made 5.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $15 million
- Box office
- $84.6 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 146 scenes and 778 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
