Passes the Bechdel test

Boogie Nights

Name: Boogie Nights
Released: 1997

1997. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, written by Paul Thomas Anderson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
28 women characters. 9 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 145.
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

Adult film director Jack Horner is always on the lookout for new talent and it's only by chance that he meets Eddie Adams who is working as a busboy in a restaurant. Eddie is young, good looking and plenty of libido to spare. Using the screen name Dirk Diggler, he quickly rises to the top of his industry winning awards year after year. Drugs and ego however come between Dirk and those around him and he soon finds that fame is fleeting.

Released: 31 Oct 1997
Genres: Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.9 / 10
Metascore: 87 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. 36 wins & 64 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Dirk 351 lines, man
Jack 239 lines, man
Amber 98 lines, woman
Colonel 70 lines, man
Reed 70 lines, man
Rollergirl 61 lines, woman
Buck 59 lines, man
Todd 50 lines, man
Maurice 48 lines, man
Scotty J 47 lines, man

Full cast, 96 people

Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams / Dirk Diggler
Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner
Julianne Moore as Amber Waves
John C. Reilly as Reed Rothchild
Heather Graham as Rollergirl
Don Cheadle as Buck Swope
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Scotty J.
William H. Macy as Little Bill
Thomas Jane as Todd Parker
Luis Guzmán as Maurice t.t. Rodriguez
Melora Walters as Jessie St. Vincent
Robert Ridgely as The Colonel James
Ricky Jay as Kurt Longjohn
Nicole Ari Parker as Becky Barnett
Alfred Molina as Rahad Jackson
Philip Baker Hall as Floyd Gondolli
Robert Downey Sr. as Burt, Studio Manager
Nina Hartley as Little Bill's Wife
Laurel Holloman as Sheryl Lynn
Michael Penn as Nick the Engineer
Michael Jace as Jerome
Jack Wallace as Rocky
Kai Lennox as High School / College Kid
Jonathan Quint as Johnny Doe
John Doe as Amber's Husband
Joanna Gleason as Dirk's Mother
Lawrence Hudd as Dirk's Father
Rico Bueno as Hot Traxx Waiter
Samson Barkhordarian as Hot Traxx Chef
Brad Braeden as Big Stud
Michael Stein as Stereo Customer
Stanley DeSantis as Buck's Manager
Patricia Forte as Teacher
Jason Andrews as Johnny Limo Driver
Little Cinderella as Colonel's Lady Friend
Greg Lauren as Young Stud
Tom Dorfmeister as Watcher #1
Jake Cross as Watcher #2
Selwyn Emerson Miller as Hot Traxx DJ
Jamielyn Lippman as Colonel's Hot Traxx Girlfriend
Missy Spell Tanner as Becky's Girlfriend
Raymond Laboriel as Becky's Girlfriend's Friend
Jon Brion as Awards Ceremony Band Member
Brian Kehew as Awards Ceremony Band Member
Robin Sharp as Awards Ceremony Band Member
Audrey Wiechman as Awards Ceremony Band Member
Tim Soronen as Raphael
Alexander D. Slanger as Floyd's Kid - Boy
Tom Lenk as Floyd's Kid - Boy
Lexi Leigh as Floyd's Kid - Girl
Laura Gronewold as Floyd's Kid - Girl
Vernon Guichard II as Mugsy, Jack's Bartender
Tony Tedeschi as New Year's Eve Young Stud
Leslie Redden as KC Sunshine
Gregory T. Daniel as Minister
Don Amendolia as Bank Worker
Summer Cummings as Summer - Jacuzzi Girl
Skye Blue as Skye - Jacuzzi Girl
Veronica Hart as Judge
Jack Riley as Lawyer
Channon Roe as Surfer
Mike Gunther as Surfer Punk
Michael Raye Smith as Surfer Punk
Michael S. Stencil as Surfer Punk
Dustin Courtney as Donut Boy
Allan Graf as Man with Gun
Jose Chaidez as Puerto Rican Kid
B. Philly Johnson as Rahad's Bodyguard
Joe G.M. Chan as Cosmo - Rahad's Boy
Goliath as Tyrone
Israel Juarbe as Maurice's Brother
George Anthony Rae as Maurice's Brother
Eric Winzenried as Doctor
Sharon Ferrol-Young as Hot Traxx Dancer
Anne Fletcher as Hot Traxx Dancer
Scott Fowler as Hot Traxx Dancer
Melanie A. Gage as Hot Traxx Dancer
Eddie Garcia as Hot Traxx Dancer
Sebastian La Cause as Hot Traxx Dancer
Lance MacDonald as Hot Traxx Dancer
Diane Mizota as Hot Traxx Dancer
Nathan Prevost as Hot Traxx Dancer
Lisa Ratzin as Hot Traxx Dancer
Dee Dee Weathers as Hot Traxx Dancer
Darrel W. Wright as Hot Traxx Dancer
Michael Ballhaus as Cameraman (uncredited)
Greg Bronson as Clubgoer (uncredited)
Grace Bustos as Underwater Swimming Girl at Party (uncredited)
Jorga Caye as Patron (uncredited)
Tyrone D. Dixon as Actor in 'Angels Live in My Town' (uncredited)
Theo Mayes as Dirk Diggler's Hairstylist (uncredited)
Coleman McClary as Jack's Pool Party Guest (uncredited)
Jami Philbrick as Dancer (uncredited)
Aaron Stielstra as Partygoer (uncredited)
Misty Tamburelli as Girl in Red Dress (uncredited)
Sean Welch as Party Man (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 145

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	11	84
5 to 8	4	6
9 to 12	4	7
13 to 16	8	23
17 to 20	25	46
21 to 24	14	10
25 to 28	23	64
29 to 32	0	15
33 to 36	1	53
37 to 40	0	65
41 to 44	5	58
45 to 48	23	60
49 to 52	0	7
53 to 56	2	2
57 to 60	12	31
61 to 64	17	26
65 to 68	15	37
69 to 72	9	87
73 to 76	10	17
77 to 80	24	88
81 to 84	2	76
85 to 88	2	11
89 to 92	9	10
93 to 96	13	10
97 to 100	8	33
101 to 104	1	2
105 to 108	7	28
109 to 112	29	7
113 to 116	1	49
117 to 120	4	31
121 to 124	2	35
125 to 128	0	59
129 to 132	0	2
133 to 136	18	14
137 to 140	1	5
141 to 144	9	21
145 to 145	1	2

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.

AMBER: Did you call that girl today? ROLLERGIRL: I forgot. AMBER: If you don't do it tomorrow, then it's the weekend and you'll never be able to get in to see her --

AMBER: What's the matter down there? ROLLERGIRL: I gotta go pee. AMBER: Well go, then.

AMBER: I'll see what I can do. BECKY: . . . because it's old . . . it's old deal.

BECKY: OH SHIT! TURN IT UP! I LOVE THIS SONG! LADY FRIEND: Excuse me . . . ?

BECKY: Thank you. JESSIE: Because sometimes I feel like an outsider to the whole thing. Y'know . . . I see you and Amber and your relationship and I dunno --

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.

314 lines from women, 1181 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

28 women and 51 men in the cast. 9 women and 35 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,566. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 96 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 19% of the words (2,965), men 81% (12,760). Women have 21% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 22% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson (man)
Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson (man)
Produced by: John S. Lyons (man), Lloyd Levin (man), JoAnne Sellar (woman), Paul Thomas Anderson (man)
Shot by: Robert Elswit (man)
Edited by: Dylan Tichenor (man)
Music by: Michael Penn (man)
Production design by: Bob Ziembicki (man)
Costumes by: Mark Bridges (man)
Cast by: Christine Sheaks (woman)