Fails the Bechdel test

CB4

Name: CB4
Released: 1993

1993. Directed by Tamra Davis, written by Chris Rock and Nelson George and Robert LoCash.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
17 women characters. 7 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

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

A "rapumentary", covering the rise to fame of MC Gusto, Stab Master Arson, and Dead Mike: members of the rap group "CB4". We soon learn that these three are not what they seem and don't apear to know as much about rap music as they claim... but a lack of musical ability in an artist never hurts sales, does it? You've just got to play the part of a rap star...

Released: 12 Mar 1993
Genres: Comedy, Music
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.3 / 10
Metascore: 49 / 100
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

A. White 70 lines, man
Homicide 47 lines, man
Man Slaughter 43 lines, man
Robinson 26 lines, man
Dead Mike 22 lines, man
Yomoneyrob 22 lines
Sissy 21 lines, woman
Trustus Jones 14 lines, man
Eve 11 lines, woman
Trustus 11 lines, man

Full cast, 59 people

Chris Rock as Albert / MC Gusto
Allen Payne as Euripides / Dead Mike
Deezer D as Otis / Stab Master Arson
Chris Elliott as A. White
Phil Hartman as Virgil Robinson
Charlie Murphy as Gusto
Khandi Alexander as Sissy
Art Evans as Albert Sr.
Theresa Randle as Eve
Willard E. Pugh as Trustus
Ty Granderson Jones as 40 Dog
Rachel True as Daliha
Victor Wilson as Lt. Davenport
Richard Gant as Baa Baa Ack
J.D. Daniels as Ben
Stoney Jackson as Wacky Dee
Isaac Hayes as Owner
LaWanda Page as Grandma
Louisa Abernathy as Mrs. Otis
Shar Jackson as Tamika
Daphne Jones as Tashana
Saba Shawel as Tawana
Vanessa Lee Chester as Talona
Chasiti Hampton as Tee Tee
Wayne 'Crescendo' Ward as Biscuit Dinner
John Walcutt as Director
Jeremiah Birkett as Malik
Christopher J. Keene as Accountant
Lance Crouther as Well Dressed Man
Shirley Hemphill as 976-Sexy
Mari J. Sahley as 976-Piss
Al Clegg as 976-Diss
LaVerne Anderson as Video Set Dancer
Sonee Thompson as Video Set Dancer
Gerard 'Gus' Williams as Inmate
Melvin Jones as Inmate
Cathy Giannone as Diner
Bill Haller as Diner
Kenneth Menard as Diner
Loretta Jean as Diner
Mary Ann Hermansen as Sun
Robbin Tasha-Ford as Shine
Renee Tenison as Twin
Rosie Tenison as Twin
Niketa Calame-Harris as Albertina
Jedda Jones as Waitress
Ice-T as Self
Halle Berry as Self
Ice Cube as Self
Flavor Flav as Self
Shaquille O'Neal as Self
Eazy-E as Self
Butthole Surfers as Cameo (uncredited)
King Coffey as Self (uncredited)
Tommy Davidson as Weird Warren (uncredited)
Gibby Haynes as Self (uncredited)
Valentina Marie Lomborg as Otis’ Girlfriend (uncredited)
Jeff Pinkus as Self (uncredited)
Paul Leary as Self (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 34% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 36

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 1	0	0
2 to 2	0	13
3 to 3	0	8
4 to 4	8	55
5 to 5	2	6
6 to 6	1	1
7 to 7	0	7
8 to 8	0	1
9 to 9	22	24
10 to 10	0	1
11 to 11	0	23
12 to 12	0	13
13 to 13	0	3
14 to 14	0	7
15 to 15	2	6
16 to 16	2	4
17 to 17	0	0
18 to 18	0	2
19 to 19	1	13
20 to 20	0	0
21 to 21	1	8
22 to 22	5	7
23 to 23	0	6
24 to 24	0	3
25 to 25	0	2
26 to 26	0	8
27 to 27	0	0
28 to 28	0	2
29 to 29	0	5
30 to 30	3	15
31 to 31	0	4
32 to 32	2	8
33 to 33	0	5
34 to 34	0	7
35 to 35	0	10
36 to 36	2	12

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, 15 are women's.

51 lines from women, 289 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

17 women and 29 men in the cast. 7 women and 14 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 49 of 516. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 89 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 14% of the words (886), men 86% (5,531). Women have 15% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

1 of the 12 people in these jobs is a woman. Across the whole crew, 6% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Tamra Davis (woman)
Written by: Chris Rock (man), Nelson George (man), Robert LoCash (man)
Story by: Chris Rock (man), Nelson George (man)
Produced by: Nelson George (man)
Shot by: Karl Walter Lindenlaub (man)
Edited by: Earl Watson (man)
Music by: John Barnes (man)
Production design by: Nelson Coates (man)
Costumes by: Bernie White (man)

The crew, department by department

Production

0 women, 5 men
Writing

0 women, 5 men
Art

0 women, 1 men
Camera

0 women, 1 men
Costume & Make-Up

0 women, 1 men
Directing

1 women, 0 men
Editing

0 women, 1 men
Sound

0 women, 1 men

Women
Men
Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 32 on average. Men: 34 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Theresa Randle 28, Khandi Alexander 35

Men

Allen Payne 24, Chris Rock 28, Deezer D 28, Chris Elliott 32, Charlie Murphy 33, Willard E. Pugh 33, Phil Hartman 44, Art Evans 50

Exhibit G: the money

It made 3.0 times what it cost.

Budget: $6 million
Box office: $18 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 36 scenes and 516 lines of dialogue. How the test works

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