Passes the Bechdel test

Copycat

Name: Copycat
Released: 1995

1995. Directed by Jon Amiel, written by Ann Biderman and David Madsen.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 6 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 133.
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, though someone marked that rating as dubious.

The film

In San Francisco, the criminal psychologist Helen Hudson is specialized in serial-killers. During a trial, the accused Daryll Lee Cullum kills a police officer and tries to kill her and she becomes agoraphobic. Now Helen lives a reclusive life with her gay friend Andy that helps her. Sometime later, there is a wave of crimes and Detectives M.J. Monahan and Reuben Goetz are investigating the murder cases. Helen identifies that the murderer is copycatting notorious serial-killers and she anonymously contacts the Police Department. After fourteen phone calls, she is identified by the police. Detectives M.J. and Reuben visit her and Helen teams up with them and prepares the profile of the killer that wants to be famous. But soon the copycat killer Peter Foley contacts and stalks Helen and M.J. and Reuben give protection to her. Will they be capable to stop Foley before the next murder?

Released: 27 Oct 1995
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.6 / 10
Metascore: 54 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 1 nomination total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Helen 220 lines, woman
Ruben 94 lines, man
Quinn 55 lines, man
Andy 50 lines, man
Nikko 30 lines
Peter 26 lines, man
Conrad 17 lines, man
Saks 14 lines
Susan 12 lines, woman
Attorney 10 lines

Full cast, 62 people

Sigourney Weaver as Helen Hudson
Holly Hunter as M.J. Monahan
Dermot Mulroney as Ruben Goetz
William McNamara as Peter Foley
Harry Connick Jr. as Daryll Lee Cullum
J.E. Freeman as Lt. Quinn
Will Patton as Nicoletti
John Rothman as Andy
Shannon O'Hurley as Susan Schiffer
Bob Greene as Pachulski
Tony Haney as Kerby
Danny Kovacs as Kostas
Tahmus Rounds as Landis
Scott Devenney as Cop #1
David Michael Silverman as Mike
Diane Amos as Gigi
Kelly De Martino as Festival girl
Richard Conti as Harvey
Nick Scoggin as Conrad
Bert Kinyon as Burt
Dennis Richmond as KXBU Anchorman
Rob Nilsson as SWAT Commander
Kenny Kwong as Chinese Kid
Charles Branklyn as Doc
Rebecca Klingler as Peter's Wife
Terry Brown as Cop #2
Corie Henninger as Jogger
Bill Bonham as Photographer
Kathleen Stefano as Peter's Mother
Chris Beale as Tech Guy #1
Hansford Prince as Fred
Don West as Attorney
Jay Jacobus as Judge
John Charles Morris as Young Peter
Keith Phillips as Felix Mendoza
Johnetta Shearer as Paramedic
Ron Kaell as Mac
Kelvin Han Yee as Chinese Detective
James Cunningham as Hal
Victor Talmadge as Head Waiter
Brian Keith Russell as Coroner's Man
Damon Lawner as Festival Dude
Russ Christoff as Commissioner Petrillo
Doug Morrisson as SWAT #1
Edith Bryson as Landlady
Jeni Chua as Michelle
William Oates as Man in Corridor
Lee Kopp as Haircut Man
Thomas J. Fieweger as Bodger the Cop
Floyd Gale Holland as L. Bottemy
Anthony Moore as Uniformed Policeman
Stephanie Smith as Disturbed Tenant #1
S. J. Spinali as Disturbed Tenant #2
Katherine Fitzhugh as Disturbed Tenant #3
Robert Benscoter as Disturbed Tenant #4
Arlon G. Greene as Male Jogger
Stuart W. Yee as Thug
Vincenetta Gunn as Screaming Woman
David D. Ferguson as Dock Onlooker
Eleva Singleton as Paramedic
Gena Bingham as Victim in Car at Gas Station
Jon Briddell as Burglar (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 15% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 133

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	4	0
4 to 6	1	1
7 to 9	12	11
10 to 12	2	4
13 to 15	1	0
16 to 18	8	12
19 to 21	23	27
22 to 24	11	11
25 to 27	5	11
28 to 30	14	12
31 to 33	1	1
34 to 36	10	8
37 to 39	10	8
40 to 42	7	12
43 to 45	10	20
46 to 48	0	11
49 to 51	24	2
52 to 54	4	1
55 to 57	8	9
58 to 60	2	0
61 to 63	0	2
64 to 66	5	24
67 to 69	5	8
70 to 72	13	4
73 to 75	2	0
76 to 78	3	0
79 to 81	9	4
82 to 84	11	23
85 to 87	0	12
88 to 90	0	0
91 to 93	0	3
94 to 96	2	2
97 to 99	9	0
100 to 102	3	1
103 to 105	4	8
106 to 108	1	2
109 to 111	0	0
112 to 114	5	1
115 to 117	3	0
118 to 120	0	0
121 to 123	12	11
124 to 126	4	0
127 to 129	0	2
130 to 132	10	15
133 to 133	3	0

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.

HELEN: Call in. Use my phone. They'll tell you -- it's all over. HER HAND ON WALL: AS SHE MOVES A TENTATIVE STEP HER HAND PRESSES HEAVILY, SLIDING ALONG THE WALL. THEN HER HAND MOVES A LITTLE FASTER, AND FASTER.

HELEN: Why can't I drive home? I will. You. Look at you. You need a ride home. And you don't even know it. SUSAN: Hey! Halloran! What's the story here? HELEN: If she has to ask, she's never gonna know.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 48 are women's.

261 lines from women, 283 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

12 women and 23 men in the cast. 6 women and 17 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 40 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 51% of the words (4,439), men 49% (4,202). Women have 48% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 19% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Jon Amiel (man)
Written by: Ann Biderman (woman), David Madsen (gender not listed)
Produced by: Arnon Milchan (man), Mark Tarlov (man), Michael G. Nathanson (man)
Shot by: László Kovács (man)
Edited by: Jim Clark (man), Alan Heim (man)
Music by: Christopher Young (man)
Production design by: Jim Clay (man)
Costumes by: Claudia Brown (gender not listed)
Cast by: Suzanne Smith Crowley (woman), Kerry Barden (man), Billy Hopkins (man)