Passes the Bechdel test
Death Becomes Her
1992. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Martin Donovan and David Koepp.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
25 women characters. 14 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 13 scenes out of 103. -
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
When a novelist loses her man to a movie star and former frenemy, she winds up in a psychiatric hospital. Years later, she returns home to confront the now-married couple, looking radiant. Her ex-fiance's wife wants to know her secret, and discovers that she took the same potion which grants eternal life to the person who drinks it as she herself already has taken.
- Released
- 31 Jul 1992
- Genres
- Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 56 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 5 wins & 16 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ernest 220 lines, man
- Madeline 211 lines, woman
- Helen 152 lines, woman
- Lisle 35 lines, woman
- Toni 34 lines
- Rose 21 lines, woman
- Harris 16 lines
- Dakota 10 lines, man
- Chagall 8 lines, man
- Cop 8 lines, man
Full cast, 77 people
- Meryl Streep as Madeline Ashton Menville
- Goldie Hawn as Helen Sharp
- Bruce Willis as Dr. Ernest Menville
- Isabella Rossellini as Lisle von Rhuman
- Ian Ogilvy as Chagall
- Adam Storke as Dakota
- Alaina Reed Hall as Psychologist
- Nancy Fish as Rose
- Michelle Johnson as Anna
- Mary Ellen Trainor as Vivian Adams
- William Frankfather as Mr. Franklin
- John Ingle as Eulogist
- Clement von Franckenstein as Opening Man
- Petrea Burchard as Opening Woman
- Jim Jansen as Second Man
- Mimi Kennedy as Second Woman
- Paulo Tocha as Landlord
- Mark Davenport as Eviction Cop
- Thomas Murphy as Eviction Cop
- Michael Mills as Police Officer
- Sonia Jackson as Psychiatric Patient
- Jill C. Klein as Psychiatric Patient
- Jean St. James as Psychiatric Patient
- Debra Jo Rupp as Psychiatric Patient
- Carol Ann Susi as Psychiatric Patient
- Kay Yamamoto as Psychiatric Patient
- Jacquelyn K. Koch as Messenger Girl
- Anya Longwell as Chagall Receptionist
- Stuart Mabray as Chagall Security
- Colleen Morris as Starlet
- Jonathan Silverman as Jay Norman
- Meg Wittner as Woman at Book Party
- Carrie Jean Yazel as Girl at Dakota's
- Michael A. Nickles as Lisle's Body Guard
- John Enos III as Lisle's Body Guard
- Danny Lee Clark as Lisle's Body Guard
- Fabio as Lisle's Body Guard
- Joel Beeson as Lisle's Body Guard
- Ron Stein as Elvis
- Bonnie Cahoon as Greta Garbo
- Stéphanie Anderson as Marilyn Monroe
- Bob Swain as Andy Warhol
- Eric Clark as James Dean
- Dave Brock as Jim Morrison
- Lydia Peterkoch as Blonde with Jim Morrison
- Phillip Irwin Cooper as Coroner
- Ernest Harada as Coroner
- Susan Kellermann as Second Doctor
- Kevin Caldwell as Medical Technician
- Alex Hernandez as Medical Technician
- Donna Ekholdt as Sobbing Nun
- Tammy Gantz as Sobbing Nun
- Melissa Martin as Sobbing Nun
- Jeff Adkins as Dancer
- Cheryl Baxter as Dancer
- Cameron English as Dancer
- Edmond Alan Forsyth as Dancer
- Bob Gaynor as Dancer
- Don Hesser as Dancer
- Michael Higgins as Dancer
- Kenneth Hughes as Dancer
- Kenneth Knaff as Dancer
- Glean Lewis as Dancer
- Keith McDaniel as Dancer
- Charles McGowan as Dancer
- Regan Patno as Dancer
- Lacy Darryl Phillips as Dancer
- Matt Sergott as Dancer
- Paul Michael Thorpe as Dancer
- Sergio Trujillo as Dancer
- Randy Crenshaw as Singer
- Jon Joyce as Singer
- Jerry Whitman as Singer
- Anthony S. Johnson as Police Supervisor (uncredited)
- Mike O'Hearn as Man (uncredited)
- Sydney Pollack as Hospital Doctor (uncredited)
- Ai Wan as Maid in Ancient Greece (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 103
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 | 3 |
| 4 to 6 | 22 | 7 |
| 7 to 9 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 to 12 | 13 | 0 |
| 13 to 15 | 24 | 10 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 8 |
| 19 to 21 | 16 | 7 |
| 22 to 24 | 8 | 14 |
| 25 to 27 | 29 | 17 |
| 28 to 30 | 16 | 14 |
| 31 to 33 | 7 | 0 |
| 34 to 36 | 18 | 3 |
| 37 to 39 | 31 | 16 |
| 40 to 42 | 13 | 2 |
| 43 to 45 | 2 | 0 |
| 46 to 48 | 1 | 2 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 2 |
| 52 to 54 | 14 | 10 |
| 55 to 57 | 11 | 10 |
| 58 to 60 | 9 | 9 |
| 61 to 63 | 15 | 12 |
| 64 to 66 | 7 | 13 |
| 67 to 69 | 3 | 0 |
| 70 to 72 | 12 | 13 |
| 73 to 75 | 16 | 15 |
| 76 to 78 | 4 | 5 |
| 79 to 81 | 49 | 31 |
| 82 to 84 | 32 | 3 |
| 85 to 87 | 23 | 14 |
| 88 to 90 | 18 | 5 |
| 91 to 93 | 4 | 8 |
| 94 to 96 | 5 | 9 |
| 97 to 99 | 11 | 11 |
| 100 to 102 | 8 | 1 |
| 103 to 103 | 1 | 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: Madeline Ashton. PSYCHOLOGIST: In my office!
PSYCHOLOGIST: I can't take this any more, Helen! Six months of therapy, you're not one pound lighter, and we're still talking about Madeline Ashton!? HELEN: Do you think I enjoy talking about Madeline Ashton? PSYCHOLOGIST: Do you think I enjoy it? ! I don't know how many-different ways I can tell you this! Madeline Ashton has .!:!_Othi~ to do with you any more!… HELEN: You're right .
ROSE: But madam , tonight ' s my night off . MADELINE: I'm sure you 'll work it out. You ' re a wonder .
MADELINE: Do you have any idea how much MADELINE: So? I t's been nearly that long. ANNA: Miss Ashton, you had one three weeks ago. What about a nice collagen buff instead? MADELINE: A collagen buff? You might as well tell me to wash with soap and water! Tonight is important to me!
HELEN: Let's take a walk. IP MADELINE: A beauty book?!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 62 are women's.
447 lines from women, 278 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
25 women and 35 men in the cast. 14 women and 10 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 803.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 23 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 62% of the words (4,898), men 38% (2,976).
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
39
Two men
3
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 32% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Robert Zemeckis (man)
- Written by
- David Koepp (man), Martin Donovan (man)
- Produced by
- Steve Starkey (man), Robert Zemeckis (man)
- Shot by
- Dean Cundey (man)
- Edited by
- Arthur Schmidt (man)
- Music by
- Alan Silvestri (man)
- Production design by
- Rick Carter (man)
- Costumes by
- Joanna Johnston (woman)
- Cast by
- Karen Rea (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
6 women, 9 men, 15 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 13 men, 11 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
7 women, 12 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
2 women, 4 men, 9 not listed
-
Other crew
4 women, 4 men, 6 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 0 men, 13 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 3 men, 4 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 42 on average. Men: 38 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Michelle Johnson 26, Isabella Rossellini 40, Mary Ellen Trainor 40, Meryl Streep 43, Alaina Reed Hall 45, Goldie Hawn 46, Nancy Fish 54
Men
Adam Storke 29, Bruce Willis 37, Ian Ogilvy 48
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $55 million
- Box office
- $149 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 103 scenes and 803 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
