Fails the Bechdel test

Diner

Name: Diner
Released: 1982

1982. Directed by Barry Levinson, written by Barry Levinson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
7 women characters. 5 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

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

Early twenty-something Baltimoreans Eddie, Shrevie, Boogie, Billy, Fenwick and Modell have been friends since they were kids, and the center of their lives has been and still is the Fells Point Diner. In the last week of 1959, Baltimore Colts fanatic Eddie is scheduled to marry Elyse on New Year's Eve, but might call it off if she doesn't pass his Colts quiz on the 29th. Inexperienced Eddie turns to the only other married one of their bunch, electronics salesman and music aficionado Shrevie, for advice, but Shrevie might not be the best marriage advisor since he doesn't yet realize he probably married his wife Beth for the wrong reasons. Beth has lost her sense of identity, is unhappy in her marriage, and contemplates having an affair with someone who provides what she believes is a sympathetic shoulder. Hairdresser and law school student Boogie is the player of the bunch and has major financial problems because of his quest for the fast buck. Generally strait-laced Billy, Eddie's best man who has been away getting his MBA, has come back to Baltimore a few days early to clarify his relationship with his girlfriend Barbara. Smart-aleck Fen is a college dropout who lives off his trust fund and doesn't much like his family--just what their money can buy him. And insecure Modell is afraid to ask for anything directly. As 1960 approaches, they collectively deal with how to truly be adults.

Released: 21 May 1982
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7 / 10
Metascore: 82 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 6 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Boogie 98 lines, man
Eddie 78 lines, man
Billy 74 lines, man
Beth 40 lines, woman
Shrevie 34 lines, man
Barbara 19 lines, woman
B Illy 16 lines
Fenwick 12 lines, man
Modell 11 lines, man
Bagel 10 lines, man

Full cast, 45 people

Steve Guttenberg as Edward 'Eddie' Simmons
Daniel Stern as Laurence 'Shrevie' Schreiber
Mickey Rourke as Robert 'Boogie' Sheftell
Kevin Bacon as Timothy Fenwick Jr.
Tim Daly as William 'Billy' Howard
Ellen Barkin as Beth Schreiber
Paul Reiser as Modell
Kathryn Dowling as Barbara
Michael Tucker as Bagel
Jessica James as Mrs. Simmons
Colette Blonigan as Carol Heathrow
Kelle Kipp as Diane
John Aquino as Tank
Richard Pierson as David Frazer
Claudia Cron as Jane Chisholm
Tait Ruppert as Methan
Tom Tammi as Howard Fenwick
Pam Gail as First Stripper
Lauren Zaganas as Second Stripper
Sharon Ziman as Elyse
Mark Margolis as Earl Mager
Ralph Tabakin as TV Customer
Frank Stoegerer as TV Director
Nat Benchley as Technical Director
Frank Hennessy as Audio Man
Marvin Hunter as Newscaster
Steve Smith as Announcer
Lee Case as Billy Howard's Father
Clement Fowler as Eddie Simmons' Father
Howard Silverman as Clothing Hustler
Ted Bafaloukos as George
Barney Cohen as Knocko
Bruce Kluger as Guy at Pool Hall
Bruce Elliott as Soap Opera Man
Carole Copeland as Soap Opera Woman
Aryeh Cooperstock as Rabbi
Brian Costantini as Drunk at Wedding
Lorraine D. Glick as Woman at Wedding
Florence Moody as Waitress
Mary Lou Vukov as Waitress
Alan Kaplan as Bagel's Friend
Donald Saiontz as Bagel's Friend
Chief Gordon as Man in Jail
Beverly Sheehan as Beautician
Dusty Clare as Salon Woman

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 29% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 63

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 2	0	0
3 to 4	0	13
5 to 6	0	6
7 to 8	3	41
9 to 10	0	0
11 to 12	0	31
13 to 14	0	0
15 to 16	0	3
17 to 18	0	36
19 to 20	4	23
21 to 22	11	16
23 to 24	7	20
25 to 26	0	19
27 to 28	0	2
29 to 30	3	6
31 to 32	4	14
33 to 34	10	9
35 to 36	3	22
37 to 38	0	4
39 to 40	0	4
41 to 42	3	17
43 to 44	8	14
45 to 46	0	1
47 to 48	4	10
49 to 50	2	2
51 to 52	0	0
53 to 54	4	5
55 to 56	1	29
57 to 58	6	11
59 to 60	1	2
61 to 62	4	3
63 to 63	0	0

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, 18 are women's.

78 lines from women, 363 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

7 women and 22 men in the cast. 5 women and 25 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 28 of 622. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 174 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 17% of the words (908), men 83% (4,561). Women have 18% 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

4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 19% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Barry Levinson (man)
Written by: Barry Levinson (man)
Produced by: Jerry Weintraub (man)
Shot by: Peter Sova (man)
Edited by: Andy Blumenthal (man), Stu Linder (man)
Music by: Ivan Král (man), Bruce Brody (gender not listed)
Costumes by: G. Tony Scarano (gender not listed), Deahdra Scarano (woman), Mary E. Vogt (woman), Gloria Gresham (woman)
Cast by: Ellen Chenoweth (woman)