Passes the Bechdel test
Dumb and Dumber
1994. Directed by Peter Farrelly, written by Peter Farrelly and Bennett Yellin and Bobby Farrelly.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
29 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 140. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
Harry and Lloyd are two good friends who happen to be really stupid. The duo set out on a cross country trip from Providence to Aspen, Colorado to return a briefcase full of money to its rightful owner, a beautiful woman named Mary Swanson. After a trip of one mishap after another, the duo eventually make it to Aspen. But the two soon realize that Mary and her briefcase are the least of their problems.
- Released
- 16 Dec 1994
- Genres
- Comedy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 41 / 100
- Awards
- 5 wins & 3 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Lloyd 319 lines, man
- Harry 297 lines, man
- Mary 69 lines, woman
- Andre 35 lines, man
- Mental 31 lines, man
- Athletic Beauty 19 lines, woman
- Barnard 14 lines, man
- Helen 13 lines, woman
- State Trooper 10 lines, man
- Dt. Dale 9 lines, man
Full cast, 81 people
- Jim Carrey as Lloyd Christmas
- Jeff Daniels as Harry Dunne
- Lauren Holly as Mary Swanson
- Teri Garr as Helen Swanson
- Charles Rocket as Nicholas Andre
- Karen Duffy as J.P. Shay
- Mike Starr as Joe Mentaliano
- Felton Perry as Detective Dale
- Hank Brandt as Karl Swanson
- Brad Lockerman as Bobby
- Victoria Rowell as Athletic Beauty
- Brady Bluhm as Billy
- Cam Neely as Sea Bass
- Rob Moran as Bartender
- Joe Baker as Barnard
- Kathryn Frick as Cashier
- Zen Gesner as Dale's Man #1
- Lawrence Kopp as Dale's man #2
- Clint Allen as Coroner
- Connie Sawyer as Elderly Lady
- Lin Shaye as Mrs. Neugeboren
- Mike Watkiss as Reporter
- Harland Williams as State Trooper
- Diane Kinerk as Waitress #1
- Lisa Stothard as Bus Stop Beauty
- Sean Gildea as Sea Bass Friend
- Charles Rahi Chun as Flight Attendant
- Helen Boll as Swanson Maid
- Fred Stoller as Anxious Man at Phone
- Hillary Matthews as Waitress #2
- Karen Ingram as Nicholas's Girl
- Jesse Borja as Martial Artist
- Vené L. Arcoraci as Bikini Girl
- Anna Anka as Bikini Girl
- Samantha Carpel as Bikini Girl
- Elaine Wood as Bikini Girl
- Bruce Bowns as Barber
- Denise Vienne as Concierge
- Nancy Farrelly as Diner Gawker
- Catalina Izasa as Manicurist
- Samatha Pearson as Masseuse
- Ken Duvall as Mutt Cutts Boss
- Cecile Krevoy as Airport Bystander
- George Bedard as Peeing Man
- Bill Beauchene as Peeing Man's Friend
- Gary Sivertsen as Aspen Police Officer
- John Stroehman as Preservation Partier
- Terry Mullany as Preservation Partier
- Brad Blank as Preservation Partier
- Mark Miosky as Preservation Partier
- Mike Cavallo as Preservation Partier
- Tom Leasca as Preservation Partier
- Kevin Sheehan as Preservation Partier
- Kenny Griswold as Preservation Partier
- Brian Mone as Preservation Partier
- Brad Norton as Preservation Partier
- Chris Spain as Preservation Partier
- Paul Pelletier as Preservation Partier
- Mark Levine as Preservation Partier
- Billy Smith as Preservation Partier
- Mark Charpentier as Preservation Partier
- James 'Sporty' Ahern as Preservation Partier
- Jim Blake as Preservation Partier
- Traci Adell as Sexy Woman
- Anita Rice as Sweater Friend
- Pam Nielson as Sweater Friend
- Nancy Barker as Sweater Friend
- Brad Lowder as Sweater Friend
- Doug Caputo as Sweater Friend
- James Horrocks as Sweater Friend
- Clem Franek as Wallbanger
- Valentina Marie Lomborg as Swedish Bikini Team Member (uncredited)
- Kirsten Maryott as Bikini Girl (uncredited)
- Bryan Moss as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Irene Santiago as Flight Personnel (uncredited)
- Craig Patterson as Bellman (uncredited)
- Josh Shipley as Preservation Partier (uncredited)
- John Yost as Guy in Restaurant (uncredited)
- Rick Barker as Waiter #1 (uncredited)
- Jaclyn Bernstein as Lucy (Pacific Bell Commercial) (uncredited)
- Don Shanks as Waiter #3 (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 140
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 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 to 6 | 13 | 16 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 to 12 | 2 | 4 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 26 |
| 16 to 18 | 3 | 12 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 28 |
| 22 to 24 | 1 | 31 |
| 25 to 27 | 3 | 33 |
| 28 to 30 | 4 | 13 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 20 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 20 |
| 37 to 39 | 3 | 3 |
| 40 to 42 | 1 | 22 |
| 43 to 45 | 6 | 7 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 6 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 8 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 17 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 14 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 14 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 24 |
| 64 to 66 | 1 | 19 |
| 67 to 69 | 1 | 4 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 to 75 | 4 | 6 |
| 76 to 78 | 7 | 17 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 2 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 38 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 12 |
| 88 to 90 | 4 | 3 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 27 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 39 |
| 97 to 99 | 12 | 0 |
| 100 to 102 | 12 | 95 |
| 103 to 105 | 3 | 16 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 4 |
| 109 to 111 | 4 | 7 |
| 112 to 114 | 7 | 6 |
| 115 to 117 | 2 | 23 |
| 118 to 120 | 2 | 0 |
| 121 to 123 | 5 | 5 |
| 124 to 126 | 9 | 10 |
| 127 to 129 | 3 | 4 |
| 130 to 132 | 8 | 13 |
| 133 to 135 | 1 | 14 |
| 136 to 138 | 6 | 40 |
| 139 to 140 | 0 | 16 |
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.
MARY: It just doesn't make any sense. I left the money exactly where they instructed me to. HELEN: Actually, it makes a great deal of sense, Mary. We should have called in the authorities the moment we knew Melvin had been kidnapped.
HELEN: I brought you some tea. I thought it might help you relax. MARY: Thank you. MARY: Yech! What's in this, whiskey? HELEN: Uh, sorry... that one's mine.
HELEN: Mary, I don't believe I've met your friend. MARY: Actually, we haven't been introduced yet. I'm Mary Swanson, and this is my stepmother, Helen.
SHAY: You're luck just ran out, pal. MARY: This is silly. Let me help you...
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 15 are women's.
130 lines from women, 752 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
29 women and 46 men in the cast. 7 women and 13 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 905.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 100 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 12% of the words (1,097), men 88% (8,263). Women have 15% 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
5
Two men
61
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 14 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Peter Farrelly (man)
- Written by
- Bobby Farrelly (man), Bennett Yellin (man), Peter Farrelly (man)
- Produced by
- Steven Stabler (man), Charles B. Wessler (man), Brad Krevoy (man)
- Shot by
- Mark Irwin (man)
- Edited by
- Christopher Greenbury (man)
- Music by
- Todd Rundgren (man)
- Production design by
- Sydney J. Bartholomew Jr. (man)
- Costumes by
- Mary Zophres (woman)
- Cast by
- Dan Parada (gender not listed), Rick Montgomery (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 17 men, 15 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 15 men, 6 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 6 men, 8 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 5 men, 6 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 5 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 0 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 38 on average. Men: 44 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Lauren Holly 31, Karen Duffy 32, Teri Garr 50
Men
Jim Carrey 32, Jeff Daniels 39, Brad Lockerman 39, Mike Starr 44, Charles Rocket 45, Felton Perry 49, Hank Brandt 60
Exhibit H: the money
It made 15.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $16 million
- Box office
- $247 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 140 scenes and 905 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
