Passes the Bechdel test

Edtv

Name: Edtv
Released: 1999

1999. Directed by Ron Howard, written by Émile Gaudreault and Sylvie Bouchard and Lowell Ganz.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
21 women characters. 13 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 220.
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 1 out of 3.

The film

In a Hail Mary move for corporate preservation, the San Francisco based Northwest Broadcasting Corporation launches True TV, a new network which will broadcast the life of an Average Joe or Jane, 24/7 live and thus unedited, the subject chosen signed initially for one month. The project is conceived and led by one of the producers, Cynthia, but her boss, NWBC president Whitaker, will take the credit if it succeeds, and let her sink as the captain of the ship if it fails. The network is rebranded EdTV when Cynthia believes she's found her subject, Ed Pekurny, a native Texas hayseed, who fits the two main criteria that she is looking for in the person: he is easy on the eyes, and he has what seems to be a potential trainwreck of a life in that he he is thirty-one years old, spends most of his time hanging out at the bar, and has no ambition beyond his longtime dead end job as a clerk in a video store. Ed did not actively campaign for the job - his blowhard of a brother Ray was the one who played to the cameras when Cynthia's team was looking for subjects - but ultimately decided to do it after discussing it with those close to him, namely his immediately family of his mother, stepfather, and two siblings. After a slow start and despite some people associated with Ed hamming it up to the cameras in wanting their fifteen minutes of fame or more, Ed becomes enough of a toast to the TV watching public for the network to become a success. However, having the cameras rolling during certain times may not be the most advantageous for those directly involved, especially as someone from Ed's distant past reenters his life, and an issue with regard to Ray's relationship with his current girlfriend, a UPS delivery person named Shari who if Ed was being honest would admit that he is attracted to himself. Other issues that eventually do emerge is Ed and those around him using the cameras as a convenient excuse for things that happen, and as Whitaker, against Cynthia's wants as the moves being totally self-serving, begins to manipulate Ed to make EdTV more salacious TV viewing.

Released: 26 Mar 1999
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.1 / 10
Metascore: 49 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 1 nomination total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Ed 431 lines, man
Ray 96 lines, man
Shari 88 lines, woman
Cynthia 59 lines, woman
Jeanette 52 lines, woman
Al 36 lines, man
Scharlach 22 lines, man
John 20 lines, man
Hank 17 lines, man
Jill 16 lines, woman

Full cast, 61 people

Matthew McConaughey as Ed 'Eddie' Pekurny
Woody Harrelson as Ray Pekurny
Sally Kirkland as Jeanette
Jenna Elfman as Shari
Martin Landau as Al
Ellen DeGeneres as Cynthia Topping
Rob Reiner as Mr. Whitaker
Dennis Hopper as Henry 'Hank' Pekurny
Elizabeth Hurley as Jill
Adam Goldberg as John
Viveka Davis as Marcia
Clint Howard as Ken
Geoffrey Blake as Keith
Gail Boggs as Wife
Jenna Byrne as Felicia
Greg Sestero as Roach
RuPaul as RuPaul
Merrin Dungey as Ms. Seaver
Ian Gomez as McIlvaine
Gavin Grazer as Clint
Chris Hogan as Paul
Arianna Huffington as Panel Member
Larry Jenkins as Husband
Wendle Josepher as Rita
Scott LaRose as Desipio
John Livingston as Terry
Mitzi McCall as Fig Lady
Jim Meskimen as Dr. Geller
Don Most as Benson
Rick Overton as Barry
James Ritz as Tad
Rusty Schwimmer as Alice
Steven Shenbaum as Jack
Gedde Watanabe as Greg
Steve Kehela as Reporter
Googy Gress as Reporter
Jo McGinley as Tracy
John Pirruccello as Kevin
Charles Arthur Berg as Party Goer
Anthony Jensen as Party Goer
Sommer Garcia as College Girl
Jennifer Elise Cox as College Girl
Alexandra Holden as College Girl
Mark Wheeler as Bartender
Anna Karin as Snapple Girl
George Plimpton as Panel Member
Michael Moore as Panel Member
Merrill Markoe as Panel Member
Bill Maher as Bill Maher
Jay Leno as Jay Leno
Sonia Bhalla as Ticket Taker
Joe Bellan as Lou
Diane Amos as Autograph Mom
Wade Robson as Teenage Boy
Andy Arness as Groupie (uncredited)
Cyndi Pass as Cassie
J. Anthony Pena as Con-Ed Guy (uncredited)
Carl Solomon as Ed Groupie (uncredited)
Bob Sarlatte as Motorcycle Cop
T.J. Thyne as Frat Gut
Harry Shearer as Moderator

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 220

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 5	11	11
6 to 10	9	53
11 to 15	2	19
16 to 20	4	8
21 to 25	20	63
26 to 30	0	1
31 to 35	0	4
36 to 40	2	1
41 to 45	0	2
46 to 50	3	6
51 to 55	3	6
56 to 60	6	35
61 to 65	0	5
66 to 70	10	18
71 to 75	5	26
76 to 80	10	13
81 to 85	2	4
86 to 90	3	3
91 to 95	6	5
96 to 100	4	6
101 to 105	25	51
106 to 110	20	22
111 to 115	2	3
116 to 120	7	17
121 to 125	24	27
126 to 130	8	20
131 to 135	0	9
136 to 140	19	33
141 to 145	9	12
146 to 150	13	29
151 to 155	15	18
156 to 160	3	7
161 to 165	0	4
166 to 170	6	5
171 to 175	6	7
176 to 180	1	36
181 to 185	9	32
186 to 190	10	42
191 to 195	1	19
196 to 200	8	31
201 to 205	0	12
206 to 210	8	21
211 to 215	0	2
216 to 220	0	4

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.

SHARI: Dynamite is dangerous. CYNTHIA: Ed, can I see you a second.

RITA: I ... gave her a drink. I thought it ... but she's not much of a drinker, so it's made her a little... belligerent. SHARI: What do you want?!

JEANETTE: Euuw... SHARI: Um...

SHARI: Ed... I think we should stop seeing each other. JILL: That girl's an idiot.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 28 are women's.

294 lines from women, 752 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

21 women and 40 men in the cast. 13 women and 22 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 7 of 1,126. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 34 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 26% of the words (3,048), men 74% (8,621). Women have 28% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

4 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Ron Howard (man)
Written by: Émile Gaudreault (man), Sylvie-Katherine Bouchard (woman), Lowell Ganz (man), Babaloo Mandel (man)
Produced by: Jeffrey T. Barabe (man), Brian Grazer (man), Ron Howard (man), John Corser (man)
Shot by: John Schwartzman (man)
Edited by: Daniel P. Hanley (man), Mike Hill (man)
Music by: Randy Edelman (man)
Production design by: Michael Corenblith (man)
Costumes by: Rita Ryack (woman)
Cast by: Janet Hirshenson (woman), Jane Jenkins (woman)