Fails the Bechdel test
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
1998. Directed by Terry Gilliam, written by Hunter S. Thompson and Terry Gilliam and Tony Grisoni.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
14 women characters. 4 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
The big-screen version of Hunter S. Thompson's seminal psychedelic classic about his road trip across Western America as he and his large Samoan lawyer searched desperately for the "American dream"... they were helped in large part by the huge amount of drugs and alcohol kept in their convertible, The Red Shark.
- Released
- 22 May 1998
- Genres
- Adventure, Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 41 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Duke 372 lines, man
- Gonzo 209 lines, man
- Clerk 24 lines, man
- Da 20 lines
- Maid 14 lines, woman
- Highway Patrolman 9 lines, man
- Lacerda 9 lines, man
- Waitress 8 lines, woman
- Magazine Reporter 6 lines, man
- Voice Off 6 lines
Full cast, 70 people
- Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke
- Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo
- Tobey Maguire as Hitchhiker
- Michael Lee Gogin as Uniformed Dwarf
- Larry Cedar as Car Rental Agent - Los Angeles
- Brian Le Baron as Parking Attendant
- Katherine Helmond as Desk Clerk at Mint Hotel
- Michael Warwick as Bell Boy
- Craig Bierko as Lacerda
- Tyde Kierney as Reporter
- Mark Harmon as Magazine Reporter
- Tim Thomerson as Hoodlum
- Richard Riehle as Dune Buggy Driver
- Ransom Gates as Dune Buggy Passenger
- Frank Romano as Dune Buggy Passenger
- Gil Boccaccio as Desert Room Doorman
- Gary Bruno as Desert Room Doorman
- Richard Portnow as Wine Colored Tuxedo
- Debbie Reynolds as Debbie Reynolds (voice)
- Steve Schirripa as Goon
- Verne Troyer as Wee Waiter
- Will Blount as The Black Guy
- Ben Yeagar as Clown Barker
- Penn Jillette as Carnie Talker
- Christopher Callen as Bazooko Circus Waitress
- Cameron Diaz as Blonde TV Reporter
- Benjamin A. Van Der Veen as TV Crew Man
- Lyle Lovett as Road Person
- Flea as Musician
- Alex Craig Mann as Stockbroker
- Gregory Itzin as Mint Hotel Clerk
- Gary Busey as Highway Patrolman
- Troy Evans as Police Chief
- Gale Baker as Police Chief's Wife
- Christopher Meloni as Clerk at Flamingo Hotel
- Christina Ricci as Lucy
- Chris Hendrie as Executive Director
- Larry Brandenburg as Cop in Car
- Michael Jeter as Ron Bumquist
- Donald Morrow as Film Narrator (voice)
- Harry Dean Stanton as Judge
- Jenette Goldstein as Maid
- Stephen Bridgewater as Human Cannonball
- Buck Holland as Shopper
- Mary Gillis as Shopper
- Jennifer Elise Cox as Shopper
- Robert Allen as Car Rental Agent - Los Angeles
- David Brisbin as Man in Car
- Ellen Barkin as Waitress at North Star Cafe
- James O'Sullivan as TV Newsman
- Milt Tarver as TV Newsman
- Kathryn Alexander as Lizard Performer
- Mia Babalis as Lizard Performer
- Kristin Draudt as Lizard Performer
- Kim Flowers as Lizard Performer
- Trudi Forristal as Lizard Performer
- Nan Friedman as Lizard Performer
- Judith Lieff as Lizard Performer
- Tane McClure as Lizard Performer
- Diana Mehoudar as Lizard Performer
- Geoffrey Nimmer as Lizard Performer
- Marlene Bologna as Trapeze Artist
- Chobi Gyorgy as Trapeze Artist
- Karen Price as Trapeze Artist
- Lisa Hoyle as Trapeze Artist
- Joseph S. Griffo as Trapeze Artist
- Laraine Newman as Frog-Eyed Woman (uncredited)
- Hunter S. Thompson as Other Duke in Matrix Flashback (uncredited)
- Lyndon B. Johnson as Self (archive photo)
- Richard Nixon as Self (archive footage)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 110
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 | 0 | 18 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 6 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 7 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 21 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 20 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 33 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 5 |
| 25 to 27 | 2 | 17 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 25 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 17 |
| 34 to 36 | 1 | 35 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 21 |
| 40 to 42 | 2 | 9 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 9 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 23 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 18 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 3 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 7 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 4 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 46 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 4 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 3 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 7 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 19 |
| 76 to 78 | 2 | 32 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 10 |
| 82 to 84 | 2 | 55 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 24 |
| 88 to 90 | 16 | 66 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 17 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 8 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 12 |
| 100 to 102 | 5 | 19 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 15 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 11 |
| 109 to 110 | 0 | 3 |
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, 4 are women's.
30 lines from women, 677 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
14 women and 39 men in the cast. 4 women and 23 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 160 of 773.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 161 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 3% of the words (324), men 97% (10,915). Women have 4% 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
0
Two men
8
Exhibit E: behind the camera
5 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Terry Gilliam (man)
- Written by
- Terry Gilliam (man), Tony Grisoni (man), Tod Davies (woman), Alex Cox (man)
- From the novel by
- Hunter S. Thompson (man)
- Produced by
- Patrick Cassavetti (man), Laila Nabulsi (woman), Stephen Nemeth (man)
- Shot by
- Nicola Pecorini (man)
- Edited by
- Lesley Walker (woman)
- Music by
- Ray Cooper (man)
- Production design by
- Alex McDowell (man)
- Costumes by
- Julie Weiss (woman)
- Cast by
- Margery Simkin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
2 women, 9 men, 13 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 6 men, 9 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 6 men, 10 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 8 men, 6 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 6 men, 6 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 0 men, 8 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Writing
1 women, 4 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 68 on average. Men: 34 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Katherine Helmond 68
Men
Tobey Maguire 22, Michael Warwick 26, Benicio del Toro 31, Craig Bierko 33, Johnny Depp 34, Larry Cedar 43, Tyde Kierney 49
Exhibit G: the money
It made 58% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $18.5 million
- Box office
- $10.7 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 110 scenes and 773 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
