Passes the Bechdel test
Forrest Gump
1994. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Winston Groom and Eric Roth.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
30 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 197. -
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
Forrest Gump is a simple man with a low I.Q. but good intentions. He is running through childhood with his best and only friend Jenny. His 'mama' teaches him the ways of life and leaves him to choose his destiny. Forrest joins the army for service in Vietnam, finding new friends called Dan and Bubba, he wins medals, creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, starts a ping-pong craze, creates the smiley, writes bumper stickers and songs, donates to people and meets the president several times. However, this is all irrelevant to Forrest who can only think of his childhood sweetheart Jenny Curran, who has messed up her life. Although in the end all he wants to prove is that anyone can love anyone.
- Released
- 06 Jul 1994
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 8.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 82 / 100
- Awards
- Won 6 Oscars. 51 wins & 74 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Forrest 446 lines, man
- Jenny 127 lines, woman
- Lt. Dan 90 lines, man
- Mrs. Gump 37 lines, woman
- Bubba 25 lines, man
- Lenore 12 lines, woman
- Hilary 11 lines, woman
- Abbie Hoffman 9 lines, man
- Carla 9 lines, woman
- Elvis 9 lines, man
Full cast, 145 people
- Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump
- Robin Wright as Jenny Curran
- Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan Taylor
- Sally Field as Mrs. Gump
- Mykelti Williamson as Bubba Blue
- Michael Conner Humphreys as Young Forrest Gump
- Hanna Hall as Young Jenny Curran
- Haley Joel Osment as Forrest Junior
- Siobhan Fallon Hogan as School Bus Driver
- Rebecca Williams as Nurse at Park Bench
- Bob Penny as Crony
- Harold G. Herthum as Doctor
- George Kelly as Barber
- John Randall as Crony
- Sam Anderson as Principal Hancock
- Margo Moorer as Louise
- Ione M. Telech as Elderly Woman
- Christine Seabrook as Elderly Woman's Daughter
- John Worsham as Southern Gentleman / Landowner
- Peter Dobson as Young Elvis Presley
- Alexander Zemeckis as School Bus Boy
- Logan Livingston Gomez as School Bus Boy
- Ben Waddel as School Bus Boy
- Elizabeth Hanks as School Bus Girl
- Tyler Long as Red Headed Boy
- Christopher Jones as Boy with Cross
- Grady Bowman as Fat Boy
- Kevin Mangan as Jenny's Father
- Fay Genens as Jenny's Grandmother
- Frank Geyer as Police Chief
- Rob Landry as Red Headed Teen
- Jason McGuire as Fat Teen
- Pete Auster as Teen with Cross
- Sonny Shroyer as Bear Bryant
- Brett Rice as High School Football Coach
- Ed Davis as High School Football Coach
- Daniel C. Striepeke as Recruiter
- Bruce Lucvia as Kick Off Return Player
- David Brisbin as Newscaster
- Kirk Ward as Earl
- Angela Lomas as Black Student
- Timothy Record as Black Student
- Deborah McTeer as Woman with Child on Park Bench
- Mark Matheisen as Jenny's Date
- Al Harrington as Local Anchor #1
- Jed Gillin as President John F. Kennedy (voice)
- Bob Harks as University Dean
- Don Fischer as Army Recruiter
- Kenneth Bevington as Army Bus Driver
- Michael Flannery as Bus Recruit
- Gary Robinson as Bus Recruit
- Marlena Smalls as Bubba's Mother
- Kitty K. Green as Bubba's Great Grandmother
- Afemo Omilami as Drill Sergeant
- Matt Wallace as Barracks Recruit
- Danté McCarthy as Topless Girl
- Paulie DiCocco as Emcee
- Mike Jolly as Club Patron
- Michael Kemmerling as Club Patron
- John Voldstad as Club Patron
- Jeffrey Winner as Club Patron
- Russ Wilson as Pick-up Truck Driver
- Daniel J. Gillooly as Helicopter Gunman
- Calvin Gadsden as Sargeant Sims
- Aaron Izbicki as Dallas
- Michael Burgess as Cleveland
- Steven Griffith as Tex
- Bill Roberson as Fat Man at Bench
- Michael McFall as Army Hospital Male Nurse
- Eric Underwood as Mail Call Soldier
- Steve DeRelian as Wounded Soldier
- Byron Minns as Wounded Soldier
- Stephen Bridgewater as Hospital Officer
- Bonnie Ann Burgess as Army Nurse
- Scott Oliver as National Correspondent #1
- John William Galt as President Johnson (voice)
- Hilary Chaplain as Hilary
- Isabel Rose as Isabel
- Jay Ross as Veteran at War Rally
- Richard D'Alessandro as Abbie Hoffman
- Dick Stilwell as Policeman at War Rally
- Kevin Davis as Black Panther
- Michael Jace as Black Panther
- Geoffrey Blake as Wesley
- Tim Perry as Hippie at Commune
- Vanessa Roth as Hollywood Boulevard Girlfriend
- Emily Carey as Hollywood Boulevard Girlfriend
- Paul Raczkowski as Man in VW Bug
- Valentine as Chinese Ping Pong Player
- Dick Cavett as Dick Cavett
- Joe Stefanelli as John Lennon (voice)
- Tiffany Salerno as Carla
- Marla Sucharetza as Lenore
- Aloysius Gigl as Musician Boyfriend
- Jack Bowden as National Correspondent #4
- Joe Alaskey as President Nixon (voice)
- Lazarus Jackson as Discharge Officer
- W. Benson Terry as Stanley Loomis
- Matt Rebenkoff as Drugged Out Boyfriend
- Peter Bannon as Local Correspondent #2
- Joe Washington as Local Anchor #2
- Nora Dunfee as Elderly Southern Woman
- Natalie Hendrix Tate as Local Anchor #3
- Hallie D'Amore as Waitress in Cafe
- Jim Hanks as Forrest Gump Running Double
- Chiffonye Cobb as Hannibal Reporter
- Juan Singleton as Hannibal Reporter
- Bobby Richardson as Hannibal Reporter
- Michael Mattison as Taxi Driver
- Lenny Herb as Young Man Running
- Charles Boswell as Aging Hippie
- Timothy McNeil as Wild Eyed Man
- Lonnie Hamilton as The Minister
- Teresa Denton as Lieutenant Dan's Fiancée, Susan
- Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley (voice) (uncredited)
- Mary Ellen Trainor as Jenny's Babysitter (uncredited)
- Robb Skyler as Nicholas Katzenbach (uncredited)
- Michael J. Oliver as Red Headed Teen (uncredited)
- Bryan Hanna as Football Coach (uncredited)
- Greg Brown as Football Player (uncredited)
- Brendan Shanahan as Football Player (uncredited)
- Troy Christian as Cheerleader (uncredited)
- Jacqueline Lovell as Football Fan (uncredited)
- Zach Hanner as Barracks Recruit (uncredited)
- Aaron Michael Lacey as National Guardsman (uncredited)
- William Shipman as Black Panther (uncredited)
- Eric Alan Wendell as Student Protester (uncredited)
- John Simmit as Higgins - Protestor on Stage (uncredited)
- Neal MacMillan as Student Protester (uncredited)
- Beau Lotterman as Thompson (uncredited)
- Teddy Lane Jr. as Black Panther (uncredited)
- Jim Keller as Hippie at Commune (uncredited)
- Michael Garvey as Reporter (uncredited)
- James Ent as Alabama College Photographer #1 (uncredited)
- Jim Damron as CBS Correspondent Cooper (uncredited)
- Darren W. Conrad as Alabama Football Player (uncredited)
- Daniel Chamblin as Southern Landowner (uncredited)
- Clint Calvert as Football Fan (uncredited)
- Grand L. Bush as Black Panther Leader (uncredited)
- Jim Boeke as University of Alabama Assistant Football Coach (uncredited)
- Marcus Batton as Get the Bikes Bully (uncredited)
- Beth Aylward as Military Officer (uncredited)
- Rob Adams as College Quarterback (uncredited)
- Joe Abby as Protestor on Stage (uncredited)
- Elvis Presley as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 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 197
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 | 2 | 13 |
| 6 to 10 | 9 | 9 |
| 11 to 15 | 11 | 20 |
| 16 to 20 | 2 | 16 |
| 21 to 25 | 14 | 31 |
| 26 to 30 | 4 | 16 |
| 31 to 35 | 4 | 12 |
| 36 to 40 | 1 | 13 |
| 41 to 45 | 0 | 13 |
| 46 to 50 | 27 | 23 |
| 51 to 55 | 1 | 36 |
| 56 to 60 | 7 | 37 |
| 61 to 65 | 13 | 28 |
| 66 to 70 | 0 | 21 |
| 71 to 75 | 0 | 20 |
| 76 to 80 | 0 | 87 |
| 81 to 85 | 17 | 36 |
| 86 to 90 | 15 | 18 |
| 91 to 95 | 5 | 11 |
| 96 to 100 | 8 | 52 |
| 101 to 105 | 13 | 22 |
| 106 to 110 | 7 | 14 |
| 111 to 115 | 0 | 10 |
| 116 to 120 | 1 | 2 |
| 121 to 125 | 0 | 24 |
| 126 to 130 | 1 | 6 |
| 131 to 135 | 10 | 20 |
| 136 to 140 | 1 | 9 |
| 141 to 145 | 1 | 5 |
| 146 to 150 | 2 | 9 |
| 151 to 155 | 6 | 9 |
| 156 to 160 | 2 | 3 |
| 161 to 165 | 0 | 8 |
| 166 to 170 | 2 | 11 |
| 171 to 175 | 0 | 15 |
| 176 to 180 | 24 | 33 |
| 181 to 185 | 9 | 18 |
| 186 to 190 | 2 | 7 |
| 191 to 195 | 0 | 9 |
| 196 to 197 | 0 | 12 |
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.
HILARY: I'll beat your head in, you goddamned oinker! ISABEL: Christ, what'd they do with this?
LENORE: Hey, hey! We was, we was just there. That's at Times Square. LENORE: Don't you just love New Year's? You get to start all over. CARLA: Hey, Lenore. LENORE: Everybody gets a second chance.
CARLA: Don't push me like that! LENORE: Hey, don't you push her!
LENORE: You big loser! CARLA: Come on, Lenore. We don't need this shit! LENORE: You're so pathetic.
CARLA: You retard! LENORE: You loser! You freak!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 23 are women's.
221 lines from women, 758 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
30 women and 100 men in the cast. 9 women and 45 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 6 of 1,077.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 170 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 (1,879), men 83% (9,097). Women have 23% 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
9
Two men
47
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Robert Zemeckis (man)
- Written by
- Eric Roth (man)
- From the novel by
- Winston Groom (man)
- Produced by
- Wendy Finerman (woman), Steve Tisch (man), Steve Starkey (man)
- Shot by
- Don Burgess (man)
- Edited by
- Arthur Schmidt (man)
- Music by
- Alan Silvestri (man)
- Production design by
- Rick Carter (man)
- Costumes by
- Joanna Johnston (woman)
- Cast by
- Ellen Lewis (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 20 men, 11 not listed
-
Art
6 women, 15 men, 12 not listed
-
Sound
7 women, 13 men, 6 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 7 men, 11 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 2 men, 11 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 8 men, 6 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 28 on average. Men: 26 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Hanna Hall 9, Rebecca Williams 24, Robin Wright 28, Siobhan Fallon Hogan 33, Sally Field 47
Men
Haley Joel Osment 6, Michael Conner Humphreys 9, Tom Hanks 37, Mykelti Williamson 37, Gary Sinise 39
Exhibit H: the money
It made 12.3 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $55 million
- Box office
- $677 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 197 scenes and 1,077 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
