Passes the Bechdel test
Four Weddings and a Funeral
1994. Directed by Mike Newell, written by Richard Curtis.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
17 women characters. 10 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 99. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
In Britain, slightly bumbling and always tardy Charles (Hugh Grant) and his closest group of friends seem always to be attending weddings, but are never the bride nor groom, and as such, each, with the exception of gay couple Gareth (Simon Callow) and Matthew (John Hannah), is looking for love. At the wedding of their friends, Angus (Timothy Walker) and Laura (Sara Crowe), where Charles is acting as best man, Charles meets an American woman named Carrie (Andie MacDowell). For him, it's love at first sight. She too is attracted to him. Although they spend a memorable evening together, that's all it ends up being. Over three more successive weddings - some of the brides and grooms who are very near and dear to Charles' heart - and one unfortunate funeral, Charles runs into Carrie, but something always seems to prevent the two of them from getting together. He also runs into a plethora of old girlfriends, one of whom he may believe is really the one he was meant to end up with, especially if Carrie seems to remain unobtainable. Will Charles settle for who in his heart is second best, or will fate finally bring Charles and Carrie together?
- Released
- 15 Apr 1994
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 81 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 24 wins & 28 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Charles 344 lines, man
- Carrie 131 lines, woman
- Tom 63 lines, man
- Matthew 58 lines, man
- Scarlett 56 lines, woman
- Gareth 41 lines, man
- Fiona 39 lines, woman
- David 34 lines, man
- Henrietta 22 lines, woman
- George 21 lines, man
Full cast, 49 people
- Hugh Grant as Charles
- Andie MacDowell as Carrie
- Kristin Scott Thomas as Fiona
- Simon Callow as Gareth
- James Fleet as Tom
- John Hannah as Matthew
- Charlotte Coleman as Scarlett
- David Bower as David
- Corin Redgrave as Hamish
- Rowan Atkinson as Father Gerald
- Anna Chancellor as Henrietta
- Timothy Walker as Angus the Groom - Wedding One
- Sara Crowe as Laura the Bride - Wedding One
- Ronald Herdman as Vicar - Wedding One
- Elspet Gray as Laura's Mother - Wedding One
- Philip Voss as Laura's Father - Wedding One
- Kenneth Griffith as Mad Old Man - Wedding One
- Rupert Vansittart as George the Boor at The Boatman - Wedding One
- Nicola Walker as Frightful Folk Duo - Wedding One
- Paul Stacey as Frightful Folk Duo - Wedding One
- Simon Kunz as John with the Unfaithful Wife - Wedding One
- Robin McCaffrey as Serena - Wedding One
- Michael Mears as Waiter at the Boatman - Wedding One
- David Haig as Bernard the Groom - Wedding Two
- Sophie Thompson as Lydia the Bride - Wedding Two
- Donald Weedon as Master of Ceremonies - Wedding Two
- Robert Lang as Lord Hibbott - Wedding Two
- Jeremy Kemp as Sir John Delaney - Wedding Two
- Nigel Hastings as Tea-Tasting Alistair - Wedding Two
- Emily Morgan as Vomiting Veronica - Wedding Two
- Amanda Mealing as Naughty Nicki - Wedding Two
- Polly Kemp as Miss Piggy - Wedding Two
- Melissa Knatchbull as Mocking Martha - Wedding Two
- Rosalie Crutchley as Mrs. Beaumont - Wedding Two
- Hannah Taylor-Gordon as Young Bridesmaid - Wedding Two
- Bernice Stegers as Shop Assistant - Wedding Three
- Ken Drury as Vicar - Wedding Three
- Struan Rodger as Best Man - Wedding Three
- Lucy Hornak as Married Woman - Wedding Three
- Randall Paul as Chester - Wedding Three
- Pat Starr as Gareth's Dancing Partner - Wedding Three
- Tim Thomas as Doctor - Wedding Three
- Neville Phillips as Vicar - Funeral
- Susanna Hamnett as Deirdre - Wedding Four
- John Abbott as Polite Verger - Wedding Four
- Richard Butler as Vicar - Wedding Four
- Duncan Kenworthy as Matthew's Gorgeous New Boyfriend (uncredited)
- Mark Chapman as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
- Philip Stone as Wedding Guest - Wedding Three (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 99
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 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 to 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 13 to 15 | 3 | 3 |
| 16 to 18 | 3 | 5 |
| 19 to 21 | 14 | 39 |
| 22 to 24 | 31 | 84 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 5 |
| 28 to 30 | 6 | 37 |
| 31 to 33 | 14 | 15 |
| 34 to 36 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 to 39 | 16 | 34 |
| 40 to 42 | 27 | 68 |
| 43 to 45 | 9 | 5 |
| 46 to 48 | 14 | 14 |
| 49 to 51 | 4 | 8 |
| 52 to 54 | 4 | 5 |
| 55 to 57 | 1 | 0 |
| 58 to 60 | 13 | 15 |
| 61 to 63 | 54 | 71 |
| 64 to 66 | 7 | 10 |
| 67 to 69 | 26 | 46 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 4 |
| 73 to 75 | 14 | 21 |
| 76 to 78 | 1 | 15 |
| 79 to 81 | 4 | 18 |
| 82 to 84 | 7 | 21 |
| 85 to 87 | 12 | 26 |
| 88 to 90 | 1 | 22 |
| 91 to 93 | 1 | 7 |
| 94 to 96 | 1 | 24 |
| 97 to 99 | 11 | 32 |
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.
SCARLETT: o, isn't she lovely!! FIONA: Scarlett, you're blind. She looks like a big meringue.
FIONA: This is the sort of song that makes you cry, isn't it, Scarlett? SCARLETT: Is it?
SCARLETT: o, you couldn't give us a lift could you, Lyd? LYDIA: No need - we're here.
HENRIETTA: Please come and have lunch sometime - ring me ..• .. Still cute. FIONA: How was the Duck?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 31 are women's.
302 lines from women, 658 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
17 women and 29 men in the cast. 10 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,040.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 29 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 30% of the words (3,221), men 70% (7,470). Women have 31% 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
71
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 9 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 39% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Mike Newell (man)
- Written by
- Richard Curtis (man)
- Produced by
- Duncan Kenworthy (man)
- Shot by
- Michael Coulter (man)
- Edited by
- Jon Gregory (man)
- Music by
- Richard Rodney Bennett (man)
- Production design by
- Maggie Gray (woman)
- Costumes by
- Lindy Hemming (woman)
- Cast by
- Michelle Guish (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
3 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 1 men
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 0 men
-
Writing
1 women, 1 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 38 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Charlotte Coleman 25, Kristin Scott Thomas 33, Andie MacDowell 35
Men
David Bower 24, John Hannah 31, Hugh Grant 33, Rowan Atkinson 39, James Fleet 41, Simon Callow 44, Corin Redgrave 54
Exhibit H: the money
It made 55.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $4.4 million
- Box office
- $246 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 99 scenes and 1,040 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
