Fails the Bechdel test

Free Guy

Name: Free Guy
Released: 2021

2021. Directed by Shawn Levy, written by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
21 women characters. 3 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

In the extremely popular video game, Free City, a NPC named Guy learns the true nature of his existence when he meets the girl of his dreams, a human player. This player's interactions with Guy has massive effects on him, the game, and real world as they play it.

Released: 13 Aug 2021
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.1 / 10
Metascore: 62 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 6 wins & 30 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Guy 300 lines, man
Millie 107 lines, woman
Buddy 63 lines, man
Punit 44 lines, man
Mac 36 lines, man
Antwan 28 lines, man
Gareth 22 lines, man
Punit/Cop 18 lines, man
Bank Robber 16 lines, man
Gareth/Cop 15 lines, man

Full cast, 70 people

Ryan Reynolds as Guy
Jodie Comer as Millie Rusk / Molotovgirl
Lil Rel Howery as Buddy
Joe Keery as Keys
Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser
Taika Waititi as Antwan
Channing Tatum as Revenjamin Buttons
Aaron W Reed as Dude
Britne Oldford as Barista
Camille Kostek as Bombshell
Mark Lainer as Hostage
Mike Devine as Officer Johnny
Sophie Levy as Big City Dreamer
Vernon Scott as Bank Manager
Naheem Garcia as Convenience Store Owner Joe
Anabel Graetz as Cat Lady Phyllis
Ric Plamenco as Ice Cream Vendor
Kenneth Israel as Businessman
Michael Malvesti as Newsstand Vendor
Colin Allen as Shoe Store Clerk
Michael Tow as Rain Man
Hugh Jackman as Masked Player in Alley (voice)
Dwayne Johnson as Bank Robber #2 (voice)
Tina Fey as Vacuuming Mom (voice)
John Krasinski as Silhouetted Gamer (voice)
Chris Evans as Chris Evans
Alex Trebek as Alex Trebek
Lara Spencer as Lara Spencer
Matty Cardarople as Keith, the 22-Year-Old Gamer
Jonathan De Azevedo as Jonathan
Destiny Claymore as Art Nerd
Tyler Blevins as Ninja
Imane Anys as Pokimane
Lannan Eacott as Lazarbeam
Seán McLoughlin as Jacksepticeye
Daniel Middleton as DanTDM
Charlotte Levy as Tween Gamer Girl
Colette Levy as Foul-Mouthed Little Sister
Mariama Condé as Teenage Girl
Olivia Z. Cote as Teenage Girl
Ryan Doyle as Teenage Boy
Bob Gilliam as Free City News Anchor
Terri Schwartz as IGN Reporter
Eugene Nomura as Japanese Reporter
Euri Nomura as Hinata
Octavia Chavez-Richmond as Real World Coffee Shop Server
Raj Jawa as Quad-Screen Gamer
Charlie Lehmer as Quad-Screen Gamer
Elainy Mata as Quad-Screen Gamer
Jack McLaglen as Quad-Screen Gamer
Jose Guns Alves as Soonami Security Guard
Minh-Anh Day as Soonami Employee
Ella Faria as Austrian Female Gamer
Francisco Marquez as Bank Robber #1
Owen Burke as Bank Robber #2
Timothy John Smith as Bank Robber #3
Justin Johnston as Bank Robber #4
Patrick Vincent Curran as Masked Player in Alley
Lily Steven as 20-Year-Old Female Gamer
Gabrielle Lorthe as 20-Year-Old Female Gamer
Briana Mitchell as 20-Year-Old Female Gamer
Rosario Corso as Silhouetted Gamer
Regina Taufen as Vacuuming Mom
Liam Campos as Kid Gamer
Piper Acord as Contestant
Brett Schneider as Contestant
Omar Ghonim as Carjacking Victim (uncredited)
Tait Fletcher as Viking Warrior (uncredited)
Janelle Feigley as Jogger (uncredited)
Brandon Scales as Businessman (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 159

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 4	0	5
5 to 8	1	3
9 to 12	0	35
13 to 16	0	21
17 to 20	2	6
21 to 24	0	33
25 to 28	0	9
29 to 32	0	26
33 to 36	1	7
37 to 40	0	1
41 to 44	1	20
45 to 48	1	3
49 to 52	0	3
53 to 56	6	3
57 to 60	7	15
61 to 64	1	5
65 to 68	0	34
69 to 72	6	24
73 to 76	15	46
77 to 80	0	15
81 to 84	0	13
85 to 88	0	3
89 to 92	0	4
93 to 96	0	37
97 to 100	2	4
101 to 104	14	16
105 to 108	1	13
109 to 112	2	18
113 to 116	0	2
117 to 120	7	19
121 to 124	0	1
125 to 128	2	8
129 to 132	16	20
133 to 136	7	11
137 to 140	13	20
141 to 144	4	6
145 to 148	0	8
149 to 152	1	14
153 to 156	5	17
157 to 159	5	19

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, 17 are women's.

120 lines from women, 567 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

21 women and 35 men in the cast. 3 women and 11 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 8 of 752. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 98 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 18% of the words (1,267), men 82% (5,677). Women have 17% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

5 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Shawn Levy (man)
Written by: Matt Lieberman (man), Zak Penn (man)
Story by: Matt Lieberman (man)
Produced by: Sarah Schechter (woman), Ryan Reynolds (man), Greg Berlanti (man), Shawn Levy (man), Adam Kolbrenner (man)
Shot by: George Richmond (man)
Edited by: Dean Zimmerman (man)
Music by: Christophe Beck (man)
Production design by: Ethan Tobman (man)
Costumes by: Marlene Stewart (woman)
Cast by: Angela Peri (woman), Ronna Kress (woman), Lisa Lobel (woman)