Fails the Bechdel test
Get on Up
2014. Directed by Tate Taylor, written by Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth and Steven Baigelman.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
14 women characters. 8 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 2 out of 3.
The film
On route to the stage, singer James Brown recalls a life with a turbulent childhood where music was his only constructive release for his passions. A chance demonstration of that in prison led to a new friend who helped get him out and into a musical career. With his fire and creative daring, Brown became a star who defiantly created new possibilities in show business both on and behind the stage in face of racism and conventional thinking. Along the way, James would also become a peacemaker who redefined and raised the African-American community's feeling of self-worth when it was needed most. However, those same domineering passions would lead James Brown alienating everyone around him as his appetites became ever more self-destructive. Only after he hit rock bottom with a serious mistake does Brown realize what he needs to do make his life as the Godfather of Soul truly worthwhile.
- Released
- 01 Aug 2014
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, Music
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- 4 wins & 19 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- James 334 lines, man
- Bobby 103 lines, man
- James Brown 44 lines, man
- Maceo 26 lines, man
- Ben Bart 23 lines, man
- Bart 21 lines, man
- Bobby Byrd 21 lines, man
- Susie 18 lines, woman
- Little Richard 15 lines, man
- Dede 12 lines
Full cast, 64 people
- Chadwick Boseman as James Brown
- Nelsan Ellis as Bobby Byrd
- Dan Aykroyd as Ben Bart
- Viola Davis as Susie Brown
- Lennie James as Joe Brown
- Fred Melamed as Syd Nathan
- Jill Scott as DeeDee Brown
- Octavia Spencer as Aunt Honey
- Nick Eversman as Mick Jagger
- Tika Sumpter as Yvonne Fair
- James DuMont as Corporal Dooley
- Billy Slaughter as Pool Cleaner
- Ritchie Montgomery as Warden
- Craig Robinson as Maceo Parker
- Brandon Mychal Smith as Little Richard
- Aloe Blacc as Nafloyd Scott
- Josh Hopkins as Ralph Bass
- Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Vicki Anderson
- Tariq Trotter as Pee Wee Ellis
- Keith D. Robinson as Baby Roy
- Stacey Scowley as Penelope White
- Liz Mikel as Gertrude Sanders
- Julius Tennon as Grandpa Byrd
- Allison Janney as Kathy
- John Benjamin Hickey as Richard
- J.D. Evermore as Seminar Presenter
- Carol Lee as Mavis
- Cleta Elaine Ellington as Shirley Buell
- Jim Gleason as Insurance Salesman
- Ahna O'Reilly as Reporter
- Antonius Charles as Black Infantryman
- Donald Watkins as Black Infantryman
- Corey Sorenson as Pilot
- Hunter Burke as Soldier
- Jamarion Scott as Little James Brown
- Jordan Scott as Little James Brown
- Rena DeAngelo as Reno Reporter
- Aakomon Jones as Bobby Bennett
- George Quinones as Lynched Man
- Aaron Jay Rome as Frankie Avalon
- Atkins Estimond as Big Junior
- Clyde Jones as Daddy Grace
- Michael Papajohn as 1949 Cop
- Denzel Reed as Big Kid
- Phyllis Montana LeBlanc as Mrs. Byrd
- Taura Cherne as Sarah Byrd
- Kirk Bovill as Announcer
- Cariella Smith as Diner Waitress
- Jacinte Blankenship as Velma Brown
- Sandra DeNise as Female in Audience
- Sheldon Frett as Susie's Soldier
- Mario J. Radford as JB Chauffeur
- Joe T. Blankenship as Alan Leeds
- Randy Smith as Minder
- Alvin Edney II as Teddy Brown
- Adrien Scott Robinson as Little Christmas Boy
- Elliott June Rogers as Little Christmas Girl
- Jamell Richardson as Jimmy Nolen
- Jason Davis as Mayor White
- Justin Hall as Bootsy
- David Carzell as Catfish
- Dominic Thigpen as Chicken
- Matt Thompson as 1949 Cop
- Aaron J. Brooks as Insurance Agent
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 163
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 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 to 12 | 1 | 33 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 16 |
| 25 to 28 | 11 | 11 |
| 29 to 32 | 5 | 35 |
| 33 to 36 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 to 40 | 0 | 20 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 17 |
| 45 to 48 | 6 | 44 |
| 49 to 52 | 3 | 10 |
| 53 to 56 | 8 | 8 |
| 57 to 60 | 0 | 37 |
| 61 to 64 | 0 | 4 |
| 65 to 68 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 to 72 | 3 | 35 |
| 73 to 76 | 5 | 51 |
| 77 to 80 | 0 | 22 |
| 81 to 84 | 1 | 37 |
| 85 to 88 | 5 | 19 |
| 89 to 92 | 0 | 24 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 12 |
| 97 to 100 | 0 | 7 |
| 101 to 104 | 6 | 15 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 24 |
| 109 to 112 | 4 | 1 |
| 113 to 116 | 1 | 58 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 17 |
| 121 to 124 | 0 | 15 |
| 125 to 128 | 0 | 3 |
| 129 to 132 | 1 | 13 |
| 133 to 136 | 4 | 41 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 23 |
| 141 to 144 | 6 | 10 |
| 145 to 148 | 0 | 2 |
| 149 to 152 | 1 | 44 |
| 153 to 156 | 0 | 2 |
| 157 to 160 | 0 | 3 |
| 161 to 163 | 0 | 6 |
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, 9 are women's.
71 lines from women, 746 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
14 women and 35 men in the cast. 8 women and 43 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 34 of 883.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 87 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 8% of the words (858), men 92% (9,542). Women have 9% 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
62
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 16 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Tate Taylor (man)
- Written by
- Jez Butterworth (man), John-Henry Butterworth (man), Steven Baigelman (man)
- Produced by
- Brian Grazer (man), Victoria Pearman (woman), Tate Taylor (man), Erica Huggins (woman), Mick Jagger (man)
- Shot by
- Stephen Goldblatt (man)
- Edited by
- Michael McCusker (man)
- Music by
- Thomas Newman (man)
- Production design by
- Mark Ricker (man)
- Costumes by
- Sharen Davis (woman)
- Cast by
- Kerry Barden (man), Paul Schnee (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
0 women, 21 men
-
Sound
1 women, 11 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 11 men
-
Art
1 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men
-
Directing
2 women, 1 men
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 0 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 42 on average. Men: 45 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Tika Sumpter 34, Jill Scott 42, Octavia Spencer 44, Viola Davis 48
Men
Nick Eversman 28, Nelsan Ellis 36, Chadwick Boseman 37, Lennie James 48, Fred Melamed 58, Dan Aykroyd 62
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.1 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $30 million
- Box office
- $33.4 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 163 scenes and 883 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
