Passes the Bechdel test

Get Shorty

Name: Get Shorty
Released: 1995

1995. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Elmore Leonard and Scott Frank.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
9 women characters. 5 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 136.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

Some guys get all the luck, whether they like it or not. Chili Palmer happens to be in Hollywood collecting a gambling debt when he's struck by lightning (not literally). Called a natural for the movie business, he's snagged up by a producer. The rest is history.

Released: 20 Oct 1995
Genres: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.9 / 10
Metascore: 81 / 100
Awards: 6 wins & 16 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Chili 370 lines, man
Harry 178 lines, man
Bo Catlett 129 lines, man
Karen 110 lines, woman
Martin 55 lines, man
Bones 49 lines, man
Bear 44 lines, man
Ray Bones 30 lines, man
Tommy 27 lines, man
Ronnie 24 lines, man

Full cast, 43 people

John Travolta as Chili Palmer
Gene Hackman as Harry Zimm
Rene Russo as Karen Flores
Danny DeVito as Martin Weir
Dennis Farina as Ray 'Bones' Barboni
Delroy Lindo as Bo Catlett
James Gandolfini as Bear
Jon Gries as Ronnie Wingate
Renee Props as Nicki
David Paymer as Leo Devoe
Martin Ferrero as Tommy Carlo
Miguel Sandoval as Mr. Escobar
Jacob Vargas as Yayo Portillo
Linda Hart as Fay Devoe
Bette Midler as Doris Saphron
Bobby Slayton as Dick Allen
Ron Karabatsos as Momo
Alison Waddell as Bear's Daughter
Amber Waddell as Bear's Daughter
John Cothran as Agent Curtis
Jack Conley as Agent Dunbar
Bernard Hocke as Agent Morgan
Big Daddy Wayne as Ray Barboni's Bodyguard
Jay Montalvo as Big Guy with Escobar
Carlease Burke as Rental Car Attendant
Vito Scotti as Manager at Vesuvio's
Rino Piccolo as Waiter at Vesuvio's
Alfred Dennis as Ed the Barber
Ralph Manza as Fred the Barber
Zed Frizzelle as Kid at Lockers
Harry Victor as Limo Driver with Sign
Patrick Breen as Resident Doctor
Barry Sonnenfeld as Doorman
Donna W. Scott as Screaming Woman
Rebeca Arthur as Las Vegas Waitress
Zack Phifer as Ivy Restaurant Maitre d'
Greg Goossen as Duke, Man at the Ivy
Jeffrey Stephan as Bones' Buddy
Ernest 'Chili' Palmer as Bones' Buddy
Leslie Bega as Vikki Vespa
Harvey Keitel as Harvey Keitel (uncredited)
Penny Marshall as Penny Marshall (uncredited)
Alex Rocco as Jimmy Capp

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 136

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	20
4 to 6	0	20
7 to 9	0	4
10 to 12	0	5
13 to 15	0	6
16 to 18	5	37
19 to 21	4	12
22 to 24	8	43
25 to 27	5	13
28 to 30	0	5
31 to 33	0	5
34 to 36	12	44
37 to 39	2	5
40 to 42	0	47
43 to 45	2	8
46 to 48	0	56
49 to 51	0	4
52 to 54	17	37
55 to 57	0	29
58 to 60	2	23
61 to 63	0	37
64 to 66	11	13
67 to 69	13	15
70 to 72	0	18
73 to 75	18	63
76 to 78	3	24
79 to 81	6	46
82 to 84	0	23
85 to 87	0	2
88 to 90	0	13
91 to 93	0	30
94 to 96	0	27
97 to 99	0	11
100 to 102	0	17
103 to 105	10	46
106 to 108	12	38
109 to 111	2	5
112 to 114	2	6
115 to 117	4	22
118 to 120	5	11
121 to 123	0	20
124 to 126	6	41
127 to 129	4	9
130 to 132	2	32
133 to 135	2	9
136 to 136	0	0

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

KAREN: Hello, Nicki. NICKI: Karen. Shit. I didn't see you there. How are you?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 14 are women's.

157 lines from women, 1001 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

9 women and 28 men in the cast. 5 women and 28 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 94 of 1,191. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 171 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 11% of the words (1,590), men 89% (12,842). Women have 14% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld (man)
Written by: Scott Frank (man)
From the novel by: Elmore Leonard (man)
Produced by: Stacey Sher (woman), Michael Shamberg (man), Danny DeVito (man)
Shot by: Donald Peterman (man)
Edited by: Jim Miller (man)
Music by: John Lurie (man)
Production design by: Peter S. Larkin (man)
Costumes by: Betsy Heimann (woman)
Cast by: David Rubin (man), Debra Zane (woman)