Passes the Bechdel test

Greenberg

Name: Greenberg
Released: 2010

2010. Directed by Noah Baumbach, written by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Noah Baumbach.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
22 women characters. 12 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 6 scenes out of 121.
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

We like Florence: she's considerate, sweet, pretty, and terrific with kids and dogs. She's twenty-five, personal assistant to an L.A. family that's off on vacation. Her boss's brother comes in from New York City, fresh from a stay at an asylum, to take care of the house. He's Roger, a forty-year-old carpenter, gone from L.A. for fifteen years. He arrives, doesn't drive, and needs Florence's help, especially with the family's dog. He's also connecting with former band-mates - two men and one woman with whom he has a history. He over-analyzes, has a short fuse, and doesn't laugh at himself easily. As he navigates past and present, he's his own saboteur. And what of Florence? is Roger one more responsibility for her or something else?

Released: 26 Mar 2010
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.1 / 10
Metascore: 76 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 16 nominations
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Greenberg 533 lines, man
Florence 267 lines, woman
Ivan 140 lines, man
Beth 48 lines, woman
Sara 40 lines, woman
Beller 26 lines, man
Philip 22 lines, woman
Gina 21 lines, woman
Muriel 13 lines, woman
Carol 12 lines, woman

Full cast, 54 people

Ben Stiller as Roger Greenberg
Greta Gerwig as Florence Marr
Rhys Ifans as Ivan Schrank
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Beth (Beller's Party)
Mark Duplass as Eric Beller (Beller's Party)
Merritt Wever as Gina
Chris Messina as Phillip Greenberg
Brie Larson as Sara
Juno Temple as Muriel
Susan Traylor as Carol Greenberg
Mina Badie as Peggy
Zach Chassler as Marlon
Chris Coy as Guy at Gallery
Norizzela Monterroso as Female Vet
Jake Paltrow as Johno (Beller's Party)
Blair Tefkin as Megan (Beller's Party)
Dave Franco as Rich (Sara's Party)
Max Hoffman as Jerry (Sara's Party)
Ramona Gonzalez as Anita (Sara's Party)
Alessandra Ford Balazs as Olivia (Sara's Party)
Layla Delridge as Girl with Beer (Sara's Party)
Koby Rouviere as Greenberg Boy
Sydney Rouviere as Greenberg Girl
Emily Lacy as Gallery Band Member
Aaron Wrinkle as Gallery Band Member
Heather Lockie as Gallery Band Member
Charlotte Vida Silverman as Beller's Daughter (Beller's Party)
Nicole Luizzi as Vet Receptionist
Luke Clements as Guitarist
Alfredo Marin as Bus Boy
Jeremy Barber as Musso and Frank's Patron
Anna Culp as Musso and Frank's Patron
Erica Huggins as Musso and Frank's Patron
Dale J.E. Herbert II as Musso and Frank's Patron
Robert N. Wolfe as Male Vet
Trace Webb as Victor
Jessica Mills as Second Vet Receptionist
Maria Snow as Nurse
Nick Nordella as Kid at Stereo (Sara's Party)
Trent Gill as Kid at Stereo (Sara's Party)
Emily Kuntz as Guest (Sara's Party)
Zosia Mamet as Guest (Sara's Party)
Zoe Di Stefano as Guest (Sara's Party)
Cole M. Grief-Neil as Guest (Sara's Party)
Micah Schaffer as Guest (Sara's Party)
Sophie Savides as Musso and Frank's Patron
Megan Helbing as Guest - Sara's Party (uncredited)
Meghan Keeler as Drunk Party Guest (uncredited)
Meegan Michel as Party Guest (uncredited)
Danny Minnick as Musso and Frank's Patron (uncredited)
Desira Pesta as Coked Party Girl (uncredited)
Karen Strong as Party Girl (uncredited)
Sandra Valladares as Musso and Frank Patron (uncredited)
Carla Vila as Party Girl (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 121

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	4	0
4 to 6	5	0
7 to 9	17	2
10 to 12	20	0
13 to 15	19	0
16 to 18	5	1
19 to 21	11	2
22 to 24	19	13
25 to 27	0	0
28 to 30	0	1
31 to 33	0	56
34 to 36	34	47
37 to 39	30	21
40 to 42	19	8
43 to 45	2	3
46 to 48	4	24
49 to 51	27	24
52 to 54	8	10
55 to 57	0	0
58 to 60	2	50
61 to 63	19	45
64 to 66	26	27
67 to 69	0	11
70 to 72	0	1
73 to 75	36	44
76 to 78	0	16
79 to 81	0	14
82 to 84	10	9
85 to 87	22	19
88 to 90	0	0
91 to 93	3	7
94 to 96	24	19
97 to 99	8	31
100 to 102	7	56
103 to 105	14	111
106 to 108	8	7
109 to 111	0	0
112 to 114	13	10
115 to 117	19	28
118 to 120	0	1
121 to 121	17	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.

FLORENCE: Yeah and Bristol Farms. CAROL: Were you able to find the liquid decongestant? FLORENCE: Shoot! CAROL: It’s okay, Florence, don’t worry about it.

CAROL: ...and the toilet in the pool house is running. What else? FLORENCE: I’ll schedule the plumber for next week.

FLORENCE: Y-es. CAROL: And we can always call or e-mail. I’m sure there’s e-mail in Vietnam. FLORENCE: I think there’s e-mail everywhere.

FLORENCE: I think it’s three weeks. Don’t worry about it. CAROL: Oh, Florence, you have to speak up. FLORENCE: No, I know, but it’s fine.

CAROL: I can give you some cash in the meantime... FLORENCE: Really, don’t worry about it. It’s better in a way because then I don’t spend it all at once.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 38 are women's.

452 lines from women, 730 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

22 women and 13 men in the cast. 12 women and 6 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,232. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 61 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 34% of the words (3,736), men 66% (7,349). Women have 38% 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 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 32% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Noah Baumbach (man)
Written by: Noah Baumbach (man)
Story by: Jennifer Jason Leigh (woman), Noah Baumbach (man)
Produced by: Scott Rudin (man), Jennifer Jason Leigh (woman)
Shot by: Harris Savides (man)
Edited by: Tim Streeto (man)
Music by: James Murphy (man)
Production design by: Ford Wheeler (man)
Costumes by: Mark Bridges (man)
Cast by: Francine Maisler (woman)

The crew, department by department

Other crew

6 women, 8 men, 52 not listed
Production

7 women, 3 men, 17 not listed
Art

2 women, 8 men, 16 not listed
Sound

4 women, 8 men, 7 not listed
Camera

0 women, 11 men, 7 not listed
Lighting

1 women, 5 men, 5 not listed
Costume & Make-Up

3 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
Editing

0 women, 3 men, 6 not listed

Women
Men
Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 31 on average. Men: 39 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Brie Larson 20, Juno Temple 20, Greta Gerwig 26, Merritt Wever 29, Susan Traylor 45, Jennifer Jason Leigh 48

Men

Mark Duplass 33, Chris Messina 35, Rhys Ifans 42, Ben Stiller 44

Exhibit H: the money

It made 25% of what it cost.

Budget: $25 million
Box office: $6.3 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 121 scenes and 1,232 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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