Fails the Bechdel test

I, Robot

Name: I, Robot
Released: 2004

2004. Directed by Alex Proyas, written by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman and Isaac Asimov.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

No 1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters.
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 2035, techno-phobic homicide detective Del Spooner of the Chicago PD heads the investigation of the apparent suicide of leading robotics scientist, Dr. Alfred Lanning. Unconvinced of the motive, Spooner's investigation into Lanning's death reveals a trail of secrets and agendas within the USR (United States Robotics) corporation and suspicions of murder. Little does he know that his investigation would lead to uncovering a larger threat to humanity.

Released: 16 Jul 2004
Genres: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.1 / 10
Metascore: 59 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 1 win & 15 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Spooner 266 lines, man
Calvin 144 lines, woman
Sonny 47 lines, man
Victor 29 lines, man
Lt. Bergin 22 lines, man
Robertson 20 lines, man
Hologram 13 lines
Toller 12 lines, man
Old Man 11 lines, man
Robot 8 lines, man

Full cast, 34 people

Will Smith as Del Spooner
Bridget Moynahan as Susan Calvin
Alan Tudyk as Sonny (voice)
James Cromwell as Dr. Alfred Lanning
Bruce Greenwood as Lawrence Robertson
Adrian Ricard as Granny
Chi McBride as Lt. John Bergin
Jerry Wasserman as Baldez
Fiona Hogan as V.I.K.I. (voice)
Peter Shinkoda as Chin
Terry Chen as Chin
David Haysom as NS4 & NS5 Robots (voice)
Scott Heindl as NS4 & NS5 Robots (voice)
Sharon Wilkins as Woman
Craig March as Detective
Kyanna Cox as Girl
Darren Moore as Homeless Man
Aaron Douglas as USR Attorney #1
Shayla Dyson as Laughing Girl
Bobby Stewart as Girl's Dad
Nicola Crosbie as TV Anchor Person
Emily Tennant as Young Girl
Shia LaBeouf as Farber
Michael St. John Smith as USR Attorney #2
Travis Webster as Guy with a Pie
Roger Haskett as Mob Man
Tiffany Lyndall-Knight as Mob Woman
Angela Moore as Wife
Ryan Zwick as Farber Posse
Essra Vischon as Farber Posse
Kenyan Lewis as Farber Posse
Aaron Joseph as Farber Posse
Simon Baker as Farber Posse
Marrett Green as News Reporter

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% 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	1	3
9 to 12	0	8
13 to 16	3	36
17 to 20	16	28
21 to 24	25	22
25 to 28	1	7
29 to 32	2	8
33 to 36	10	33
37 to 40	4	7
41 to 44	11	18
45 to 48	2	8
49 to 52	3	54
53 to 56	0	33
57 to 60	0	7
61 to 64	10	11
65 to 68	1	2
69 to 72	4	1
73 to 76	5	9
77 to 80	0	1
81 to 84	0	4
85 to 88	0	18
89 to 92	4	3
93 to 96	7	11
97 to 100	4	32
101 to 104	0	2
105 to 108	0	23
109 to 112	1	2
113 to 116	0	0
117 to 120	0	0
121 to 124	2	1
125 to 128	0	0
129 to 132	0	0
133 to 136	0	5
137 to 140	4	2
141 to 144	14	34
145 to 148	2	8
149 to 152	2	4
153 to 156	5	12
157 to 160	2	12
161 to 163	0	1

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, 24 are women's.

145 lines from women, 470 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

10 women and 24 men in the cast. 1 women and 10 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 3 of 656. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 65 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 24% of the words (1,518), men 76% (4,921).

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

Directed by: Alex Proyas (man)
Written by: Jeff Vintar (man), Akiva Goldsman (man)
From the novel by: Isaac Asimov (man)
Produced by: John Davis (man), Topher Dow (man), Laurence Mark (man), Wyck Godfrey (man), Michael Lee Baron (gender not listed)
Shot by: Simon Duggan (man)
Edited by: William Hoy (man), Richard Learoyd (man), Armen Minasian (man)
Music by: Marco Beltrami (man)
Production design by: Patrick Tatopoulos (man)
Costumes by: Liz Keogh (woman)
Cast by: Juel Bestrop (woman), Heike Brandstatter (woman), Coreen Mayrs (woman), Jeanne McCarthy (woman)