Passes the Bechdel test
Is This Thing On?
2025. Directed by Bradley Cooper, written by Bradley Cooper and Will Arnett and Mark Chappell.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
13 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 9 scenes out of 133. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
As their marriage unravels, Alex faces middle age and divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene. Meanwhile, his wife Tess confronts sacrifices made for their family, forcing them to navigate co-parenting and identities.
- Released
- 19 Dec 2025
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 72 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Alex 385 lines, man
- Tess 197 lines, woman
- Balls 93 lines, man
- Christine 57 lines, woman
- Felix 29 lines, man
- Jude 27 lines, man
- Jill 21 lines, woman
- Jan 20 lines, man
- Laird 18 lines, man
- Marilyn 18 lines, woman
Full cast, 53 people
- Will Arnett as Alex Novak
- Laura Dern as Tess Novak
- Andra Day as Christine
- Bradley Cooper as Balls
- Christine Ebersole as Marilyn
- Ciarán Hinds as Jan
- Amy Sedaris as Kemp
- Sean Hayes as Stephen
- Scott Icenogle as Geoffrey
- Blake Kane as Felix
- Calvin Knegten as Jude
- Peyton Manning as Laird
- Chloe Radcliffe as Nina
- Jordan Jensen as Jill
- Jes Tom as Rolo
- Reggie Conquest as Dan
- Gabe Fazio as Gabe The Bouncer
- Elizabeth Furiati as Liz
- Michele Brilliant as Bartender
- Daddy as Open Mic MC #1
- Wil Sylvince as Open Mic MC #2
- Jon Laster as Comedy Cellar Host
- Sam Jay as Cellar Comic #1
- Dave Attell as Cellar Comic #2
- Erin Jackson as Cellar Comic #3
- Greer Barnes as Cellar Comic #4
- Derek Gaines as Outside Cellar Comic #1
- Matt Richards as Outside Cellar Comic #2
- Ashton Womack as Cellar Manager
- Matthew Libatique as Dave
- Bob Castrone as Bob
- John Alcantara as Open Mic Doorman
- Emma Willmann as Open Mic Comic
- Rachel Claire Perry as Restaurant Hostess
- Elyse Mulholland as Waitress
- Ronald A. Nahass Jr. as Mr. Nahass
- Paityn Brooke Samuel as Bandmate #1 / Singer
- Azahra Fofana as Bandmate #2 / Singer
- Warren Wan as Lion Troupe Leader
- Jianheng Huang as Lion Puppeteer #1
- Evan Choy as Lion Puppeteer #2
- Matthew So as Lion Puppeteer #3
- Nicholas Chee-Keung Ling as Lion Puppeteer #4
- Jeffrey Time as Lion Puppeteer #5
- Justin Tam as Lion Puppeteer #6
- Jeme Obeime as Tess Staffer #1
- Leah Catherine Schmidt as Tess Staffer #2
- Melissa Rigo as Tess Staffer #3
- Amy Lynne-Harris Kober as Volleyball Player
- Olia Pry as Party Animator #1
- Sofiia Viniar as Party Animator #2
- Charlie as Charlie
- Lucy as Lucy
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 133
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 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 to 6 | 34 | 42 |
| 7 to 9 | 17 | 16 |
| 10 to 12 | 2 | 14 |
| 13 to 15 | 10 | 14 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 26 |
| 22 to 24 | 6 | 19 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 4 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 33 | 3 | 6 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 5 |
| 37 to 39 | 13 | 25 |
| 40 to 42 | 3 | 8 |
| 43 to 45 | 16 | 4 |
| 46 to 48 | 18 | 0 |
| 49 to 51 | 11 | 26 |
| 52 to 54 | 11 | 15 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 9 |
| 58 to 60 | 8 | 10 |
| 61 to 63 | 8 | 8 |
| 64 to 66 | 9 | 20 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 58 |
| 70 to 72 | 12 | 11 |
| 73 to 75 | 11 | 41 |
| 76 to 78 | 7 | 23 |
| 79 to 81 | 14 | 16 |
| 82 to 84 | 1 | 1 |
| 85 to 87 | 9 | 13 |
| 88 to 90 | 16 | 18 |
| 91 to 93 | 16 | 18 |
| 94 to 96 | 3 | 4 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 12 |
| 100 to 102 | 6 | 9 |
| 103 to 105 | 4 | 39 |
| 106 to 108 | 9 | 6 |
| 109 to 111 | 17 | 14 |
| 112 to 114 | 4 | 5 |
| 115 to 117 | 22 | 21 |
| 118 to 120 | 8 | 10 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 19 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 29 |
| 127 to 129 | 6 | 7 |
| 130 to 132 | 0 | 1 |
| 133 to 133 | 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 scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
TESS: No, somebody alive! CHRISTINE: Shit.
TESS: I was joking... You are so alive, darling. CHRISTINE: Darling? TESS: Yes...
TESS: Stay. It’s fine. CHRISTINE: It’s like every week. TESS: We don’t need to cry over spilt oat milk. Okay? CHRISTINE: Yeah this is fine for you. Jesus. It’s literally everyday.
TESS: Christine, are you baking your cookies? CHRISTINE: Oh, um... Why? Does it smell like cookies? TESS: Yeah. CHRISTINE: Really? I just-- no, I think my kitchen just always smells like that. And you know what, also, I was heating the food in the oven... Do you …
JILL: No, sometimes we go five or six times a night. On long nights, if you have, like, a bit you wanna work out, you go five times, by the end of… LIZ: You got a spot. Five minutes, around the corner.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 34 are women's.
335 lines from women, 647 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
13 women and 21 men in the cast. 9 women and 18 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 59 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 30% of the words (3,233), men 70% (7,438). Women have 34% 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
15
Two men
52
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 17 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Bradley Cooper (man)
- Written by
- Will Arnett (man), Mark Chappell (man), Bradley Cooper (man)
- Story by
- Will Arnett (man), Mark Chappell (man), John Bishop (man)
- Produced by
- Bradley Cooper (man), Will Arnett (man), Kris Thykier (man), Weston Middleton (man)
- Shot by
- Matthew Libatique (man)
- Edited by
- Charlie Greene (gender not listed)
- Music by
- James Newberry (man)
- Production design by
- Kevin Thompson (man)
- Costumes by
- Gali Noy (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Shayna Markowitz (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
0 women, 11 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
5 women, 7 men
-
Art
2 women, 2 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 0 men, 4 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 6 men
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 59 on average. Men: 58 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Andra Day 40, Laura Dern 58, Amy Sedaris 64, Christine Ebersole 72
Men
Bradley Cooper 50, Will Arnett 55, Sean Hayes 55, Ciarán Hinds 72
Exhibit H: the money
It made 68% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $15 million
- Box office
- $10.1 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 133 scenes and 1,023 lines of dialogue. How the test works
