Passes the Bechdel test
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
2001. Directed by Kevin Smith, written by Kevin Smith.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
17 women characters. 12 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 7 scenes out of 136. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a tale of adventure on the open road. When Dante and Randal (of Clerks fame) get a restraining order to keep the punchy Jay and his hetero life-mate, Silent Bob, from selling drugs in front of the Quick Stop convenience store, their lives are suddenly empty. They find new purpose when their friend, Brodie, informs them a movie is being made featuring two infamous characters based on their likenesses. After visiting one of the creators of the Bluntman and Chronic, Holden McNeil, they set out to get what fat movie cash they deserve and hopefully put an end to people slandering them on the Internet. Along the way, they learn the rules of the road from a hitchhiking George Carlin, ride with a group of gorgeous jewel thieves, and incur the wrath of a hapless wildlife marshal for liberating an orangutan named Suzanne. The quest takes them from New Jersey to Hollywood where a showdown involving the police, the jewel thieves, and the Bluntman and Chronic filmmakers will decide the fate of Suzanne, Jay, Silent Bob, and their good names.
- Released
- 24 Aug 2001
- Genres
- Comedy
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 51 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Jay 301 lines, man
- Justice 86 lines, woman
- Willenholly 82 lines, man
- Sissy 55 lines, woman
- Chrissy 26 lines, woman
- Holden 26 lines, man
- Banky 20 lines, man
- Chaka 15 lines, man
- Guy 15 lines, man
- Randal 15 lines, man
Full cast, 89 people
- Jason Mewes as Jay
- Kevin Smith as Silent Bob
- Ben Affleck as Holden McNeil / Ben Affleck
- Shannon Elizabeth as Justice
- Eliza Dushku as Sissy
- Ali Larter as Chrissy
- Jennifer Schwalbach Smith as Missy
- Will Ferrell as Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly
- Chris Rock as Chaka Luther King
- Jason Lee as Brodie Bruce / Banky Edwards
- Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks
- Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves
- Judd Nelson as Sheriff
- George Carlin as Hitchhiker
- Carrie Fisher as Nun
- Seann William Scott as Brent
- Matt Damon as Matt Damon / Will Hunting
- Jon Stewart as Reg Hartner
- Jules Asner as Jules Asner
- Steve Kmetko as Steve Kmetko
- Tracy Morgan as Pumpkin Escobar
- Gus Van Sant as Gus Van Sant
- Jamie Kennedy as Chaka's Production Assistant
- Wes Craven as Wes Craven
- Shannen Doherty as Shannen Doherty
- Mark Hamill as Cocknocker
- Amy Noble as Silent Bob's Mother
- Harley Quinn Smith as Baby Silent Bob
- Ever Carradine as Jay's Mother
- Brian Andrew Saible as Baby Jay
- Gavin Brooks as Baby Jay (voice)
- John Willyung as Passerby
- Jake Richardson as Teen #1
- Nick Fehlinger as Teen #2
- Vincent Pereira as Quick Stop Customer
- Ernest O'Donnell as Cop
- Tango as Suzanne
- Marc Blucas as The Guy
- Matthew James as The Dude
- Jane Silvia as Bookish Girl
- Carmen Llywelyn as Redhead Beauty
- Dan Etheridge as Deputy
- Eric Winzenried as Cop #1
- Jonathan Gordon as Cop #2
- John Maynard as Cop #3
- Robert Holtzman as Cop #4
- Tom Dorfmeister as Cop #5
- Joe Quesada as Pizza Delivery Guy
- Diedrich Bader as Miramax Security Guard Gordon
- Scott Mosier as GWH2 Assistant Director / Willam Black
- James J. McLauchlin as GWH2 Clapper Loader
- Joseph D. Reitman as Bluntman & Chronic Assistant Director
- Paul Dini as Bluntman & Chronic Clapper Loader
- Quentin Wright as William Dusky
- Greg Owen as Suburban Kid
- Ralph B. Meyer as Receptionist
- Bryan Johnson as Steve-Dave Pulasti
- Walt Flanagan as Walt Grover the Fanboy
- Renée Humphrey as Tricia Jones
- Joey Lauren Adams as Alyssa Jones
- King Mustafa Obafemi as Hooper
- Alanis Morissette as That Woman (God)
- Morris Day as Morris Day
- Jerome Benton as The Time
- Garry Johnson as The Time
- Monte Moir as The Time
- Ricky Smith as The Time
- Torrell Ruffin as The Time
- Jason Biggs as Jason Biggs
- James Van Der Beek as James Van Der Beek
- Greg Bronson as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
- Thomas Burke as Blue Collar Man (uncredited)
- William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man (uncredited)
- Stephanie Entin as Convenience Store Girl (uncredited)
- Dennyann Giambrone as Mooby's Extra (uncredited)
- Alice Dinnean as Pretty Blonde Comic Book Shopper (uncredited)
- Aytl Jensen as Ghost (uncredited)
- Mark Steven Johnson as Movie Director (uncredited)
- Zak Knutson as The C.L.I.T. (voice) (uncredited)
- Brian Lynch as Comic Book Shopper #1 (uncredited)
- David Mandel as Extra (uncredited)
- Art Oughton as Clapper Loader (uncredited)
- Derek Raser as Bus Driver (uncredited)
- Bob Schreck as Gus Van Sant's Assistant (uncredited)
- Scott Sener as Quiet Scott (uncredited)
- John Strand as Miramax Security Guard #2 (uncredited)
- Scott William Winters as Clark / Scott William Winters (uncredited)
- Nicole Vanderhoff as GWH2 Extra Glaring at PA (uncredited)
- Corey Scott Levin as Concertgoer / Film Attendee (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% 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 | 6 | 24 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 32 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 48 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 13 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 to 18 | 12 | 28 |
| 19 to 21 | 6 | 11 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 to 27 | 25 | 19 |
| 28 to 30 | 3 | 19 |
| 31 to 33 | 43 | 23 |
| 34 to 36 | 7 | 2 |
| 37 to 39 | 8 | 7 |
| 40 to 42 | 17 | 10 |
| 43 to 45 | 6 | 1 |
| 46 to 48 | 7 | 4 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 6 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 36 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 11 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 3 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 7 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 7 |
| 67 to 69 | 17 | 11 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 29 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 2 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 5 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 2 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 3 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 19 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 3 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 1 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 16 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 11 |
| 100 to 102 | 5 | 3 |
| 103 to 105 | 5 | 1 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 12 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 9 |
| 112 to 114 | 3 | 40 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 43 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 5 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 36 |
| 124 to 126 | 36 | 62 |
| 127 to 129 | 3 | 4 |
| 130 to 132 | 0 | 2 |
| 133 to 135 | 3 | 19 |
| 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 scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
BOOKISH: I don't think they are masks. BEAUTY: I don't think they're Hitchhiking Girls either. BOOKISH: Ghouls, you fucking moron. Not Girls. Though I wish they were hitchhiking girls. Sexy, skimpily clad hitchhiking girls--
SISSY: What's wrong with you, Justice? You do remember where we're going, don't you? MISSY: That we do have a job to do? JUSTICE: They're just gonna tag along for a few miles. They won't get in the way, I promise. Please? SISSY: Fine--they can ride with us. But they're so out of here before we get to Boulder.
CHRISSY: What the fuck are we gonna do now? SISSY: Shut up, I'm thinking.
JUSTICE: You are so gay. SISSY: Once we're inside, I want complete silence. Missy whipped this up. It counts our decibel level. If it goes into the red--alarm, we're dead. … SISSY: Justice! Move your ass!
CHRISSY: Boom Box! SISSY: I can't believe it. Months of planning and it's all blown by a fucking fart. JUSTICE: We can't just leave them like this! That alarm's gonna bring the cops here any minute! SISSY: That was always the plan, Justice! They take the heat off of is long enough until we can get out of town!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 25 are women's.
213 lines from women, 653 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
17 women and 50 men in the cast. 12 women and 43 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 943.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 158 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 19% of the words (2,302), men 81% (9,614). Women have 25% 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
24
Two men
44
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Kevin Smith (man)
- Written by
- Kevin Smith (man)
- Produced by
- Scott Mosier (man)
- Shot by
- Jamie Anderson (man)
- Edited by
- Kevin Smith (man), Scott Mosier (man)
- Music by
- James L. Venable (man)
- Production design by
- Robert Holtzman (man)
- Costumes by
- Isis Mussenden (woman)
- Cast by
- Christine Sheaks (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
6 women, 11 men, 22 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 9 men, 12 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 14 men, 8 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 7 men, 11 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men, 10 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 0 men, 7 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 26 on average. Men: 31 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Eliza Dushku 20, Ali Larter 25, Shannon Elizabeth 27, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith 30
Men
Jason Mewes 27, Ben Affleck 29, Kevin Smith 31, Jason Lee 31, Will Ferrell 34, Chris Rock 36
Exhibit H: the money
It made 1.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $22 million
- Box office
- $33.8 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 136 scenes and 943 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
