Passes the Bechdel test
King Richard
2021. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, written by Zach Baylin.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
23 women characters. 8 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 10 scenes out of 114. -
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
Armed with a clear vision and a brazen 78-page plan, Richard Williams is determined to write his daughters, Venus and Serena, into history. Training on Compton, California's neglected tennis courts--rain or shine--the girls are shaped by their father's unyielding commitment and their mother's balanced perspective and keen intuition, defying the seemingly insurmountable odds and prevailing expectations laid before them. Based on the true story that will inspire the world, "King Richard" follows the uplifting journey of a family whose unwavering resolve and unconditional belief ultimately delivers two of the world's greatest sports legends.
- Released
- 19 Nov 2021
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, Sport
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 76 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 52 wins & 141 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Richard 323 lines, man
- Macci 117 lines, man
- Oracene 85 lines, woman
- Venus 59 lines, woman
- Paul 57 lines, man
- Serena 45 lines, woman
- Chair Umpire 18 lines
- Espn Reporter 16 lines, man
- Roc 14 lines, man
- Lynn 11 lines
Full cast, 90 people
- Will Smith as Richard Williams
- Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Oracene 'Brandy' Price
- Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams
- Demi Singleton as Serena Williams
- Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci
- Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew as Tunde Price
- Tony Goldwyn as Paul Cohen
- Susie Abromeit as Robin Finn
- Dylan McDermott as Will Hodges
- Judith Chapman as Nancy Reagan
- Erin Cummings as Social Worker
- Katrina Begin as Anne Worchester
- Andy Bean as Laird Stabler
- Kevin Dunn as Vic Braden
- Craig Tate as Bells
- Calvin Clausell Jr. as Braze
- Daniele Lawson as Isha Price
- Layla Crawford as Lyndrea Price
- Erika Ringor as Ms. Strickland
- Noah Bean as PV CC Tennis Pro
- Josiah Cross as TD
- Vaughn W. Hebron as Monsta
- Jimmy Walker Jr. as Old Patron
- Brad Greenquist as Bud Collins
- Johnno Wilson as Incredulous Pro
- Robert Nuscher as Baffled Pro
- Christopher Wallinger as John McEnroe
- Chase Del Rey as Pete Sampras
- Connie Ventress as Tournament Director
- Vivienne Bersin as Stacey
- Andy Hoff as Stacey's Dad - Trevor
- Carrie Gibson as Line Judge
- Doug Simpson as Girl #3 Father
- Brandon Morales as Deputy #1
- Wil J. Jackson as Deputy #2
- Erica Shaffer as Tournament Official
- Matt Kirkwood as Tennis Father #2
- Chet Grissom as Matthew Titone
- Alden Sherrill as Another Girl
- Eman Esfandi as Barry
- Jessica Wacnik as Jennifer Capriati
- Jonathan Bray as ESPN Reporter
- Robert Walker Jeffery as Reporter (Florida)
- Rich Sommer as Patrick Dougherty
- Kaitlyn Christian as Shaun Stafford
- Geoff Nathanson as Tennis Announcer
- Marcela Zacarias as Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
- Jake Jensen as Pro Shop Attendant
- Chris Pentzell as Another Incredulous Pro
- Sophia Sanders as Girl #2
- Mia Jovic as Girl #3
- Iva Jovic as Girl #5
- Michael Andrew Baker as Girl #6 Father
- Tom Holmes as Girl #6 Father
- Kamea Medora as Girl #8
- Tom Degnan as Girl #8 Father
- Virginia Schneider as Woman In Crowd
- Jeff Cohn as Chair Ump - Pro Match
- Adam Cropper as Neighbor
- Danya LaBelle as Tournament Official - Oakland Coliseum
- Rod Sweitzer as Pro Match Newspaper Reporter
- George Ketsios as Pro Match Tournament Staff
- Valerie Davidson as Tennis Official
- Christian Yeung as Pro Match Line Judge
- Teri Cohn as Pro Match Net Judge
- Hannah Barefoot as Mother
- Mel Fair as Male TV Announcer
- Holly Haggerty as Net Cord Linesman
- Mary Pascoe as Rivera Country Club Waitress
- Albert Ton as Chair Ump - Stafford Match
- Ebboney Wilson as Shouting Spectator
- Hailey Winslow as Female TV Announcer
- Chris Wolfe as Pro Match TV Reporter
- Gunner Wright as AP3
- Tory N. Thompson as Venus Fan
- Sean Berube as Tennis Coach
- Sean Fabian Billings as Tennis Vendor
- Sophia Bui as Country Club Poolside Gal
- Kika Cicmanec as Elite Tennis Player
- John Dinan as Tennis Pro
- Diana Dray as Spectator
- Mathew Trent Hunnicutt as Referee
- Jeni Jones as Line Judge
- Trent Longo as Tennis Player
- Katie McCabe as Country Club Woman
- Aryn Nelson as Parent
- Tristan Nokes as Audience Member
- Dan Sachoff as Florida TV Reporter
- Gabi Stewart as Tennis Pro
- Gjee Wade II as OG
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 114
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 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 8 |
| 16 to 18 | 17 | 10 |
| 19 to 21 | 4 | 29 |
| 22 to 24 | 23 | 22 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 13 |
| 28 to 30 | 4 | 13 |
| 31 to 33 | 3 | 3 |
| 34 to 36 | 20 | 56 |
| 37 to 39 | 14 | 4 |
| 40 to 42 | 1 | 6 |
| 43 to 45 | 1 | 7 |
| 46 to 48 | 1 | 18 |
| 49 to 51 | 19 | 12 |
| 52 to 54 | 12 | 14 |
| 55 to 57 | 6 | 16 |
| 58 to 60 | 11 | 7 |
| 61 to 63 | 9 | 7 |
| 64 to 66 | 11 | 3 |
| 67 to 69 | 11 | 53 |
| 70 to 72 | 2 | 21 |
| 73 to 75 | 3 | 43 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 4 |
| 79 to 81 | 3 | 42 |
| 82 to 84 | 11 | 24 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 20 |
| 88 to 90 | 17 | 38 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 3 |
| 94 to 96 | 8 | 32 |
| 97 to 99 | 3 | 15 |
| 100 to 102 | 5 | 6 |
| 103 to 105 | 6 | 2 |
| 106 to 108 | 2 | 6 |
| 109 to 111 | 2 | 4 |
| 112 to 114 | 3 | 8 |
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.
VENUS: Serena, what are you doing? Those books are bigger than you are. SERENA: No, they’re not. I can do it. I can carry more than you. VENUS: And break your back while you’re at it. SERENA: Wanna bet?
ORACENE: Hey, girls. Dinner’s ready. How was practice? SERENA: It was good!
TUNDE: If we eat fast enough, we probably have time for the talent show. SERENA: Hold on! I’m going first. I already know what I’m singing.
SERENA: What’s so funny? It’s a good song. ORACENE: You all go wash up. ORACENE: What happened?
THE WHOLE FAMILY: Amen. ORACENE: You’re not eating?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 29 are women's.
232 lines from women, 582 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
23 women and 41 men in the cast. 8 women and 23 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 24 of 879.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 32 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 (2,211), men 81% (9,343). Women have 29% 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
26
Two men
49
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 40% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Reinaldo Marcus Green (man)
- Written by
- Zach Baylin (man)
- Produced by
- Will Smith (man), Tim White (man), Trevor White (man)
- Shot by
- Robert Elswit (man)
- Edited by
- Pamela Martin (woman)
- Music by
- Kris Bowers (man)
- Production design by
- William Arnold (man), Wynn Thomas (man)
- Costumes by
- Sharen Davis (woman)
- Cast by
- Rich Delia (man), Avy Kaufman (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
6 women, 10 men, 2 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 12 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
8 women, 0 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men, 6 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 38 on average. Men: 55 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Demi Singleton 14, Saniyya Sidney 15, Susie Abromeit 39, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor 52, Judith Chapman 70
Men
Jon Bernthal 45, Will Smith 53, Dylan McDermott 60, Tony Goldwyn 61
Exhibit H: the money
It made 79% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $50 million
- Box office
- $39.4 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 114 scenes and 879 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
