Passes the Bechdel test
L.A. Story
1991. Directed by Mick Jackson, written by Steve Martin.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
13 women characters. 16 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 80. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Harris K. Telemacher is a "wacky weekend weatherman" for a local Los Angeles television station, who is searching for meaning in his otherwise cliché ridden Los Angeles life. With the help of an insightful and talkative Freeway sign, Harris embarks on a journey through Los Angeles in pursuit of Sarah, an English reporter who has been sent to the City of Angels to research an article for the London Times.
- Released
- 08 Feb 1991
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 66 / 100
- Awards
- 3 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Harris 85 lines, man
- Sara 23 lines, woman
- Sandy 19 lines
- Roland 14 lines, man
- Trudi 11 lines, woman
- Harris - 5 lines, man
- He 4 lines
- Morris 4 lines, man
- Gravedigger 3 lines, man
- Ariel 2 lines, woman
Full cast, 54 people
- Steve Martin as Harris K. Telemacher
- Victoria Tennant as Sara McDowel
- Richard E. Grant as Roland Mackey
- Marilu Henner as Trudi
- Sarah Jessica Parker as SanDeE
- Susan Forristal as Ariel
- Kevin Pollak as Frank Swan
- Sam McMurray as Morris Frost
- Patrick Stewart as Mr. Perdue
- Andrew Amador as Bob, News Anchor
- Gail Grate as Gail
- Eddie De Harp as Maitre D' at Brunch
- M.C. Shan as Rap Waiter at L'Idiot
- Frances Fisher as June
- Iman as Cynthia
- Tommy Hinkley as Ted
- Larry Miller as Tom
- Anne Crawford as Sharon
- Samantha McCoy as Sheila
- Thornton Simmons as Man
- Dennis Dragon as Crook
- Richard Stahl as Bank Executive
- Aaron Lustig as Boring Speaker
- Julianna McCarthy as Woman
- Time Winters as Floss Waiter at L'Idiot
- Pierre Epstein as Chef
- Wesley Thompson as Jesse
- George Plimpton as Straight Weatherman
- David Glyn Price as Pilot
- Wesley Mann as Tony
- Mark Steen as Tod PA
- Jaime Gomez as Tod PA
- Amy Wallace as Tod PA
- Cheryl Baker as Changing Room Woman
- May Boss as Old Woman
- Scott Johnston as Co-Pilot
- Robert Lind as Chainsaw Juggler
- Tony Marsico as Hard Rock Patron
- Burt Nacke as Cameraman
- Mary Pedersen as Airline Ticket Agent
- Matt Stetson as Spokesmodel Teacher
- Paula Abdul as Roller Skater in Front of Tail O' the Pup (uncredited)
- Brian Banowetz as Bellman (uncredited)
- Sean Michael Beyer as Parking Valet (uncredited)
- Michael E. Burgess as Waiter (uncredited)
- Chevy Chase as Carlo Christopher (uncredited)
- Tina Cote as Extra (uncredited)
- Larry Echerer as Boy in Yard (uncredited)
- Woody Harrelson as Harris' Boss (uncredited)
- Terry Jones as Sara's Mother (voice) (uncredited)
- Rick Moranis as Gravedigger (uncredited)
- Robert Picardo as Voicephone (voice) (uncredited)
- Cindra Skotzko as Dressing Room Girl (uncredited)
- Terri Wilson as Stage Hand (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 22% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 80
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 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 to 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 to 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 7 |
| 9 to 10 | 7 | 3 |
| 11 to 12 | 9 | 14 |
| 13 to 14 | 1 | 6 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 to 18 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 to 20 | 2 | 13 |
| 21 to 22 | 1 | 11 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 3 |
| 25 to 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 to 28 | 2 | 8 |
| 29 to 30 | 3 | 1 |
| 31 to 32 | 2 | 2 |
| 33 to 34 | 3 | 9 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 5 |
| 37 to 38 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 to 40 | 3 | 9 |
| 41 to 42 | 2 | 5 |
| 43 to 44 | 1 | 2 |
| 45 to 46 | 2 | 7 |
| 47 to 48 | 4 | 2 |
| 49 to 50 | 4 | 4 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 to 54 | 4 | 7 |
| 55 to 56 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 to 58 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 to 60 | 1 | 3 |
| 61 to 62 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 to 66 | 0 | 2 |
| 67 to 68 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 to 70 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 to 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 to 74 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 to 76 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 to 78 | 0 | 0 |
| 79 to 80 | 2 | 4 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
SARA. -: ‘She was with, ‘that: agent; “ Prank,. wasn’t. she? She had a Very sweet. quality. SARA: “oh God! “What is wrong with me? ‘If I do it again,.tie me up and gag me. -
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 28 are women's.
54 lines from women, 136 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
13 women and 29 men in the cast. 16 women and 24 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 14 of 244.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 24 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 (1,626), men 76% (5,048). Women have 28% 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
4
Two men
12
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 10 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Mick Jackson (man)
- Written by
- Steve Martin (man)
- Produced by
- Michael I. Rachmil (man), Daniel Melnick (man)
- Shot by
- Andrew Dunn (man)
- Edited by
- Richard A. Harris (man)
- Music by
- Peter Rodgers Melnick (man)
- Production design by
- Lawrence Miller (man)
- Costumes by
- Rudy Dillon (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Mindy Marin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
1 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 5 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 1 men
-
Editing
1 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 34 on average. Men: 40 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Sarah Jessica Parker 25, Marilu Henner 38, Victoria Tennant 40
Men
Richard E. Grant 33, Kevin Pollak 33, Sam McMurray 38, Steve Martin 45, Patrick Stewart 50
Exhibit H: the money
What it cost and made, where TMDB lists it.
- Budget
- Not listed
- Box office
- $28.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 80 scenes and 244 lines of dialogue. How the test works
