Passes the Bechdel test
Little Nicky
2000. Directed by Steven Brill, written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler and Steven Brill.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
17 women characters. 4 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 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
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
When somebody's mother is an angel and his father is the devil, life can be really confusing. For a sweet boy like Little Nicky, it just got a whole lot worse. His two evil brothers Adrian and Cassius have just escaped from Hell and are wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting earth. His dad is disintegrating and it's up to Nicky to save him and all of a humanity by midnight before one of his brothers becomes the new Satan.
- Released
- 10 Nov 2000
- Genres
- Comedy, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 5.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 38 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 12 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Nicky 215 lines, man
- Adrian 68 lines, man
- Valerie 59 lines, woman
- Dad 48 lines, man
- Beefy 46 lines, man
- John 40 lines, man
- Angel 39 lines, woman
- Todd 33 lines, man
- Peter 30 lines, man
- Cassius 28 lines, man
Full cast, 81 people
- Adam Sandler as Nicky
- Patricia Arquette as Valerie Veran
- Harvey Keitel as Dad
- Rhys Ifans as Adrian
- Tommy Lister Jr. as Cassius
- Rodney Dangerfield as Lucifer
- Allen Covert as Todd
- Peter Dante as Peter
- Jonathan Loughran as John
- Robert Smigel as Beefy
- Reese Witherspoon as Holly
- Dana Carvey as Referee
- Jon Lovitz as Peeper
- Kevin Nealon as Gatekeeper
- Michael McKean as Chief of Police
- Quentin Tarantino as Deacon
- Carl Weathers as Chubbs (uncredited)
- Blake Clark as Jimmy the Demon
- Rob Schneider as The Townie
- John Witherspoon as Street Vendor
- Clint Howard as Nipples
- Leah Lail as Christa
- Jackie Sandler as Jenna
- Frank Sivero as Alumni Hall Announcer
- Lewis Arquette as Cardinal
- George Wallace as Mayor Randolph
- Christopher Carroll as Hitler
- Ellen Cleghorne as Mom
- Reggie McFadden as Dad
- Philip Bolden as Son
- Laura Harring as Mrs. Dunleavy
- Erinn Bartlett as Fenner
- Henry Winkler as Henry Winkler
- Ozzy Osbourne as Ozzy Osbourne
- Bill Walton as Bill Walton
- Regis Philbin as Regis Philbin
- Sylvia Lopez as Sylvia Lopez
- Sidney Ganis as Weatherman
- Troy Brown as Beating Cop
- Stuart Rudin as Bus Shelter Bum
- Lillian Adams as Old Lady at Game
- Steven Brill as WNYH Reporter (uncredited)
- Tim Herlihy as Korean Man (uncredited)
- Dan Marino as Dan Marino (uncredited)
- John Farley as Human Dartboard
- Michael Deak as Gary the Monster
- Craig Castaldo as Bum in Alley
- Mannie Jackson as Harlem Globetrotters Coach
- Orlando Antigua as Harlem Globetrotter
- Curley "Boo" Johnson as Harlem Globetrotter
- Lou Dunbar as Harlem Globetrotter
- Isaiah Griffin as Scottie Dunleavy
- Kevin Grady as Fitzie
- Salvatore Cavaliere as Sal the Demon
- Todd Holland as Reformed Demon #1
- Mary Brill as Church Woman
- John Kirk as Young Man
- Tom McNulty as Screaming Man
- Michael Giarraputo as Half Court Shot Fan
- Fred Wolf as Fan
- Jana Sandler as Angel #1
- Stephanie Chao as Angel #3
- Kimberly Velez as Angel #4
- David Sardi as Popeye's Cashier
- Tom Winkler as Human Dartboard
- Tim Young as Cop
- Eli Wolstan as Vendor Cop
- Michael Charles Roman as Kid #1
- Peter Anthony Tambakis as Kid #2
- Jeff Imada as Chinese Delivery Guy
- Mary Diveny as Lady in Park
- Ng Thanh Nhan as Korean Vendor
- Michael Goldfinger as Nut Vendor
- Peter Linari as Fat Guy
- Rico Bueno as Gardener
- Lynn Wilson as Mother with Carriage
- Gwen Yeager as Fan
- Joseph S. Griffo as Evil Little Person
- Cindy Sorensen as Female Little Person
- Jake McKinnon as Big Bird
- Jess Harnell as Gary the Monster (voice)
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 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 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 52 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 51 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 23 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 16 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 15 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 17 |
| 22 to 24 | 1 | 13 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 9 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 to 33 | 14 | 49 |
| 34 to 36 | 9 | 9 |
| 37 to 39 | 6 | 33 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 20 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 10 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 17 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 3 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 14 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 35 |
| 58 to 60 | 16 | 14 |
| 61 to 63 | 2 | 2 |
| 64 to 66 | 2 | 3 |
| 67 to 69 | 1 | 3 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 7 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 6 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 20 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 16 |
| 85 to 87 | 4 | 47 |
| 88 to 90 | 1 | 11 |
| 91 to 93 | 17 | 7 |
| 94 to 96 | 18 | 32 |
| 97 to 99 | 4 | 11 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 7 |
| 103 to 105 | 4 | 4 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 2 |
| 109 to 111 | 9 | 6 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 10 |
| 115 to 117 | 1 | 16 |
| 118 to 120 | 3 | 14 |
| 121 to 123 | 4 | 5 |
| 124 to 126 | 2 | 8 |
| 127 to 129 | 0 | 0 |
| 130 to 132 | 2 | 5 |
| 133 to 135 | 0 | 9 |
| 136 to 136 | 3 | 3 |
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.
ANGEL: Oh. My. G-d. I can't believe you're here. Welcome. Can I just tell you, I am so excited right now. CHRISTA: So excited. JENNA: She really is.
ANGEL: I'm sorry, you're just so cute. JENNA: Do you have any idea where you are right now?
ANGEL: Well, she was about six-three, only spoke Portuguese and had really long grey hair. ANGEL: I'm sorry, I'm totally busting on you. I'm your mom. JENNA: I'm sorry, but you just had the sweetest look on your face. CHRISTA: You're gonna be so happy she did that.
CHRISTA: No, their mother's weren't angels. ANGEL: I think they were hookers or strippers or something really porno like...
ANGEL: I'll call her later. CHRISTA: You know, we saw you save your girlfriend's life. JENNA: That was so cool. ANGEL: That's why you came up to Heaven instead of Hell. Self-sacrifice automatically gets you here.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 16 are women's.
124 lines from women, 670 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
17 women and 55 men in the cast. 4 women and 35 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 13 of 830.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 181 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 14% of the words (1,103), men 86% (6,672). Women have 16% 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
11
Two men
73
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 14 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 22% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Steven Brill (man)
- Written by
- Adam Sandler (man), Tim Herlihy (man), Steven Brill (man)
- Produced by
- Jack Giarraputo (man), Robert Simonds (man)
- Shot by
- Theo van de Sande (man)
- Edited by
- Jeff Gourson (man)
- Music by
- Adam Jeremy Williams (gender not listed), Teddy Castellucci (man)
- Production design by
- Perry Andelin Blake (man)
- Costumes by
- Ellen Lutter (woman)
- Cast by
- Barry Moss (man), Roger Mussenden (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
7 women, 26 men, 14 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 16 men, 21 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 11 men, 21 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 19 men, 10 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 9 men, 9 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 2 men, 15 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 2 men, 7 not listed
-
Directing
3 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 32 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Patricia Arquette 32
Men
Peter Dante 31, Rhys Ifans 33, Adam Sandler 34, Jonathan Loughran 34, Allen Covert 36, Robert Smigel 40, Tommy Lister Jr. 42, Harvey Keitel 61, Rodney Dangerfield 78
Exhibit H: the money
It made 69% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $85 million
- Box office
- $58.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 136 scenes and 830 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
