Fails the Bechdel test

Mars Attacks!

Name: Mars Attacks!
Released: 1996

1996. Directed by Tim Burton, written by Len Brown and Woody Gelman and Wally Wood.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
19 women characters. 13 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

The film

It is a normal day for everyone, until President of the United States James Dale (Jack Nicholson) announces Martians have been spotted circling Earth. The Martians land and a meeting is arranged, but not everything goes to plan, and the Martians seem to have other plans for Earth. Are they just misunderstood beings or do they really want to destroy all of humanity?

Released: 13 Dec 1996
Genres: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.4 / 10
Metascore: 52 / 100
Awards: 3 wins & 19 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

President 56 lines
Byron 52 lines, man
Richie 35 lines, man
Kessler 33 lines, man
Nathalie 33 lines, woman
Jerry 32 lines, man
Barbara 28 lines, woman
Decker 27 lines, man
Jason 26 lines, man
Art 18 lines, man

Full cast, 71 people

Jack Nicholson as President Dale / Art Land
Glenn Close as Marsha Dale
Annette Bening as Barbara Land
Pierce Brosnan as Donald Kessler
Danny DeVito as Rude Gambler
Martin Short as Jerry Ross
Sarah Jessica Parker as Nathalie Lake
Michael J. Fox as Jason Stone
Rod Steiger as General Decker
Tom Jones as Tom Jones
Lukas Haas as Richie Norris
Natalie Portman as Taffy Dale
Jim Brown as Byron Williams
Lisa Marie as Martian Girl
Sylvia Sidney as Grandma Norris
Paul Winfield as General Casey
Pam Grier as Louise Williams
Jack Black as Billy Glenn Norris
Janice Rivera as Cindy
Ray J as Cedric
Brandon Hammond as Neville
Joe Don Baker as Glenn Norris
O-Lan Jones as Sue Ann Norris
Christina Applegate as Sharona
Brian Haley as Mitch
Jerzy Skolimowski as Dr. Zeigler
Timi Prulhiere as Tour Guide
Barbet Schroeder as French President
Chi Hoang Cai as Mr. Lee
Tommy Bush as Hillbilly
Joseph Maher as Decorator
Gloria M. Malgarini as Nun #1
Betty Bunch as Nun #2
Gloria Hoffmann as Nun #3
Willie Garson as Corporate Guy
John Roselius as GNN Boss
Michael Reilly Burke as GNN Reporter #1
Valerie Wildman as GNN Reporter #2
Richard Irving as GNN Reporter #3
Jonathan Emerson as Newscaster
Tamara 'Gingir' Curry as Hooker #1
Rebecca Broussard as Hooker #2
Vinny Argiro as Casino Manager
Steve Valentine as TV Director
Coco Leigh as Female Journalist
Jeffrey King as NASA Tech
Enrique Castillo as Hispanic Colonel
Don LaMoth as Colonel #2
C. Wayne Owens as Stranger #1
Joseph Moynihan as Stranger #2
Roger Peterson as Colonel
John Finnegan as Speaker of the House
Ed Lambert as Morose Old Guy
John Gray as Incredibly Old Guy
Gregg Daniel as Lab Technician
J. Kenneth Campbell as Doctor #1
Jeanne Mori as Doctor #2
Rance Howard as Texan Investor
Richard Assad as Saudi Investor
Velletta Carlson as Elderly Slots Lady
Kevin Mangan as Trailer Lover
Rebeca Silva as Hispanic Woman
Josh Philip Weinstein as Hippie
Julian Barnes as White House Waiter
Ken Thomas as White House Photographer
Darelle Porter Holden as Tom Jones Backup Singer
Christi Black as Tom Jones Backup Singer
Sharon Hendrix as Tom Jones Backup Singer
Frank Welker as Various Martians (voice)
Roger L. Jackson as Translator Device (voice) (uncredited)
Cliff Curtis as Maori native

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 18% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 231

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 5	6	17
6 to 10	11	16
11 to 15	4	8
16 to 20	1	3
21 to 25	2	2
26 to 30	8	17
31 to 35	4	17
36 to 40	11	17
41 to 45	4	4
46 to 50	2	8
51 to 55	11	15
56 to 60	2	6
61 to 65	1	14
66 to 70	6	9
71 to 75	0	5
76 to 80	3	8
81 to 85	0	7
86 to 90	3	12
91 to 95	0	2
96 to 100	3	4
101 to 105	1	7
106 to 110	6	22
111 to 115	2	4
116 to 120	1	7
121 to 125	4	12
126 to 130	0	9
131 to 135	2	5
136 to 140	1	3
141 to 145	4	4
146 to 150	0	0
151 to 155	0	7
156 to 160	6	8
161 to 165	2	12
166 to 170	2	3
171 to 175	3	6
176 to 180	0	2
181 to 185	0	2
186 to 190	6	20
191 to 195	1	0
196 to 200	0	1
201 to 205	2	7
206 to 210	1	4
211 to 215	7	15
216 to 220	2	1
221 to 225	0	0
226 to 230	2	2
231 to 231	6	10

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 28 are women's.

143 lines from women, 364 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

19 women and 41 men in the cast. 13 women and 41 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 24 of 619. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 23 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 22% of the words (1,571), men 78% (5,566). Women have 28% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Tim Burton (man)
Written by: Jonathan Gems (man)
Produced by: Tim Burton (man), Larry Franco (man)
Shot by: Peter Suschitzky (man)
Edited by: Chris Lebenzon (man)
Music by: Danny Elfman (man)
Production design by: Wynn Thomas (man)
Costumes by: Colleen Atwood (woman)
Cast by: Jeanne McCarthy (woman), Matthew Barry (man), Victoria Thomas (woman)