Passes the Bechdel test
My Best Friend's Wedding
1997. Directed by P.J. Hogan, written by Ron Bass.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
32 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 62. -
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 2 out of 3.
The film
A woman who, by a promise made years earlier, is supposed to marry her best friend in three weeks, even though she doesn't want to. When she finds out that he's marrying someone else, she becomes jealous and tries to break off the wedding.
- Released
- 20 Jun 1997
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 51 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 12 wins & 24 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Julianne 522 lines, woman
- Michael 245 lines, man
- Kimmy 135 lines, woman
- Digger 84 lines, man
- Walter 34 lines, man
- Mandy 20 lines
- Sammy 13 lines
- Minister 12 lines, man
- Mandy/Sammy 10 lines
- Isabelle 8 lines, woman
Full cast, 67 people
- Julia Roberts as Julianne Potter
- Dermot Mulroney as Michael O'Neal
- Cameron Diaz as Kimmy Wallace
- Rupert Everett as George Downes
- Philip Bosco as Walter Wallace
- M. Emmet Walsh as Joe O'Neal
- Rachel Griffiths as Samantha Newhouse
- Carrie Preston as Amanda Newhouse
- Susan Sullivan as Isabelle Wallace
- Christopher Masterson as Scotty O'Neal
- Raci Alexander as Title Sequence Performer
- Jennifer Garrett as Title Sequence Performer
- Kelleia Sheerin as Title Sequence Performer
- Bree Turner as Title Sequence Performer
- Cassie Creasy as Flower Girl
- Lucina Paquet as Kimmy's Grandma
- Aida Baggio as Old Woman #2
- Shirley Kelly as Oldest Lady
- George Bozonelos as Party Guest
- Loretta Paoletti as Party Guest
- Joseph Sikora as Stoner Guy #1
- Shale Marks as Stoner Guy #2
- Phillip Ingram as Wedding Singer
- Rose Abdoo as Seamstress
- JoBe Cerny as Tailor
- Paul Giamatti as Bellman
- Charlie Trotter as Charlie Trotter
- Guillermo Téllez as Chef
- Ned Schmidtke as Captain
- Mark Swenson as Karaoke Singer
- Mara Casey as Karaoke Girl
- Tonray Ho as Karaoke Waitress
- Michelle Hutchison as Drunken Trashy Girl
- Robert Sutter as Crabhouse Pianist
- Charlotte Zucker as Customer
- Susan Breslau as Customer
- Burton Zucker as Customer
- Sharon Haight as Customer
- Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Walter's Secretary
- Mike Bacarella as Office Janitor
- Larry Santori as Conductor
- Gene Janson as Sport Magazine Guy
- Kevin Michael Doyle as Sport Magazine Guy
- Scott Kuhagen as Werner
- Sid Hillman as Dining Guest
- Norman Merrill as Dining Guest
- Renata Scott as Dining Guest
- Anh Duong as Dining Guest
- Harry Shearer as Jonathan P.E. Rice
- Jennifer McComb as Excited Woman
- Mary-Pat Green as Angry Woman
- Davenia McFadden as Angrier Woman
- Jo Farkas as Loony Woman
- Chelcie Ross as Preist (uncredited)
- Ray Uhler as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
- Paul Adelstein as Brunch Guest (uncredited)
- Stephanie Burton as Karaoke Patron (uncredited)
- Kathi Copeland as Singing Chef (uncredited)
- Amy Danles as Intro Bridesmaid #2 (uncredited)
- Jerod Howard as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
- Chris Lowe as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Molly Murphy as Train Conductor (uncredited)
- Eric A. Pot as Florist (uncredited)
- Chelcie Ross as Priest (uncredited)
- Dominic Paolo Testa as Shopper (uncredited)
- Robert Velo as Taylor (uncredited)
- Johnny White as Karaoke Patron (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 62
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 | 35 | 30 |
| 3 to 4 | 22 | 23 |
| 5 to 6 | 17 | 8 |
| 7 to 8 | 22 | 0 |
| 9 to 10 | 23 | 6 |
| 11 to 12 | 62 | 0 |
| 13 to 14 | 19 | 27 |
| 15 to 16 | 32 | 14 |
| 17 to 18 | 69 | 3 |
| 19 to 20 | 15 | 15 |
| 21 to 22 | 10 | 11 |
| 23 to 24 | 20 | 11 |
| 25 to 26 | 6 | 0 |
| 27 to 28 | 25 | 29 |
| 29 to 30 | 12 | 4 |
| 31 to 32 | 36 | 43 |
| 33 to 34 | 6 | 8 |
| 35 to 36 | 21 | 31 |
| 37 to 38 | 13 | 3 |
| 39 to 40 | 9 | 9 |
| 41 to 42 | 9 | 1 |
| 43 to 44 | 49 | 41 |
| 45 to 46 | 1 | 0 |
| 47 to 48 | 6 | 0 |
| 49 to 50 | 24 | 5 |
| 51 to 52 | 7 | 10 |
| 53 to 54 | 54 | 41 |
| 55 to 56 | 5 | 0 |
| 57 to 58 | 24 | 0 |
| 59 to 60 | 5 | 25 |
| 61 to 62 | 12 | 6 |
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.
KIMMY: I love Florence. JULIANNE: Take her there. JULIANNE: I mean, now. She's perky, she deserves a honeymoon. JULIANNE: I heard. If San Antone sweeps Sacramento. What is this shit? You gotta get off the road by September anyway, when does Fall Quarter start?
KIMMY: To the twins' soiree? So they can paw you and drool...? JULIANNE: They're gonna drool anyway! KIMMY: Enjoy each other. JULIANNE: Should I whistle down a cab?
JULIANNE: Yes. KIMMY: My groom-person! Your family needs you!
JULIANNE: YO! IMMIGRATION! JULIANNE: I GOT A WARRANT FOR MS. KIMBERLY WALLACE! KIMMY: In here, you bitch! JULIANNE: Let me in, baby, or I'll rip this damn thing off its non- code-compliant hinges...
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 62 are women's.
670 lines from women, 404 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
32 women and 26 men in the cast. 5 women and 7 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,132.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 19 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 64% of the words (6,486), men 36% (3,635). Women have 62% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
21
Two men
9
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 11 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 30% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- P.J. Hogan (man)
- Written by
- Ronald Bass (man)
- Produced by
- Ronald Bass (man), Jerry Zucker (man)
- Shot by
- László Kovács (man)
- Edited by
- Garth Craven (man), Lisa Fruchtman (woman)
- Music by
- James Newton Howard (man)
- Production design by
- Richard Sylbert (man)
- Costumes by
- Jeffrey Kurland (man)
- Cast by
- David Rubin (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 8 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 3 men, 4 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 6 men
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 2 men
-
Editing
1 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 33 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Cameron Diaz 24, Rachel Griffiths 28, Julia Roberts 29, Carrie Preston 29, Susan Sullivan 54
Men
Christopher Masterson 17, Dermot Mulroney 33, Rupert Everett 38, M. Emmet Walsh 62, Philip Bosco 66
Exhibit H: the money
It made 7.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $38 million
- Box office
- $299 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 62 scenes and 1,132 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
