Passes the Bechdel test
National Lampoon's European Vacation
1985. Directed by Amy Heckerling, written by John Hughes and Robert Klane.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
19 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 153. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
After surviving the Wally World expedition in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), the Griswolds embark on a fascinating, worry-free, all-expenses-paid trip to cosmopolitan Europe, courtesy of the popular TV game show, Pig in a Poke. This time, the merry holidaymaker, Clark Griswold, his wife, Ellen, and their teenage children, Audrey and Rusty, find themselves in a race against the clock, trying to see as many sights as possible in London, Paris, Germany, and Rome. Once more, disaster follows, as British driving idiosyncrasies, unforgivable fashion crimes in the City of Lights, a daunting language barrier in a Bavarian village, and a brush with the law in Rome stand in the way of happiness. Can the Griswolds survive the European Vacation?
- Released
- 26 Jul 1985
- Genres
- Adventure, Comedy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 47 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Clark 273 lines, man
- Ellen 132 lines, woman
- Rusty 85 lines, man
- Audrey 78 lines, woman
- Santino 26 lines
- Girl 22 lines, woman
- Rosty 15 lines
- Clarx 11 lines
- Kent 8 lines, man
- Bike Rider 6 lines, man
Full cast, 48 people
- Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold
- Beverly D'Angelo as Ellen Griswold
- Dana Hill as Audrey Griswold
- Jason Lively as Rusty Griswold
- Victor Lanoux as Thief
- Eric Idle as The Bike Rider
- John Astin as Kent
- Paul Bartel as Mr. Froeger
- Maureen Lipman as Lady in the Bed
- Willy Millowitsch as Fritz Spritz
- Mel Smith as Hotel Manager
- Moon Unit Zappa as Rusty's California Girl
- Sheila Kennedy as Game Show Hostess #1
- Cynthia Szigeti as Mrs. Froeger
- Malcolm Danare as The Froegers' Son
- Kevi Kendall as The Froegers' Daughter
- Tricia Lange as Game Show Hostess #2
- William Zabka as Jack
- Wendy Goldman as Stewardess
- Angus MacKay as Announcer at Court
- Julie Wooldridge as Princess Di
- Peter Hugo as Prince Charles
- Jeannette Charles as Queen Elizabeth
- Derek Deadman as Taxi Driver
- Gwen Nelson as Hotel Manager's Mother
- Robbie Coltrane as Man in the Bathroom
- Paul McDowell as English Motorist #1
- Ballard Berkeley as English Motorist #2
- Elizabeth Arlen as Mrs. Garland
- David Gersh as Mr. Garland
- Jacques Herlin as Hotel Desk Clerk
- Jacques Maury as Hotel's Assistant Manager
- Philippe Sturbelle as Cafe Waiter
- Alice Sapritch as Dowager on the Eiffel Tower
- Isa Carol Horio as Blond Girl at Eiffel Tower
- Isabelle Massard as Brunet Girl at Eiffel Tower
- Sylvie Badalati as Rusty's French Girl
- Didier Pain as Video Camera Thief
- Erika Wackernagel as Helga Spritz
- Claudia Neidig as Rusty's German Girl
- Massimo Sarchielli as The Other Thief
- Jorge Krimer as Unfortunate Express Agent
- Gloria Charles as Stewardess
- Gary Owens as "Pig in a Poke" Announcer (uncredited)
- Tom Willett as "Pig in a Poke" Audience Member (uncredited)
- Peter Roy as Guest in Ellen's Dream (uncredited)
- Reg Thomason as Guest in Ellen's Dream (uncredited)
- Salvatore Billa as Policeman (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 14% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 153
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 4 | 14 | 35 |
| 5 to 8 | 10 | 12 |
| 9 to 12 | 8 | 14 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 to 20 | 9 | 19 |
| 21 to 24 | 3 | 7 |
| 25 to 28 | 7 | 10 |
| 29 to 32 | 2 | 8 |
| 33 to 36 | 1 | 20 |
| 37 to 40 | 8 | 11 |
| 41 to 44 | 8 | 10 |
| 45 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 52 | 4 | 16 |
| 53 to 56 | 7 | 14 |
| 57 to 60 | 5 | 12 |
| 61 to 64 | 16 | 43 |
| 65 to 68 | 15 | 17 |
| 69 to 72 | 17 | 27 |
| 73 to 76 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 to 80 | 11 | 19 |
| 81 to 84 | 3 | 3 |
| 85 to 88 | 3 | 10 |
| 89 to 92 | 3 | 8 |
| 93 to 96 | 4 | 6 |
| 97 to 100 | 11 | 8 |
| 101 to 104 | 2 | 6 |
| 105 to 108 | 1 | 3 |
| 109 to 112 | 5 | 5 |
| 113 to 116 | 0 | 4 |
| 117 to 120 | 5 | 4 |
| 121 to 124 | 4 | 12 |
| 125 to 128 | 28 | 29 |
| 129 to 132 | 6 | 1 |
| 133 to 136 | 10 | 8 |
| 137 to 140 | 3 | 0 |
| 141 to 144 | 5 | 3 |
| 145 to 148 | 3 | 11 |
| 149 to 152 | 1 | 3 |
| 153 to 153 | 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.
ELLEN: I guess it's true that "Paris is for lovers• • AUDREY: Yeah, but it's hollow and empty when you're torn away from your lover.
ELLEN: Look at Paris. It's magnificent AUDREY: I can see everything. Ellen turns from the railing. , ELLEN
AUDREY: THAT BITCH! NEW ANGLE I49 Audrey's outburst draws looks from everyone in the room. ELLEN: Something the matter Audrey? AUDREY: Huh? Oh, no ••• She continues reading.
AUDREY: I'm starting to get nauseous. ELLEN: Geer I wonder why? Maybe it was the pate de foie gras ••• or the smoked trout ••• or the three scuffles you inhaled at lunch.
AUDREY: Oh yeah, well I vote that we don't hear about schedules anymore. ELLEN: Me too.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 37 are women's.
245 lines from women, 424 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
19 women and 28 men in the cast. 7 women and 21 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 4 of 778.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 18 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 33% of the words (2,412), men 67% (4,901). Women have 37% 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
18
Two men
48
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Amy Heckerling (woman)
- Written by
- John Hughes (man), Robert Klane (man)
- Story by
- John Hughes (man)
- Produced by
- Matty Simmons (man)
- Shot by
- Robert Paynter (man)
- Edited by
- Pembroke J. Herring (man)
- Music by
- Charles Fox (man)
- Production design by
- Robert Cartwright (man)
- Costumes by
- Graham Williams (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Marion Dougherty (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 3 men
-
Art
0 women, 4 men
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men
-
Sound
0 women, 2 men
-
Other crew
0 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 47 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Dana Hill 21, Beverly D'Angelo 33, Maureen Lipman 39
Men
Jason Lively 17, Chevy Chase 41, Eric Idle 42, Paul Bartel 46, Victor Lanoux 49, John Astin 55, Willy Millowitsch 76
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $17 million
- Box office
- $49.4 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 153 scenes and 778 lines of dialogue. How the test works
