Passes the Bechdel test
Never Been Kissed
1999. Directed by Raja Gosnell, written by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
17 women characters. 11 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 8 scenes out of 187. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
Chicago Sun Times copy editor Josie Gellar (25), who was desperate to graduate from perfectionist copy editor to reporter, gets her chance when the goody owner orders the editor to cover the high-school scene by undercover. Josie, who was a frustrated, ridiculed nerd, gets a popular make-over from her drop-out, naturally funny brother Rob Geller. Both siblings find love and joys of youth again. But in Josie's case, it's sensitive bachelor teacher Sam Coulson, who enjoys sophisticated conversation. As the publication deadline approaches, the price of blowing their cover seems ever more daunting, yet inevitable unless she sacrifices her career.
- Released
- 09 Apr 1999
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6 / 10
- Metascore
- 60 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 8 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Josie 330 lines, woman
- Sam 85 lines, man
- Rob 63 lines, man
- Anita 61 lines, woman
- Gus 48 lines, man
- Aldys 43 lines, woman
- Guy 35 lines, man
- Gibby 24 lines, woman
- Rigfort 23 lines, man
- Kirsten 16 lines, woman
Full cast, 61 people
- Drew Barrymore as Josie Geller
- David Arquette as Rob Geller
- Molly Shannon as Anita
- Michael Vartan as Sam Coulson
- Jessica Alba as Kirsten
- John C. Reilly as Gus Strauss
- James Franco as Jason
- Octavia Spencer as Cynthia
- Jenny Bicks as Miss Haskell
- Garry Marshall as Rigfort
- Sean Whalen as Merkin
- Cress Williams as George
- Sarah DeVincentis as Rhoda
- Allen Covert as Roger in Op-Ed
- Armand Reiser as Dutton
- David Doty as Hairplug Bruns
- Derek Morgan as Armcast Henson
- Kathleen Marshall as Sun-Times Worker
- Leelee Sobieski as Aldys
- Marley Shelton as Kristin
- Jordan Ladd as Gibby
- Jeremy Jordan as Guy Perkins
- Jason Weissbrod as Big Bad Wolf
- Katie Lansdale as Tracy
- Branden Williams as Tommy
- Gregory Sporleder as Coach Romano
- Martha Hackett as Mrs. Knox
- Jennifer Parsons as P.E. Teacher
- Andrew Wilson as School Guard
- Alex Solowitz as Brett
- Niesha Trout as Sera
- Chad Haywood as Matz
- Cory Hardrict as Packer
- Chad Todhunter as Stoner #1
- Daniel Louis Rivas as Stoner #2
- Denny Kirkwood as Billy Prince
- Marissa Jaret Winokur as Sheila
- Carmen Llywelyn as Rob’s Girlfriend
- Sara Downing as Billy’s Prom Date
- Mike Moyer as Monty Malik
- Steven Wilde as Bouncer
- Maya McLaughlin as Lara
- David Douglas as Rasta
- Russell Bobbitt as Carny
- Giuseppe Andrews as Denominator
- Chali 2na as Ozomatli Band Member
- Cut Chemist as Ozomatli Band Member
- Will-Dog Abers as Ozomatli Band Member
- Asdru Sierra as Ozomatli Band Member
- Raul Pacheco as Ozomatli Band Member
- Tara Skye as Tyke
- Mark Allen as D.J.
- Joe Ochman as Prom Judge #1
- Don Snell as Prom Judge #2
- Tinsley Grimes as Little Red Riding Hood
- Amanda Wilmshurst as Fruit Headdress Woman
- Ulises Bella as Ozomatli Band Member
- William Marrufo as Ozomatli Band Member
- James Hunter as Bully (uncredited)
- Mike Stoklasa as Man on Swing (uncredited)
- Rich Evans as Man with Balloon (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 187
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 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 59 | 33 |
| 9 to 12 | 21 | 20 |
| 13 to 16 | 8 | 6 |
| 17 to 20 | 22 | 0 |
| 21 to 24 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 to 28 | 4 | 4 |
| 29 to 32 | 23 | 9 |
| 33 to 36 | 20 | 4 |
| 37 to 40 | 33 | 4 |
| 41 to 44 | 8 | 0 |
| 45 to 48 | 13 | 0 |
| 49 to 52 | 11 | 9 |
| 53 to 56 | 22 | 11 |
| 57 to 60 | 17 | 18 |
| 61 to 64 | 10 | 7 |
| 65 to 68 | 14 | 10 |
| 69 to 72 | 6 | 5 |
| 73 to 76 | 2 | 2 |
| 77 to 80 | 0 | 2 |
| 81 to 84 | 1 | 1 |
| 85 to 88 | 3 | 4 |
| 89 to 92 | 11 | 7 |
| 93 to 96 | 2 | 6 |
| 97 to 100 | 19 | 36 |
| 101 to 104 | 32 | 13 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 0 |
| 109 to 112 | 2 | 0 |
| 113 to 116 | 14 | 9 |
| 117 to 120 | 7 | 6 |
| 121 to 124 | 8 | 14 |
| 125 to 128 | 23 | 22 |
| 129 to 132 | 10 | 5 |
| 133 to 136 | 6 | 13 |
| 137 to 140 | 4 | 6 |
| 141 to 144 | 15 | 13 |
| 145 to 148 | 13 | 14 |
| 149 to 152 | 9 | 1 |
| 153 to 156 | 4 | 0 |
| 157 to 160 | 5 | 0 |
| 161 to 164 | 4 | 0 |
| 165 to 168 | 8 | 0 |
| 169 to 172 | 7 | 6 |
| 173 to 176 | 0 | 0 |
| 177 to 180 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 184 | 1 | 1 |
| 185 to 187 | 0 | 0 |
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.
JOSIE: Intra office. And they're not dating. They're having sex. ANITA: And what is your policy? That if you're not getting any, no one can? Anita flounces off.
ANITA: You knit? JOSIE: So, this is my chance. A beat.
KIRSTEN: We sit here. JOSIE: Oh. Sorry--I didn't know these were assigned. GIBBY: They're not. Josie quickly gathers her things and moves one row forward, next to two empty seats. TWO STONERS shuffle over to Josie.
JOSIE: Have you ever wanted to go to The Court? ALDYS: Are you kidding, Josie? It's lame. All they do is stand around and get drunk. It's lame. JOSIE: It is? ALDYS: Yes, it's lame.
GIBBY: Josie, you have totally transitioned. JOSIE: Transitioned? GIBBY: You crossed over.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 61 are women's.
506 lines from women, 321 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
17 women and 33 men in the cast. 11 women and 26 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 903.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 11 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 63% of the words (9,239), men 37% (5,485). Women have 61% 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
38
Two men
12
Exhibit F: behind the camera
6 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 56% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Raja Gosnell (man)
- Written by
- Marc Silverstein (man), Abby Kohn (woman), Jenny Bicks (woman)
- Produced by
- Sandy Isaac (man), Nancy Juvonen (woman)
- Shot by
- Alex Nepomniaschy (man)
- Edited by
- Debra Chiate (woman), Marcelo Sansevieri (man)
- Music by
- David Newman (man)
- Cast by
- Kim Davis-Wagner (woman), Justine Arteta (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
9 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
2 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men
-
Writing
2 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 28 on average. Men: 35 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jessica Alba 17, Drew Barrymore 24, Octavia Spencer 28, Molly Shannon 34, Jenny Bicks 35
Men
James Franco 20, David Arquette 27, Michael Vartan 30, John C. Reilly 33, Garry Marshall 64
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $25 million
- Box office
- $84.6 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 187 scenes and 903 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
