Passes the Bechdel test

Paul

Name: Paul
Released: 2011

2011. Directed by Greg Mottola, written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
10 women characters. 3 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 137.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

The film

Two sci-fi geeks take a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. When he discovers he's been taken prisoner, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town - a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

Released: 18 Mar 2011
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.9 / 10
Metascore: 57 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 9 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Clive 274 lines, man
Graham 237 lines, man
Paul 234 lines, man
Ruth 118 lines, woman
Zoil 87 lines, man
Voice 39 lines
Haggard 28 lines, man
Moses Behe 26 lines, man
Pat 23 lines, woman
Tara 21 lines, woman

Full cast, 49 people

Simon Pegg as Graeme Willy
Nick Frost as Clive Gollings
Seth Rogen as Paul (voice)
Jason Bateman as Agent Zoil
Kristen Wiig as Ruth Buggs
Bill Hader as Haggard
Blythe Danner as Tara Walton
Joe Lo Truglio as O'Reilly
John Carroll Lynch as Moses Buggs
Jane Lynch as Pat Stevenson
David Koechner as Gus
Jesse Plemons as Jake
Sigourney Weaver as The Big Guy
Mia Stallard as Young Tara
Jeremy Owen as Sword Vendor
Jeffrey Tambor as Adam Shadowchild
David House as Security Guard
Jennifer Granger as Adam Shadowchild Fan
Nelson Ascencio as Jorge
Bobby Lee as Valet
Mark Sivertsen as State Trooper
Joe Berryman as Gas Station Attendant
Steven Spielberg as Steven Spielberg
Syd Masters as Band Member #1
Gary Roller as Band Member #2
Oliver O'Shea as Band Member #3
Lonnie Otha-Mayer as Band Member #4
Will Veitch as Band Member #5
Mike Miller as Police Officer
Lori Dillen as Robed Woman
J. Todd Anderson as Comic Store Clerk
Brett Michael Jones as Keith Nash
Diego Deane as Fireworks Store Clerk
Joel Thingvall as Comic Book Dealer (uncredited)
Robert Amstler as Comic Con Conan (uncredited)
Dawn Barber as Sailor Moon (uncredited)
Chad Boardsen as Snake Plissken Cosplay (uncredited)
Devin Faraci as Comic Con Nerd (uncredited)
David Fernandez Jr. as Comic Con (uncredited)
Larry Goldstein as Comic-Con Chewbacca (uncredited)
Zack Kennedy as Comic Con Nerd (uncredited)
Chris Kittinger as Bar Patron (uncredited)
Jeremiah Krage as Baker (uncredited)
Paula LaBaredas as Princess Leia (uncredited)
Sylvia Adelina Padilla as Felix the Cat (uncredited)
Phoebe Price as Princess Lea (uncredited)
Chris Rymer as Comic Con Clone Trooper (uncredited)
Joy Sudduth as Angry Stage Manager (uncredited)
Brian Ulrich as Gray Uglydoll (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 137

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	3	0
4 to 6	0	37
7 to 9	0	21
10 to 12	0	26
13 to 15	20	27
16 to 18	4	14
19 to 21	0	24
22 to 24	0	49
25 to 27	0	55
28 to 30	0	13
31 to 33	0	41
34 to 36	0	35
37 to 39	0	43
40 to 42	0	26
43 to 45	9	47
46 to 48	8	8
49 to 51	13	52
52 to 54	6	24
55 to 57	0	21
58 to 60	0	7
61 to 63	14	17
64 to 66	1	1
67 to 69	6	15
70 to 72	12	9
73 to 75	11	39
76 to 78	0	82
79 to 81	9	19
82 to 84	0	30
85 to 87	0	8
88 to 90	8	18
91 to 93	1	7
94 to 96	10	22
97 to 99	0	4
100 to 102	1	4
103 to 105	1	3
106 to 108	1	7
109 to 111	0	5
112 to 114	1	5
115 to 117	0	1
118 to 120	1	13
121 to 123	6	14
124 to 126	2	6
127 to 129	5	8
130 to 132	1	4
133 to 135	7	27
136 to 137	5	21

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

RUTH: Maybe I should make some tea. TARA: Where are my manners? I never really have guests. Nobody comes up here. I go whole weeks without seeing a soul.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 15 are women's.

166 lines from women, 959 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

10 women and 26 men in the cast. 3 women and 21 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 1,247. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 380 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 16% of the words (2,090), men 84% (10,643). Women have 15% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 34% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Greg Mottola (man)
Written by: Simon Pegg (man), Nick Frost (man)
Produced by: Tim Bevan (man), Nira Park (woman), Eric Fellner (man), Adam Schardein (gender not listed)
Shot by: Lawrence Sher (man)
Edited by: Chris Dickens (man)
Music by: David Arnold (man)
Production design by: Jefferson Sage (man)
Costumes by: Nancy Steiner (woman)
Cast by: Allison Jones (woman)