Passes the Bechdel test

Personal Best

Name: Personal Best
Released: 1982

1982. Directed by Robert Towne, written by Robert Towne.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
5 women characters. 19 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 26 scenes out of 207.
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

1976. Chris Cahill and Torry Skinner are US national caliber track and field athletes, Chris in the 100 meter hurdles, and Torry in the pentathlon. Chris has the natural ability to be great but she doesn't possess the confidence or drive, while Torry, who has less natural ability, psychologically knows what it takes to be great, leading to Torry making the Olympic team finishing second in her event, while Chris has a disastrous Olympic trial. Torry can see the potential in Chris, and tries to convince her coach at Cal Poly, Terry Tingloff, to coach Chris, Terry who will only allow Chris to train with the team without his guidance in he only having seen her disastrous performance at the trials. Although not ideal in that no scholarship money is involved, Chris accepts the offer against the wishes of her father, who currently coaches her. In their time together, Chris and Torry embark on a relationship, each seeing in the other what each doesn't possess, their attraction thus sexual as well as emotional. Eventually, Terry does see in Chris what Torry saw from the start, he who not only decides to train her, but convinces her that the event in which she should compete is the pentathlon in possessing the strength, speed and flexibility to be that all around athlete. Terry in particular cannot see a friendship let alone a sexual relationship exist between the two women who are now in competition, especially in the lead up to the 1980 Olympic trials. Through the ups and downs of both their friendship and sexual relationship, Chris and Torry may demonstrate what it means to be one's own personal best, especially in an environment where winning seems to be the goal at all cost.

Released: 26 Jun 1982
Genres: Drama, Sport
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.3 / 10
Metascore: 71 / 100
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Chris 391 lines, woman
Tory 225 lines, woman
Tingloff 157 lines, man
Denny 101 lines, man
Penny 30 lines, woman
Cahill 24 lines
Debeau 22 lines
Jason 19 lines
Pooch 11 lines
Willie Lee 11 lines, woman

Full cast, 53 people

Mariel Hemingway as Chris Cahill
Patrice Donnelly as Tory Skinner
Scott Glenn as Terry Tingloff
Kenny Moore as Denny Stites
Jim Moody as Roscoe Travis
Larry Pennell as Rick Cahill
Luana Anders as Rita Cahill
George De La Pena as Raoul
Kari G. Peyton as Penny Brill
Jodi Anderson as Nadia "Pooch" Anderson
Maren Seidler as Tanya
Martha Watson as Sheila
Emily Dole as Maureen
Pam Spencer as Jan
Deby Laplante as Trish
Mitzi McMillin as Laura
Jan Glotzer as Karen
Jan Van Reenen as Yelovitch
Allan Feuerbach as Zenk
Jane Frederick as Fern Wadkins
Cindy Gilbert as Charlene Benveniste
Marlene Harmon as Pam Burnside
Linda Waltman as Debbie Floyd
Cindy Banks as Kim Stone
Milan Tiff as Willie Lee
Earl Bell as Randy Van Zile
Robert Patten as Colin Sales
Margaret Ellison as Nellie Bowdeen
Charlie Jones as Television Announcer #1
Frank Shorter as Television Announcer #2
Jim Tracy as Duane
Janet Hake as Waitress
Sharon Brazell as Hostess
Susan Brownell as Women's Team Member
Desiree Gauthier as Women's Team Member
Sharon Hatfield as Women's Team Member
Linda Hightower as Women's Team Member
Joan Russell as Women's Team Member
Themis Zambrzycki as Women's Team Member
Clim Jackson as Men's Team Member
John Smith as Men's Team Member
Chuck DeBus as Coach
Gregory Clayton as Trainer
David Edington as Waiter
Robert Horn as Water Polo Coach
Wendell Ray as P.A. Announcer
Len Dawson as Football Announcer
Leroy R. Perry Jr. as Chiropractor
Richard Martini as Meet Manager
Andrew Traister as Olympic Official (uncredited)
Timothy M. Hill as Track Fan (uncredited)
Jim Vitti as Track Fan (uncredited)
Dave Wang as Track Fan (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 13% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 207

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	4	3
6 to 10	2	2
11 to 15	45	3
16 to 20	100	0
21 to 25	17	19
26 to 30	3	6
31 to 35	31	20
36 to 40	9	2
41 to 45	27	4
46 to 50	53	19
51 to 55	2	4
56 to 60	5	5
61 to 65	45	2
66 to 70	6	6
71 to 75	15	1
76 to 80	8	0
81 to 85	6	10
86 to 90	42	19
91 to 95	2	0
96 to 100	4	4
101 to 105	0	0
106 to 110	0	1
111 to 115	0	1
116 to 120	5	7
121 to 125	43	23
126 to 130	16	14
131 to 135	36	29
136 to 140	4	4
141 to 145	1	2
146 to 150	31	20
151 to 155	5	4
156 to 160	58	21
161 to 165	21	12
166 to 170	15	16
171 to 175	0	5
176 to 180	3	6
181 to 185	2	0
186 to 190	12	10
191 to 195	16	1
196 to 200	0	0
201 to 205	5	1
206 to 207	4	1

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.

TORY: - hi. CHRIS: Hi. Will you excuse me?

CHRIS: leans unsteadily against a doorway. She's walked into a waiter's trolley and knocked it over, including some flaming items that sizzle on th… TORY AND JASON: are up in a flash, grab her. Waiters, busboys and a HOSTESS appear. CHRIS: I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay .. TORY: -.sit down, put your head ·between your legs ..

TORY: You in Beane Hall? CHRIS: Beane East - but really - TORY: C'mon -

TORY: Ugh - starter on this is totally fucked. CHRIS: Listen, congratulations.· TORY: For what? CHRIS: I watched your long jump - great, tremendous height. I love that feeling, flying thru the air, that's the way I started, the long jump ..

CHRIS: Gee .. TORY: What? CHRIS: I'm starving. Where can we eat now? TORY: My cousin's - what do you feel like?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 70 are women's.

703 lines from women, 307 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

5 women and 9 men in the cast. 19 women and 15 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,156. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 13 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 60% of the words (8,609), men 40% (5,765). Women have 70% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 14% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Robert Towne (man)
Written by: Robert Towne (man)
Produced by: Robert Towne (man)
Shot by: Michael Chapman (man)
Edited by: Jacqueline Cambas (woman), Jere Huggins (gender not listed), Ned Humphreys (gender not listed), Walt Mulconery (man), Bud S. Smith (man)
Music by: Jill Fraser (woman), Jack Nitzsche (man)
Production design by: Ron Hobbs (man)
Costumes by: Ron Heilman (gender not listed), Linda Henrikson (gender not listed)