Passes the Bechdel test
Pleasantville
1998. Directed by Gary Ross, written by Gary Ross.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
18 women characters. 16 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 9 scenes out of 138. -
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
David Wagner is a kid whose mind is stuck in the 1950s. He's addicted to a classic '50s sitcom television show called "Pleasantville". Pleasantville is a simple place, where all of its citizens are swell and simple-minded folks, where the word "violence" and life outside Pleasantville are unknown to its inhabitants. Things are perfect down in Pleasantville. One evening, the life of David and his obnoxious sister, Jennifer, take a bizarre turn when an eccentric repairman hands them a supposedly magical remote. After a quarrel between the siblings, they inexplicably zap themselves into the world of "Pleasantville". Now, David and Jennifer must adjust to a '50s lifestyle of repressed desires and considerably different societal values while trying to find their way home.
- Released
- 23 Oct 1998
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 3 Oscars. 18 wins & 45 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- David 338 lines, man
- Jennifer 157 lines, woman
- Betty 80 lines, woman
- Dick Van Dyke 78 lines, man
- Mr. Johnson 73 lines, man
- Bob 63 lines, man
- George 55 lines, man
- Biff 40 lines, man
- Margaret 38 lines, woman
- Boy 9 lines, man
Full cast, 50 people
- Tobey Maguire as David
- Reese Witherspoon as Jennifer
- William H. Macy as George Parker
- Joan Allen as Betty Parker
- Jeff Daniels as Mr. Johnson
- J.T. Walsh as Big Bob
- Paul Walker as Skip
- Don Knotts as TV Repairman
- Marley Shelton as Margaret Henderson
- Jane Kaczmarek as David's Mom
- Giuseppe Andrews as Howard
- Jenny Lewis as Christin
- Marissa Ribisi as Kimmy
- Denise Dowse as Health Teacher
- McNally Sagal as Science Teacher
- Paul Morgan Stetler as College Counselor
- Kevin Connors as Bud Parker
- Natalie Ramsey as Mary Sue Parker
- Justin Nimmo as Mark Davis
- Kai Lennox as Mark's Lackey #1
- Jason Behr as Mark's Lackey #2
- Harry Singleton as Mr. Simpson
- John Ganun as Fireman #1
- Dawn Cody as Betty Jean
- Maggie Lawson as Lisa Anne
- Andrea Baker as Peggy Jane
- Lela Ivey as Miss Peters
- Marc Blucas as Basketball Hero
- Danny Strong as Juke Box Boy
- Heather McGill as Girl in School Yard
- Robin Bissell as Commercial Announcer (voice)
- Jim Patric as Tommy
- Stanton Rutledge as Coach
- Jason Maves as Paperboy
- Gerald Emerick as TV Weatherman
- Charles C. Stevenson Jr. as Dr. Henderson
- Nancy Lenehan as Marge Jenkins
- Weston Blakesley as Gus
- Patrick Thomas O'Brien as Roy
- Jim Antonio as Ralph
- Kristin Rudrüd as Mary
- Laura Carney as Bridge Club Lady
- Dan Gillies as Fireman #2
- Erik MacArthur as Will
- Adam Carter as Boy in Soda Shop
- David Tom as Whitey
- Johnny Moran as Pete
- Jeanine Jackson as Woman
- J. Patrick Lawlor as Thug
- James Keane as Police Chief Dan
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 138
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 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 13 | 10 |
| 7 to 9 | 12 | 20 |
| 10 to 12 | 10 | 12 |
| 13 to 15 | 25 | 69 |
| 16 to 18 | 31 | 25 |
| 19 to 21 | 12 | 27 |
| 22 to 24 | 5 | 17 |
| 25 to 27 | 9 | 22 |
| 28 to 30 | 11 | 8 |
| 31 to 33 | 6 | 8 |
| 34 to 36 | 7 | 17 |
| 37 to 39 | 5 | 4 |
| 40 to 42 | 12 | 10 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 2 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 36 |
| 52 to 54 | 28 | 0 |
| 55 to 57 | 5 | 2 |
| 58 to 60 | 1 | 1 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 2 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 11 |
| 67 to 69 | 16 | 62 |
| 70 to 72 | 11 | 30 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 22 |
| 76 to 78 | 16 | 14 |
| 79 to 81 | 1 | 2 |
| 82 to 84 | 12 | 20 |
| 85 to 87 | 19 | 14 |
| 88 to 90 | 1 | 3 |
| 91 to 93 | 6 | 10 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 23 |
| 97 to 99 | 3 | 4 |
| 100 to 102 | 2 | 1 |
| 103 to 105 | 11 | 11 |
| 106 to 108 | 3 | 16 |
| 109 to 111 | 2 | 8 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 32 |
| 115 to 117 | 1 | 4 |
| 118 to 120 | 3 | 13 |
| 121 to 123 | 3 | 11 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 3 |
| 127 to 129 | 0 | 15 |
| 130 to 132 | 0 | 77 |
| 133 to 135 | 9 | 8 |
| 136 to 138 | 7 | 11 |
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.
CHRISTIN: Don't do anything. Just don't like--do anything ... JENNIFER: Hi Mark.
MARY SUE: I promised Betty Jane she could use it over the weekend. JENNIFER: Do you mind. This is like the most important moment of my whole life.
BETTY: Well, come on kids. You're not going off to school without a hot breakfast inside you ... BETTY: Forward march. BETTY: I just love you in that sweater Mary-Sue. It's so flattering. JENNIFER: Thanks.
BETTY: I put blueberries in them just the way you like. JENNIFER: Actually--I'm not real ... hungry. BETTY: Oh nonsense young lady. You're going to start your day with a nice big breakfast. BETTY: Here. Why don't you have some waffle cakes. And there's sausage and eggs and some good crisp bacon ... ... And a ham steak.
LISA ANNE: Mary Sue. You're gonna be late for Geography. JENNIFER: Okay ...
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 31 are women's.
320 lines from women, 717 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
18 women and 26 men in the cast. 16 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,062.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 99 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 29% of the words (2,671), men 71% (6,478). Women have 31% 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
14
Two men
40
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 34% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Gary Ross (man)
- Written by
- Gary Ross (man)
- Produced by
- Steven Soderbergh (man), Jon Kilik (man), Gary Ross (man)
- Shot by
- John Lindley (man)
- Edited by
- William Goldenberg (man)
- Music by
- Randy Newman (man)
- Production design by
- Jeannine Oppewall (woman)
- Costumes by
- Judianna Makovsky (woman)
- Cast by
- Debra Zane (woman), Ellen Lewis (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
4 women, 5 men
-
Art
1 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
1 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Visual Effects
2 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 33 on average. Men: 45 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Reese Witherspoon 22, Marley Shelton 24, Joan Allen 42, Jane Kaczmarek 42
Men
Tobey Maguire 23, Paul Walker 25, Jeff Daniels 43, William H. Macy 48, J.T. Walsh 54, Don Knotts 74
Exhibit H: the money
It made 83% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $60 million
- Box office
- $49.8 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 138 scenes and 1,062 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
