Fails the Bechdel test
Point Break
1991. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by Rick King and W. Peter Iliff.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 3 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 0 out of 3.
The film
Johnny Utah arrives in Los Angeles carrying a blown knee, an FBI badge, and exactly zero understanding of who he actually is. The case is absurd on paper: bank robbers who surf, rob, and disappear with the tide. But the ocean doesn't care about paper. Utah goes under, finds a tribe, and discovers that Bodhi isn't just a suspect; he's a mirror. The real investigation isn't about the Ex-Presidents. It's about whether a man built for systems can survive contact with someone who has rejected every system entirely.
- Released
- 12 Jul 1991
- Genres
- Action, Crime, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 60 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Utah 218 lines, man
- Bodhi 111 lines, man
- Pappas 107 lines, man
- Tyler 45 lines, woman
- Harp 22 lines, man
- Roach 14 lines, man
- Grommet 12 lines, man
- Bunker 8 lines, man
- Reagan 8 lines, man
- Woman 8 lines, woman
Full cast, 38 people
- Patrick Swayze as Bodhi / Mask President
- Keanu Reeves as Agent Johnny Utah
- Lori Petty as Tyler Endicott
- Gary Busey as Agent Angelo Pappas
- John C. McGinley as SAIC Ben Harp
- James Le Gros as Roach
- John Philbin as Nathanial
- BoJesse Christopher as Grommet
- Lee Tergesen as Rosie
- Chris Pedersen as Bunker
- Vincent Klyn as Warchild
- Julian Reyes as Agent Alvarez
- Daniel Beer as Agent Babbit
- Anthony Kiedis as Tone
- Dave Olson as Archbold
- Christopher Pettiet as '15'
- Sydney Walsh as Miss Deer
- Tom Sizemore as DEA Agent Deets
- Dino Andino as Psycho-Stick
- Michael Kopelow as Passion for Slashin
- Julie Michaels as Freight Train
- Mike Genovese as Corey
- Jack Kehler as Halsey
- Galyn Görg as Margarita
- Raymond Forchion as Neighbor
- Betsy Lynn George as Girl at Party
- Gloria Mann as Fierce Woman
- Ping Wu as Dispatcher
- Jared Chandler as Pilot
- John Apicella as Security Guard
- Richard Grove as Agent Cullen
- Anthony Mangano as Off Duty Cop
- Deborah Lemen as Miss Jennings
- Randy Walker as Combat Alley Supervisor
- Peter Phelps as Australian Surfer
- Gary Roberts as Australian Cop #1
- Debra Lamb as Flame Blower at Party (uncredited)
- Jeff Imada as Store Clerk (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 115
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 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 to 15 | 1 | 5 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 13 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 21 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 36 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 23 |
| 28 to 30 | 8 | 12 |
| 31 to 33 | 3 | 6 |
| 34 to 36 | 11 | 9 |
| 37 to 39 | 3 | 15 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 14 |
| 43 to 45 | 2 | 11 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 40 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 8 |
| 52 to 54 | 1 | 6 |
| 55 to 57 | 7 | 30 |
| 58 to 60 | 6 | 18 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 5 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 13 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 6 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 6 |
| 73 to 75 | 5 | 10 |
| 76 to 78 | 1 | 16 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 11 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 13 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 2 |
| 88 to 90 | 6 | 13 |
| 91 to 93 | 6 | 13 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 27 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 34 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 13 |
| 103 to 105 | 1 | 30 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 23 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 32 |
| 112 to 114 | 1 | 3 |
| 115 to 115 | 0 | 11 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 10 are women's.
62 lines from women, 550 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
7 women and 29 men in the cast. 3 women and 17 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 6 of 640.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 113 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 11% of the words (798), men 89% (6,533). Women have 10% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: 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
0
Two men
63
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Kathryn Bigelow (woman)
- Written by
- W. Peter Iliff (man)
- Story by
- Rick King (man), W. Peter Iliff (man)
- Produced by
- Peter Abrams (man), Robert L. Levy (man)
- Shot by
- Donald Peterman (man)
- Edited by
- Howard E. Smith (man)
- Music by
- Mark Isham (man)
- Production design by
- Peter Jamison (man)
- Cast by
- Sharon Bialy (woman), Richard Pagano (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 25 men, 5 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 8 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
1 women, 6 men, 1 non-binary, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Non-binary
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 27 on average. Men: 32 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Lori Petty 27
Men
Keanu Reeves 26, Lee Tergesen 26, Chris Pedersen 28, James Le Gros 29, John C. McGinley 31, John Philbin 31, Patrick Swayze 38, Gary Busey 47
Exhibit G: the money
It made 3.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $24 million
- Box office
- $83.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 115 scenes and 640 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
