Passes the Bechdel test

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Name: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Released: 2016

2016. Directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, written by Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
26 women characters. 7 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 134.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

Poster for Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

The film

When his new album fails to sell records, pop and rap superstar conner4real (Andy Samberg) goes into a major tailspin and watches his celebrity high life begin to collapse. He'll try anything to bounce back, anything except reuniting with his old rap group The Style Boyz.

Released: 03 Jun 2016
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Music
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.7 / 10
Metascore: 68 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 7 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Conner 361 lines, man
Owen 93 lines, man
Paula 69 lines, woman
Harry 66 lines, man
Hunter 42 lines, man
Lawrence 42 lines, man
Ashley 37 lines, woman
Sponge 24 lines, man
Wally 23 lines
Eddie 20 lines, man

Full cast, 112 people

Andy Samberg as Conner Friel
Jorma Taccone as Owen Bouchard
Akiva Schaffer as Lawrence Dunn
Sarah Silverman as Paula Klein
Tim Meadows as Harry Duggins
Maya Rudolph as Deborah
Joan Cusack as Tilly
Imogen Poots as Ashley Wednesday
Chris Redd as Hunter
Edgar Blackmon as Eddie
James Buckley as Sponge
Evan Fine as Ten-Year Old Conner
Maxwell Jenkins as Ten-Year Old Owen
Elliott Smith as Ten-Year Old Lawrence
Questlove as Ahmir-Khalib Thompson
Carrie Underwood as Carrie Underwood
Nas as Nas
Usher as Usher
50 Cent as 50 Cent
Nicholas Azarian as Quirky Kid
Ringo Starr as Ringo Starr
Simon Cowell as Simon Cowell
Adam Levine as Adam Levine
Akon as Akon
Mariah Carey as Mariah Carey
Ashley Moore as Sarah
Danny Strong as Perspective Manipulator
P!nk as Pink
Big Boy as Big Boy
DJ Khaled as DJ Khaled
A$AP Rocky as Rakim Mayers
Kevin Nealon as Gary Sikes
Mario López as Mario López
Patricia Schaffer as Upset Homeowner
James Hegarty as Angry Appliance Fan
Walker William Borba as Angry Vlogger
Will Arnett as Main CMZ Reporter
Chelsea Peretti as Brunette CMZ Reporter
Mike Birbiglia as Blonde CMZ Reporter
Eric André as Dreadlocked CMZ Reporter
Bill Hader as Zippy
Joanna Newsom as Steam Punk Doctor
Jonah Goldstein as Steam Punk Doctor
Andre Hyland as Lame Ass Dude
Mike E. Winfield as Hunter's DJ / Hypeman
Danger Mouse as Danger Mouse
RZA as RZA
Chester Tam as Club DJ
T.I. as T.I.
Pharrell Williams as Pharrell Williams
Seal as Seal
Paul Scheer as Wolf Handler
Adrien Finkel as Angry Fan
Christine Krumme as Angry Fan
Ben Newell as Angry Fan
Joy Lanceta as Angry Fan
Walter Jones as Angry Fan
Keith Love as Angry Fan
Alison Sluiter as Angry Fan
Isis Brown as Angry Fan
Jimmy Fallon as Jimmy Fallon
Win Butler as Arcade Fire
Régine Chassagne as Arcade Fire
Steve Higgins as Steve Higgins
Derek Mears as Limo Driver
Alison Rich as Crazy Fan
Martin Sheen as Martin Sheen
Will Forte as Bagpipe Player
Marielle Heller as Documentary Crew Member
Snoop Dogg as Snoop Dogg
Ithamar Enriquez as Stage Manager
Liz Cackowski as Poppies Producer
'Weird Al' Yankovic as Hammerleg Lead Singer
Michael Bolton as Michael Bolton
Kirk Douglas as The Roots
James 'Kamal' Gray as The Roots
Damon Bryson as The Roots
Mark Kelley as The Roots
James Poyser as The Roots
Ian Hendrickson-Smith as The Roots
Tariq Trotter as The Roots
Dave Guy as The Roots
Manwé Sauls-Addison as Dancer
Leah Adler as Dancer
Carly Anderson as Dancer
Carlena Britch as Dancer
Dan Castiglione as Dancer
Amanda Cleghorn as Dancer
Krystal Ellsworth as Dancer
Brandon Henschel as Dancer
Calvit Hodge as Dancer
Caitlynn Lawson as Dancer
Alicia Mazepa as Dancer
Allie Meixner as Dancer
Kyle R. Robinson as Dancer
Robert Roldan as Dancer
Stephanie Scull as Dancer
Ashley Seldon as Dancer
Nikeva Stapleton as Dancer
Chelsea Traille as Dancer
Nathaniel Trasoras as Dancer
C. J. Tyson as Dancer
Emma Stone as Claudia Cantrell (uncredited)
Justin Timberlake as Tyrus Quash (uncredited)
Cameron Brinkman as Roadie (uncredited)
Jasmine Hester as Conner's Entourage (uncredited)
Sandra Rosko as Concert Fan (uncredited)
Lili Sepe as Teen Girl 1 (uncredited)
Brandon Van Vliet as Award Guest (uncredited)
Madeleine Wade as Lisa (uncredited)
Katy Perry as Katy (uncredited)
Dave Franco as Co-actor in the movie "Cube Theorem" (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 15% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 134

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	2	8
4 to 6	0	1
7 to 9	2	12
10 to 12	0	7
13 to 15	2	0
16 to 18	2	0
19 to 21	3	5
22 to 24	5	15
25 to 27	0	7
28 to 30	0	19
31 to 33	0	9
34 to 36	1	3
37 to 39	0	7
40 to 42	0	17
43 to 45	0	8
46 to 48	1	8
49 to 51	7	17
52 to 54	10	14
55 to 57	0	29
58 to 60	0	8
61 to 63	0	39
64 to 66	7	46
67 to 69	4	30
70 to 72	18	28
73 to 75	1	17
76 to 78	0	4
79 to 81	7	26
82 to 84	0	21
85 to 87	1	34
88 to 90	0	20
91 to 93	8	53
94 to 96	9	17
97 to 99	1	20
100 to 102	0	16
103 to 105	0	6
106 to 108	0	8
109 to 111	6	9
112 to 114	8	13
115 to 117	7	31
118 to 120	7	7
121 to 123	0	18
124 to 126	3	15
127 to 129	1	19
130 to 132	3	14
133 to 134	4	24

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.

PAULA: Let’s go, horn-dog! ASHLEY: Oh my god, were you all listening? I’m so embarrassed.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

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

130 lines from women, 729 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

26 women and 60 men in the cast. 7 women and 31 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 9 of 1,015. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 110 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 15% of the words (1,358), men 85% (7,838).

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

4 of the 18 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Akiva Schaffer (man), Jorma Taccone (man)
Written by: Akiva Schaffer (man), Andy Samberg (man), Jorma Taccone (man)
Produced by: Rodney Rothman (man), Judd Apatow (man), Jorma Taccone (man), Andy Samberg (man), Akiva Schaffer (man)
Shot by: Brandon Trost (man)
Edited by: Stacey Schroeder (woman), Jamie Gross (woman), Craig Alpert (man)
Music by: Matthew Compton (man)
Production design by: Jon Billington (man)
Costumes by: Sophie de Rakoff (woman)
Cast by: Allison Jones (woman)