Passes the Bechdel test
Postcards from the Edge
1990. Directed by Mike Nichols, written by Carrie Fisher.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
13 women characters. 12 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 17 scenes out of 51. -
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
Substance-addicted Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale is on the skids. After a spell at a detox center her film company insists, as a condition of continuing to employ her, that she live with her mother, Doris Mann, who was once a star and now a champion drinker. Such a set-up is bad news for her as she has struggled for years to get out of Doris' shadow, who still treats her like a child. Despite these problems and further ones involving the men in in her life, she can begin to see the funny side of her situation, and it also starts to occur to her that not only do daughters have mothers, mothers do too.
- Released
- 14 Sep 1990
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 2 wins & 12 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Suzanne 435 lines, woman
- Doris 137 lines, woman
- Jack 111 lines, man
- Lowell 44 lines, man
- Julie 36 lines, woman
- Tony 29 lines
- Dorts 20 lines
- Evelyn 19 lines, woman
- Pearl 17 lines, woman
- Ted 17 lines, man
Full cast, 63 people
- Meryl Streep as Suzanne Vale
- Shirley MacLaine as Doris Mann
- Dennis Quaid as Jack Faulkner
- Gene Hackman as Lowell Kolchek
- Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Frankenthal
- Rob Reiner as Joe Pierce
- Mary Wickes as Grandma
- Conrad Bain as Grandpa
- Annette Bening as Evelyn Ames
- Simon Callow as Simon Asquith
- Gary Morton as Marty Wiener
- CCH Pounder as Julie Marsden
- Sidney Armus as Sid Roth
- Robin Bartlett as Aretha
- Barbara Garrick as Carol
- Anthony Heald as George Lazan
- Dana Ivey as Wardrobe Mistress
- Oliver Platt as Neil Bleene
- Michael Ontkean as Robert Munch
- Pepe Serna as Raoul
- Mark Lowenthal as Bart
- Michael Byers as Allen
- JD Souther as Ted
- George D. Wallace as Carl
- Peter Onorati as Cameraman
- J. Roy Helland as Make-up Man
- Douglas Roberts as Soundman
- Michael Haley as Assistant Director
- Kathleen Gray as Cindy
- Gloria Crayton as Maid at Party
- Gary Matanky as Sound Editor
- Marcelo Tubert as Sound Editor
- John Verea as Young Intern
- René Assa as Passport Official
- Natalija Nogulich as Friend at Airport
- Susan Forristal as Friend at Airport
- Evelina Fernández as Airline Employee
- Neil Machlis as Rob Sonnenfeld
- Gary Jones as Fan at Party
- Jane Galloway as Nurse
- Steven Brill as Assistant Director
- Jason Tomlins as Officer
- Shelley Kirk as First Lady
- Jessica Z. Diamond as Script Supervisor
- Scott Frankel as Pianist at Party
- Sheridan Leatherbury as Stand-In
- Ken Gutstein as Director of Photography
- Robert Marshall as Helicopter Pilot
- Jim Cuddy as Blue Rodeo Band
- Greg Keelor as Blue Rodeo Band
- Bazil Donovan as Blue Rodeo Band
- Mark French as Blue Rodeo Band
- Bob Wiseman as Blue Rodeo Band
- Jorga Caye as Western Bar Patron (uncredited)
- Stanley DeSantis as Crew Member (uncredited)
- Anthony DeStefanis as Savona (uncredited)
- Bob Harks as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Conrad Hurtt as Cowperson (uncredited)
- Carrie Jachnuk as Fan at Party (uncredited)
- Beau Lotterman as Soundman (uncredited)
- Danny Nero as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Ted Raimi as Emergency Room Attendant (uncredited)
- Raymond Storti as Stagehand (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 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 51
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 2 | 43 | 22 |
| 3 to 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 to 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 to 8 | 6 | 0 |
| 9 to 10 | 78 | 17 |
| 11 to 12 | 29 | 2 |
| 13 to 14 | 25 | 3 |
| 15 to 16 | 47 | 0 |
| 17 to 18 | 15 | 20 |
| 19 to 20 | 4 | 4 |
| 21 to 22 | 33 | 3 |
| 23 to 24 | 5 | 0 |
| 25 to 26 | 26 | 0 |
| 27 to 28 | 37 | 0 |
| 29 to 30 | 34 | 30 |
| 31 to 32 | 49 | 46 |
| 33 to 34 | 17 | 2 |
| 35 to 36 | 56 | 22 |
| 37 to 38 | 7 | 4 |
| 39 to 40 | 59 | 28 |
| 41 to 42 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 to 44 | 4 | 0 |
| 45 to 46 | 80 | 29 |
| 47 to 48 | 3 | 2 |
| 49 to 50 | 48 | 0 |
| 51 to 51 | 2 | 0 |
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.
SENIOR OFFICER: Mary Jennings? MARY: That's my name, don't wear it out.
MARY: Why, yes, I believe it is. Those look like my old chinos -~- with _- the rosebuds -- SENIOR OFFICER: Then can you please explain how this came into your possession? MARY: Doesn't look like anything of mine, although I'm such a sloppy packer, I'm not surprised at anything ~~ SENIOR OFFICER: Did you think that your affair with a government official would go unnoticed? We are not fools, Miss DuBois. ——
JULIE: That was very good, Suzanne. Anger makes you eloquent. You showed genuine feeling for the first time here. SUZANNE: I'm always better as other people. JULIE: Why are you so afraid of feeling in yourself? SUZANNE: I'm a better thinker than 4 feeler, I guess. I'm just leading with my strength.
SUZANNE: I told you she'd come. DORIS: Hello, dear. SUZANNE: {to Aretha; sotto) Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the rehab. SUZANNE: (continuing } Hi, Mama.
ARETHA: I know. I think my family was expecting someone black. DORIS: Are you black? ARETHA: No, I... It's nice to meet you. Suzanne's told me so much about you. I'm going to weave a basket or something and let you two visit.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 74 are women's.
707 lines from women, 249 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
13 women and 36 men in the cast. 12 women and 20 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 1,099.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 18 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 73% of the words (10,305), men 27% (3,805). Women have 74% 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
47
Two men
5
Exhibit F: behind the camera
7 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 41% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Mike Nichols (man)
- Written by
- Carrie Fisher (woman)
- From the novel by
- Carrie Fisher (woman)
- Produced by
- John Calley (man), Mike Nichols (man)
- Shot by
- Michael Ballhaus (man)
- Edited by
- Sam O'Steen (man)
- Music by
- Carly Simon (woman)
- Production design by
- Patrizia von Brandenstein (woman)
- Costumes by
- Ann Roth (woman)
- Cast by
- Ellen Lewis (woman), Juliet Taylor (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
2 women, 5 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men
-
Sound
1 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
2 women, 0 men
-
Other crew
0 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 52 on average. Men: 48 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Annette Bening 32, Meryl Streep 41, Shirley MacLaine 56, Mary Wickes 80
Men
Dennis Quaid 36, Simon Callow 41, Richard Dreyfuss 42, Rob Reiner 43, Gene Hackman 60, Conrad Bain 67
Exhibit H: the money
It made 1.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $22 million
- Box office
- $39.1 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 51 scenes and 1,099 lines of dialogue. How the test works
