Does it pass? bechdel.io

Passes the Bechdel test

Reality Bites

1994. Directed by Ben Stiller, written by Helen Childress.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    14 women characters. 8 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 7 scenes out of 88.
  3. 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.

Poster for Reality Bites

The film

In this study of Generation X manners, Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder), the valedictorian of her college class, camcords her friends in a mock documentary of posteducation life. Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke) is her best friend, a perpetually unemployed musical slacker. Vickie Miner (Janeane Garofalo) is a manager at the Gap who worries about the results of an A.I.D.S. test, while Sammy Gray (Steve Zahn) has problems grappling with his sexuality. When Lelaina meets Michael Grates (Ben Stiller), an earnest video executive who takes her homemade video to his MTV-like station, she must decide what she values - the materialism of yuppie Michael or the philosophical musings of Troy.

Released
18 Feb 1994
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
6.6 / 10
Metascore
67 / 100
Awards
1 win & 1 nomination total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Troy 167 lines, man
  2. Lei.Aina 119 lines, woman
  3. Michael 116 lines, man
  4. Lelaina 98 lines, woman
  5. Vickie 98 lines, woman
  6. Sammy 55 lines, man
  7. Grant 25 lines, man
  8. Cynthia 22 lines, woman
  9. Lela.Ina 22 lines
  10. Pat 22 lines
Full cast, 35 people
  • Winona Ryder as Lelaina Pierce
  • Ethan Hawke as Troy Dyer
  • Janeane Garofalo as Vickie Miner
  • Steve Zahn as Sammy Gray
  • Ben Stiller as Michael Grates
  • Swoosie Kurtz as Charlane McGregor
  • Harry O'Reilly as Wes McGregor
  • Susan Norfleet as Helen Anne Pierce
  • Joe Don Baker as Tom Pierce
  • Renée Zellweger as Tami
  • James Rothenberg as Rick
  • John Mahoney as Grant Gubler
  • Eric Morgan Stuart as Damien
  • Barry Del Sherman as Grant's Produzent
  • Chelsea Lagos as Troy Groupie
  • Bill Bolender as Truck Driver
  • Helen Childress as Waitress
  • David Pirner as Phineas
  • Andy Dick as Rock
  • Keith David as Roger
  • Anne Meara as Louise
  • Mick Lazinski as Stand-Up Comic
  • Amy Stiller as Psychic Phone Partner
  • Afton Smith as Janine
  • Pat Crawford Brown as Cashier
  • Jeff Kahn as Stage Manager
  • Karen Duffy as Actress 'Elaina'
  • Evan Dando as Actor 'Roy'
  • David Spade as The "Wienerschnitzel" Manager (Uncredited)
  • Jeanne Tripplehorn as Cheryl Goode (uncredited)
  • Tony Robbins as Self (uncredited)
  • Jubal Palmer as Player #1
  • Marti Greene as Player #2
  • John Walsh as Player #3
  • Ella Joyce as Libby Cumba (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 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 88

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 21819
3 to 4135
5 to 637
7 to 800
9 to 10212
11 to 12100
13 to 1418
15 to 162418
17 to 18911
19 to 2014
21 to 221720
23 to 2458
25 to 261120
27 to 2849
29 to 3098
31 to 3227
33 to 3470
35 to 36158
37 to 38611
39 to 4000
41 to 421317
43 to 4464
45 to 4687
47 to 48130
49 to 50215
51 to 52190
53 to 54290
55 to 561618
57 to 5876
59 to 6021
61 to 62152
63 to 6402
65 to 662552
67 to 681114
69 to 70510
71 to 721831
73 to 7417
75 to 7610
77 to 7800
79 to 8000
81 to 82160
83 to 8410
85 to 8648
87 to 881118

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.
LELAINA: Oh, yeah, I mean, I mean, like how we inherited more problems than opportunities. VICKIE: I'm leaving early. LELAINA: I can come back. VICKIE: Nah, I took three No-Doz this morning and I feel like hell.
CYNTHIA: ?atty doesn"t belong in this place. But no one listens to me. LELAINA: I know how you feel. CYNTHIA: I know you do, darlin'. Maybe I'm just tired. Maybe I"m just old. Maybe I'm just a failure at all of this.
VICKIE: Lelaina, we need to talk to you. LELAINA: Hold on, Denell. What?--I'rn on the phone. VICKIE: well, the phone bill this month is four hundred and six dollars. It's mainly because of some calls to a one-nine hundred number.
VICKIE: Hey Laney--ygp're the one who's out of work. LELAINA: You"re really enjoying this, aren't you? VICKIE: I think you really need to get some fresh air.
PATTY: I kept it in my underwear. Don't worry--I just showered. LELAINA: I'm only taking this so you won't get in trouble--And it's just a loan, okay? PATTY: cool your pits--It's not a B.F.D. You can have it. LELAINA: Thank you, Patty. I love you.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 51 are women's.

399 lines from women, 377 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

14 women and 17 men in the cast. 8 women and 7 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 914. 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 45% of the words (4,913), men 55% (5,932). Women have 51% 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

5 of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 60% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Ben Stiller (man)
Written by
Helen Childress (woman)
Produced by
Danny DeVito (man), Michael Shamberg (man)
Shot by
Emmanuel Lubezki (man)
Edited by
Lisa Zeno Churgin (woman), John Spence (gender not listed)
Music by
Karl Wallinger (man)
Production design by
Sharon Seymour (woman)
Costumes by
Eugenie Bafaloukos (woman)
Cast by
Francine Maisler (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Costume & Make-Up

    3 women, 0 men, 3 not listed

  • Sound

    2 women, 2 men, 2 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 1 men

  • Other crew

    1 women, 1 men

  • Editing

    1 women, 0 men, 1 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 1 men

  • Directing

    0 women, 1 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 31 on average. Men: 34 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Winona Ryder 22, Renée Zellweger 24, Janeane Garofalo 29, Swoosie Kurtz 49

Men

Ethan Hawke 23, Steve Zahn 26, Ben Stiller 28, Joe Don Baker 58

Exhibit H: the money

It made 2.9 times what it cost.

Budget
$11.5 million
Box office
$33.4 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 88 scenes and 914 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

Related films

Back to the whole shelf