Fails the Bechdel test
Revenge of the Nerds
1984. Directed by Jeff Kanew, written by Tim Metcalfe and Miguel Tejada-Flores and Steve Zacharias.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
6 women characters. 4 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
When lovable nerds Gilbert and Lewis embark on their freshman year at Adams College, they are beset by taunting from the jocks of Alpha Beta fraternity, which only worsens when the jocks accidentally burn down their house and toss the freshmen out of the freshman dorm. To make matters worse, Lewis develops a crush on pretty Betty Childs, popular sorority sister--and the quarterback's girlfriend. Joined by the aptly-named Booger and violin-playing Poindexter, the nerds soon decide that they must form their own fraternity in self-defense. Soon the tables are turned as the nerds employ high-tech warfare against the jocks--but can they really succeed and make a difference?
- Released
- 10 Aug 1984
- Genres
- Comedy
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 44 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Lewis 112 lines, man
- Pinsky 94 lines, man
- Gable 40 lines, man
- Coach Harris 23 lines, man
- Judy 22 lines, woman
- Betty 20 lines, woman
- Booger 18 lines, man
- Dean Ulich 18 lines, man
- Ogre 13 lines, man
- Wormser 13 lines, man
Full cast, 82 people
- Robert Carradine as Lewis Skolnick
- Anthony Edwards as Gilbert Lowell
- Timothy Busfield as Arnold Poindexter
- Curtis Armstrong as 'Booger' Dawson
- Larry B. Scott as Lamar Latrell
- Andrew Cassese as Harold Wormser
- Brian Tochi as Toshiro Takashi
- Julia Montgomery as Betty Childs
- Michelle Meyrink as Judy
- Ted McGinley as Stan Gable
- Matt Salinger as Danny Burke
- Donald Gibb as Fred "The Ogre" Palowakski
- James Cromwell as Mr. Skolnick
- David Wohl as Dean Ulich
- John Goodman as Coach Harris
- Bernie Casey as U.N. Jefferson
- Alice Hirson as Mrs. Lowe
- F. William Parker as Sergeant
- Lisa Welch as Suzy
- Roger Carter as U.N. Assistant
- Kres Mersky as Mrs. Wormser
- Marianne Muellerleile as Woman
- Suzanne B. Hayes as Michelle
- Henry Kendrick as Trainer
- Lance Lombardo as Lamar's Date
- William B. Wilson as Tough-Looking Guy
- Carl Cherry as Tri-Lamb
- Adam Frank as Blond Nerd
- Taylor Samuels as Plaid Brother
- Brad Grunberg as Plaid Brother
- James Anklam as Hooded Alpha Beta
- Matthew M. Haugh as Alpha Beta
- William C. Horning as Alpha Beta
- Angela C. Gardaphe as Pi
- Lisa Kolasa as Pi
- Kristen Kinderman as Pi
- Kay Strunk as Pi
- Gamble Baffert as Rho-Rho
- Brian Lover as Rho-Rho
- Jerry Kurinsky as Rho-Rho
- Tonja Sue Philbee as Rho-Rho
- Monique Sorensen as Rho-Rho
- Calon Blackledge as Rho-Rho
- Scott Bird as Nerd
- David Moskowitz as Nerd
- Steven Duran as Nerd
- Thomas Obeid as Nerd
- Theodore Kerpez as Nerd
- Michael Urena as Nerd
- Vincent Lindsley as Nerd
- Laura Bell as Mu
- Deborah Bernstein as Mu
- Renee Mintz as Mu
- Donna Costello as Mu
- Lillie Nusz as Mu
- Romy Dushoff as Mu
- Rhonda Tinsley as Mu
- Felicia Fagan as Mu
- Jennifer Wilcox as Mu
- John Almon as Jock
- Brian Nelson as Jock
- Daniel Egan as Jock
- Thomas Repp as Jock
- Jay Galland as Jock
- Andrew Salan as Jock
- Dean Heindel as Jock
- Scott Spangler as Jock
- Robert Melton as Jock
- Steve Yeatras as Jock
- Madaline Blinder as Pi
- Colleen Madden as Pi
- Lucy Craig as Pi
- Susan Myers as Pi
- Jennie Gaio as Pi
- Kristi Nelson as Pi
- Carolyn Hoover as Pi
- Melissa Perlman as Pi
- Karen Knutzen as Pi
- Lori Stock as Pi
- Chris Stravolo as Pi
- Kelly Reed as Lap Girl
- Lloyd Sherr as The Moper
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 129
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 | 7 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 26 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 17 |
| 16 to 18 | 4 | 30 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 10 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 7 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 6 |
| 28 to 30 | 2 | 2 |
| 31 to 33 | 3 | 16 |
| 34 to 36 | 10 | 12 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 7 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 5 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 18 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 15 |
| 49 to 51 | 6 | 15 |
| 52 to 54 | 1 | 8 |
| 55 to 57 | 2 | 8 |
| 58 to 60 | 4 | 6 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 4 |
| 64 to 66 | 2 | 1 |
| 67 to 69 | 1 | 1 |
| 70 to 72 | 1 | 2 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 7 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 2 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 8 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 8 |
| 85 to 87 | 5 | 4 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 4 |
| 91 to 93 | 1 | 5 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 17 |
| 97 to 99 | 3 | 9 |
| 100 to 102 | 1 | 16 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 3 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 7 |
| 109 to 111 | 2 | 5 |
| 112 to 114 | 1 | 5 |
| 115 to 117 | 1 | 18 |
| 118 to 120 | 6 | 3 |
| 121 to 123 | 2 | 16 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 7 |
| 127 to 129 | 1 | 35 |
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, 12 are women's.
59 lines from women, 434 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
6 women and 21 men in the cast. 4 women and 21 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 99 of 581.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 98 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 12% of the words (742), men 88% (5,332).
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
1
Two men
73
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 14 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 12% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Jeff Kanew (man)
- Written by
- Steve Zacharias (man), Jeff Buhai (gender not listed)
- Story by
- Miguel Tejada-Flores (man), Steve Zacharias (man), Jeff Buhai (gender not listed), Tim Metcalfe (man)
- Produced by
- Peter Samuelson (man), Ted Field (man)
- Shot by
- King Baggot (man)
- Edited by
- Alan Balsam (man)
- Music by
- Thomas Newman (man)
- Production design by
- James L. Schoppe (man)
- Cast by
- Susan Arnold (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
0 women, 8 men, 6 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 9 men, 2 not listed
-
Production
1 women, 5 men, 4 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 23 on average. Men: 24 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Michelle Meyrink 21, Julia Montgomery 24
Men
Andrew Cassese 12, Brian Tochi 21, Anthony Edwards 22, Larry B. Scott 22, Ted McGinley 26, Timothy Busfield 27, Robert Carradine 30, Curtis Armstrong 30
Exhibit G: the money
It made 6.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $6 million
- Box office
- $40.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 129 scenes and 581 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
