Passes the Bechdel test

Save the Last Dance

Name: Save the Last Dance
Released: 2001

2001. Directed by Thomas Carter, written by Duane Adler and Cheryl Edwards.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
8 women characters. 6 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 10 scenes out of 135.
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.

The film

Sara wants to be a dancer, but her dreams are cut short by the sudden death of her mother. She moves in with her father, who she has not seen for a long time. He lives on the other side of town, in a predominantly Black neighborhood. She gets transferred to a new school where she is one of the few White students there. She becomes friends with Chenille, and later, falls in love with Chenille's brother, Derek.

Released: 12 Jan 2001
Genres: Drama, Music, Romance
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.2 / 10
Metascore: 53 / 100
Awards: 7 wins & 8 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Sara 231 lines, woman
Patrick 177 lines, man
Chenille 78 lines, woman
Roy 59 lines, man
Malakai 44 lines, man
Nikki 30 lines, woman
Snookie 26 lines, man
Kenny 17 lines, man
Mrs. Gwynn 12 lines, woman
Glynn 11 lines, woman

Full cast, 26 people

Julia Stiles as Sara Johnson
Sean Patrick Thomas as Derek Reynolds
Kerry Washington as Chenille Reynolds
Fredro Starr as Malakai
Terry Kinney as Roy Johnson
Bianca Lawson as Nikki
Vince Green as Snookie
Garland Whitt as Kenny
Elisabeth Oas as Diggy
Artel Great as Arvel
Cory Stewart as Lip
Jennifer Anglin as Glynn
Dorothy Martin as Momma Dean
Kim Tlusty as Lindsay Johnson
Felicia Fields as Woman on Train
Ora Jones as Mrs. Gwynn
Tab Baker as Mr. Campbell
Kevin Reid as Wonk
Andrew Rothenberg as Stern Judge
Mekdes Bruk as Lakisha
Jerod Howard
Maia Wilkins as Sea Shadow Dancer
Ellie Weingardt as Ballet Judge's Assistant
Karimah Westbrook as Alyssa
Harold Hunter
Roland Tabor as Hip Hop Dancer

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 135

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	3	0
4 to 6	16	0
7 to 9	11	0
10 to 12	2	0
13 to 15	0	0
16 to 18	0	0
19 to 21	5	7
22 to 24	6	7
25 to 27	7	7
28 to 30	6	0
31 to 33	20	23
34 to 36	7	6
37 to 39	4	7
40 to 42	1	0
43 to 45	19	10
46 to 48	3	3
49 to 51	16	0
52 to 54	24	1
55 to 57	14	13
58 to 60	1	9
61 to 63	20	21
64 to 66	6	12
67 to 69	5	5
70 to 72	0	9
73 to 75	32	14
76 to 78	10	11
79 to 81	18	18
82 to 84	4	4
85 to 87	12	9
88 to 90	9	10
91 to 93	7	5
94 to 96	6	26
97 to 99	17	25
100 to 102	0	0
103 to 105	0	0
106 to 108	5	0
109 to 111	6	4
112 to 114	26	12
115 to 117	16	30
118 to 120	3	1
121 to 123	5	7
124 to 126	9	14
127 to 129	0	0
130 to 132	0	6
133 to 135	5	9

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.

GLYNN: What's the matter? It was good. SARA: Everybody there's going to be good, Mom. I have to be better. My knees still knock when I do my free form. Did you notice that? GLYNN: I noticed that it was fine. SARA: It's not supposed to be fine. It's supposed to be special.

SARA: So I guess I'll see you later. GLYNN: I won't miss your audition, Sara. I'll be there, okay? If I have to swim the Susquehanna, I'll be there. SARA: Swim? You can't swim, Mom. GLYNN: I'll float then.

CHENILLE: That's how easy it is to give to charity around here. Don't put your shit on the floor. SARA: Thanks.

SARA: Sara. It's Sara. CHENILLE: Yeah. It's Sara. And you're boring her from the ears down. CHENILLE: You finished? SARA: God! Thank you!

SARA: I don't even know where it is. CHENILLE: So we'll hook up at my house. Go together. I will have your I.D.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 53 are women's.

386 lines from women, 345 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

8 women and 13 men in the cast. 6 women and 8 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 764. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 27 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 49% of the words (4,206), men 51% (4,441). Women have 53% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

6 of the 18 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 36% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Thomas Carter (man)
Written by: Duane Adler (man), Cheryl Edwards (woman)
Story by: Duane Adler (man)
Produced by: David Madden (man), Marie Cantin (woman), Scarlett Lacey (woman), Robert W. Cort (man), Douglas Curtis (man)
Shot by: Robbie Greenberg (man)
Edited by: Jeff Canavan (gender not listed), Fritz Feick (gender not listed), Peter E. Berger (man)
Music by: Mark Isham (man)
Production design by: Paul Eads (man)
Costumes by: Sandra Hernandez (woman)
Cast by: Avy Kaufman (woman), Claire Simon (woman)