Passes the Bechdel test
Serial Mom
1994. Directed by John Waters, written by John Waters.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
24 women characters. 12 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 116. -
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
A picture perfect middle class family is shocked when they find out that one of their neighbors is receiving obscene phone calls. The mom takes slights against her family very personally, and it turns out she is indeed the one harassing the neighbor. As other slights befall her beloved family, the body count begins to increase, and the police get closer to the truth, threatening the family's picture perfect world.
- Released
- 13 Apr 1994
- Genres
- Comedy, Crime, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 64 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Mom 175 lines, woman
- Chip 64 lines, man
- Dad 62 lines, man
- Misty 45 lines, woman
- Dottie 36 lines, woman
- Mr. Nazlerod 33 lines, man
- Mrs. Ackerman 30 lines, woman
- Birdie 24 lines, woman
- Det. Bradford 21 lines, woman
- Det. Moore 17 lines
Full cast, 72 people
- Kathleen Turner as Beverly Sutphin
- Sam Waterston as Eugene Sutphin
- Ricki Lake as Misty Sutphin
- Matthew Lillard as Chip Sutphin
- Scott Morgan as Detective Pike
- Walt MacPherson as Detective Gracey
- Justin Whalin as Scotty
- Patricia Dunnock as Birdie
- Lonnie Horsey as Carl
- Mink Stole as Dottie Hinkle
- Mary Jo Catlett as Rosemary Ackerman
- John Badila as Mr. Stubbins
- Kathy Fannon as Betty Sterner
- Doug Roberts as Ralph Sterner
- Traci Lords as Carl's Date
- Tim Caggiano as Marvin Pickles
- Jeff Mandon as Howell Hawkins
- Colgate Salsbury as Father Boyce
- Patsy Grady Abrams as Mrs. Jenson
- Richard Pilcher as Herbie Hebden
- Beau James as Timothy Nazlerod
- Stan Brandorff as Judge
- Kim Swann as Luann Hodges
- Suzanne Somers as Suzanne Somers
- Bus Howard as Gus
- Alan J. Wendl as Sloppy
- Patricia Hearst as Juror #8
- Nancy Robinette as Jury Forewoman
- Peter Bucossi as Rookie Cop
- Loretto McNally as Policewoman
- Wilfred E. Williams as Press A
- Joshua L. Shoemaker as Court TV Reporter
- Rosemary Knower as Court Groupie A
- Susan Lowe as Court Groupie B
- John Calvin Doyle as Carl's Brother
- Mary Vivian Pearce as Book Buyer
- Brigid Berlin as Mean Lady
- Jordan Brown as Police Officer
- Anthony 'Chip' Brienza as Vendor
- Jeffrey Pratt Gordon as Flea Market Boy
- Shelbi Clarke as Flea Market Girl
- Nat Benchley as Macho Man
- Kyf Brewer as Dealer
- Teresa R. Pete as Baby's Mother
- Zachary S. Pete as Church Baby
- Richard Pelzman as Doorman
- Chad Bankerd as Kid A
- Johnny Alonso as Kid B
- Robert Roser as Kid C
- Mike Offenheiser as Joe Flowers
- Lee Hunsaker as Girl
- Michael S. Walter as Burglar A
- Mojo Gentry as Burglar B
- Gwendolyn Briley-Strand as Mrs. Taplotter
- Jennifer Mendenhall as Reporter
- Joan Rivers as Joan Rivers
- Catherine Anne Hayes as TV Serial Hag
- Susan Duvall as Lady C
- Valerie Yarborough as Press
- Jordan Young as Kid
- Jennifer Finch as Camel Lips
- Suzi Gardner as Camel Lips
- Demetra Plakas as Camel Lips
- Donita Sparks as Camel Lips
- John A. Schneider as Husband A
- Lyrica Montague as Court Clerk
- Bess Armstrong as Eugene Sutphin's Nurse (uncredited)
- Greg Coale as Birdie's Father (uncredited)
- Kim McGuire as Stage Diver (uncredited)
- John Poague as Cop (uncredited)
- Al Sotto as Club Kid (uncredited)
- John Waters as Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 11% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 116
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 | 33 | 24 |
| 4 to 6 | 21 | 4 |
| 7 to 9 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 to 12 | 4 | 0 |
| 13 to 15 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 to 18 | 13 | 11 |
| 19 to 21 | 25 | 20 |
| 22 to 24 | 23 | 27 |
| 25 to 27 | 29 | 11 |
| 28 to 30 | 24 | 0 |
| 31 to 33 | 17 | 13 |
| 34 to 36 | 15 | 1 |
| 37 to 39 | 15 | 5 |
| 40 to 42 | 4 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 1 | 1 |
| 46 to 48 | 2 | 2 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 to 54 | 4 | 2 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 to 60 | 8 | 6 |
| 61 to 63 | 4 | 2 |
| 64 to 66 | 5 | 7 |
| 67 to 69 | 3 | 7 |
| 70 to 72 | 3 | 4 |
| 73 to 75 | 14 | 12 |
| 76 to 78 | 1 | 0 |
| 79 to 81 | 1 | 1 |
| 82 to 84 | 1 | 0 |
| 85 to 87 | 1 | 0 |
| 88 to 90 | 3 | 0 |
| 91 to 93 | 2 | 1 |
| 94 to 96 | 3 | 0 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 4 |
| 100 to 102 | 10 | 10 |
| 103 to 105 | 30 | 35 |
| 106 to 108 | 24 | 8 |
| 109 to 111 | 3 | 6 |
| 112 to 114 | 5 | 9 |
| 115 to 116 | 16 | 6 |
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.
MISTY: Nice buns! DET. BRADFORD: "P" as in...
DOTTIE: Nice as pie she was to me and then I hear her say it! DET. BRADFORD: Say what, ma'am? DOTTIE: "Are those..." I can't say the word out loud. DET. BRADFORD: Could you tell a policewoman the exact words she used?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 61 are women's.
382 lines from women, 243 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
24 women and 18 men in the cast. 12 women and 10 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
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 60% of the words (3,021), men 40% (2,002). Women have 61% 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
7
Two men
3
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 30% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- John Waters (man)
- Written by
- John Waters (man)
- Produced by
- John Fiedler (man), Mark Tarlov (man)
- Shot by
- Robert M. Stevens (man)
- Edited by
- Janice Hampton (woman), Erica Huggins (woman)
- Music by
- Basil Poledouris (man)
- Production design by
- Vincent Peranio (man)
- Costumes by
- Van Smith (man)
- Cast by
- Paula Herold (woman), Pat Moran (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
2 women, 11 men, 15 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 5 men, 19 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 1 men, 9 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 9 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 4 men
-
Directing
3 women, 3 men
-
Editing
2 women, 0 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 32 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Ricki Lake 25, Kathleen Turner 39, Mink Stole 46
Men
Justin Whalin 19, Matthew Lillard 24, Sam Waterston 53
Exhibit H: the money
It made 60% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $13 million
- Box office
- $7.8 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 116 scenes and 706 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
