Passes the Bechdel test
So I Married an Axe Murderer
1993. Directed by Thomas Schlamme, written by Robbie Fox.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 101. -
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, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
Avant-garde poet Charlie hasn't had much luck with women, but then he meets Harriet, the girl of his dreams.. or is it his nightmares? Harriet is wonderful, but Charlie begins to suspect that she is Mrs. X., a woman who marries men, then kills them.
- Released
- 30 Jul 1993
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 54 / 100
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Charlie 323 lines, man
- Harriet 181 lines, woman
- Tony 103 lines, man
- Rose 63 lines, woman
- Stuart 32 lines, man
- May 22 lines, woman
- Captain 17 lines
- Sherri 16 lines
- Man 13 lines, man
- Obituary Assistant #1 9 lines, man
Full cast, 50 people
- Mike Myers as Charlie MacKenzie / Stuart MacKenzie
- Nancy Travis as Harriet Michaels
- Anthony LaPaglia as Tony Giardino
- Amanda Plummer as Rose Michaels
- Brenda Fricker as May Mackenzie
- Matt Doherty as William "Heed" Mackenzie
- Charles Grodin as Commandeered Car Driver
- Phil Hartman as Ranger John "Vicky" Johnson
- Debi Mazar as Susan
- Steven Wright as Pilot
- Patrick Bristow as Cafe Roads Performer
- Cintra Wilson as Cafe Roads M.C.
- Al Nalbandian as Butchershop Customer
- George F. Mauricio as Butchershop Customer
- Kiki Douveas as Butchershop Customer
- Lillie Lowe as Butchershop Customer
- Maria Dos Remedios as Butchershop Customer
- Luenell as Police Records Officer
- Michael Richards as Obituary Employee
- Mike Hagerty as Obituary Employee
- Kelly Christmas as Policeman
- Ilya Brodsky as Russian Sailor
- Eugene Buick as Russian Sailor
- Maureen O'Boyle as "A Current Affair" Ancherwoman
- Steve Dunleavy as "A Current Affair" Reporter
- Adele Proom as Marriage Desk Employee
- David Knowles as Serenade Musician
- Carl Rusk as Serenade Musician
- Paul Sanchez as Serenade Musician
- Jessie Nelson as Ralph
- Wanda McCaddon as Auntie Molly
- Glen Vernon as Uncle Angus
- Maggy Myers Davidson as Tony's Dance Partner
- Robert Nichols as Scottish Minister
- Jek Cunningham as Wedding Reception Piper
- Robert Black as Wedding Reception Accordionist
- John Taylor as Wedding Reception Fiddler
- Ken Johnson as Walter the Plumber
- Kelvin Han Yee as Master Cho
- Joe Bellan as Man with Bimbo
- Greg Germann as Concierge
- Ken Grantham as Maitre D'
- Bob Sarlatte as M.C.
- Cynthia Frost as Mrs. Levenstein
- Fred Ornstein as Mr. Levenstein
- John X. Heart as Waiter
- Frederick Walsh as Bellboy
- Keith Selvin as Young Stuart
- Alan Arkin as Tony's Boss (uncredited)
- Marla Sokoloff as Alcatraz Visitor (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 101
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 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 25 |
| 7 to 9 | 2 | 23 |
| 10 to 12 | 7 | 6 |
| 13 to 15 | 12 | 40 |
| 16 to 18 | 8 | 10 |
| 19 to 21 | 26 | 23 |
| 22 to 24 | 16 | 15 |
| 25 to 27 | 21 | 23 |
| 28 to 30 | 24 | 20 |
| 31 to 33 | 6 | 17 |
| 34 to 36 | 3 | 1 |
| 37 to 39 | 15 | 17 |
| 40 to 42 | 5 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 32 | 61 |
| 46 to 48 | 10 | 27 |
| 49 to 51 | 7 | 20 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 12 |
| 55 to 57 | 11 | 8 |
| 58 to 60 | 21 | 26 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 to 66 | 4 | 12 |
| 67 to 69 | 4 | 12 |
| 70 to 72 | 7 | 9 |
| 73 to 75 | 8 | 9 |
| 76 to 78 | 7 | 5 |
| 79 to 81 | 9 | 15 |
| 82 to 84 | 4 | 6 |
| 85 to 87 | 5 | 21 |
| 88 to 90 | 2 | 24 |
| 91 to 93 | 7 | 11 |
| 94 to 96 | 5 | 4 |
| 97 to 99 | 3 | 3 |
| 100 to 101 | 1 | 4 |
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.
ROSE: I know, and it's a damn shame. HARRIET: I hope I'm not interrupting.
HARRIET: Dead. Car accident. ROSE: Harriet, its for you.
HARRIET: Just a little head-ache. Excuse me, is there a drug store in the hotel? I want to get some aspirin. DESK CLERK: Right beyond those trees, Ma'm. Anything you need. HARRIET: Thanks. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back. DESK CLERK: You think she's really got a head- ache?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 36 are women's.
292 lines from women, 513 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
11 women and 24 men in the cast. 9 women and 13 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 59 of 877.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 58 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 34% of the words (3,013), men 66% (5,922). Women have 36% 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
13
Two men
35
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Thomas Schlamme (man)
- Written by
- Robbie Fox (man)
- Produced by
- Robert N. Fried (man), Cary Woods (man)
- Shot by
- Julio Macat (man)
- Edited by
- Colleen Halsey (woman), Richard Halsey (man)
- Music by
- Bruce Broughton (man)
- Production design by
- John Graysmark (man)
- Costumes by
- Kimberly A. Tillman (woman)
- Cast by
- Mindy Marin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
0 women, 10 men, 7 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 3 men, 4 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 3 men
-
Production
3 women, 4 men
-
Other crew
1 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
2 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 36 on average. Men: 36 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Debi Mazar 28, Nancy Travis 31, Amanda Plummer 36, Brenda Fricker 48
Men
Matt Doherty 15, Mike Myers 30, Anthony LaPaglia 34, Steven Wright 37, Phil Hartman 44, Charles Grodin 58
Exhibit H: the money
It made 58% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $20 million
- Box office
- $11.6 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 101 scenes and 877 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
