Passes the Bechdel test
Something's Gotta Give
2003. Directed by Nancy Meyers, written by Nancy Meyers.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
29 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 73. -
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
Harry Sanborn is an aged music industry exec with a fondness for younger women like Marin, his latest trophy girlfriend. Things get a little awkward when Harry suffers a heart attack at the home of Marin's mother Erica. Left in the care of Erica and his doctor, a love triangle starts to take shape.
- Released
- 12 Dec 2003
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 66 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 8 wins & 13 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Harry 386 lines, man
- Erica 313 lines, woman
- Marin 112 lines, woman
- Julian 109 lines, man
- Zoe 25 lines, woman
- Lowell 18 lines, man
- Dr. Martinez 12 lines, woman
- Arry 11 lines
- Dave 10 lines, man
- Nurse 9 lines
Full cast, 74 people
- Jack Nicholson as Harry Sanborn
- Diane Keaton as Erica Barry
- Keanu Reeves as Julian Mercer
- Frances McDormand as Zoe
- Amanda Peet as Marin
- Jon Favreau as Leo
- Paul Michael Glaser as Dave
- Rachel Ticotin as Dr. Martinez
- Paige Butcher as Beauty
- Tanya Sweet as Beauty
- Kristine Szabo as Beauty
- Daniella van Graas as Beauty
- Tamara Spoelder as Beauty
- Sonja Francis as Beauty
- Vanessa Trump as Beauty
- Kathy Tong as Beauty
- Marjie Gum as French Girl in Market
- Jennifer Siebel Newsom as Younger Woman in Market
- Robert Frank Telfer as Older Man in Market
- Beatrice Quinn as Lady in Market
- Connie Sawyer as Lady in Market
- Lorraine Nicholson as Young Girl in Market
- Ara Anton as Paramedic
- Melette Le Blanc-Cabot as Hamptons Nurse
- Suzanne Dizon as Hamptons Nurse
- Audrey Wasilewski as Hamptons Nurse
- Roxanne Beckford as Hamptons Nurse
- Robin Pearson Rose as Hamptons Nurse
- Tania Deighton as Harry's Assistant
- Nicki Norris as Harry's Assistant
- Lorna Scott as Mrs. Gimble
- T.J. Thyne as Waiter
- KaDee Strickland as Kristen
- Tayrene Mugridge as Harry's Dinner Date
- Elayn J. Taylor as NYC Nurse
- Conroe Brooks as NYC Nurse
- Taylor Block as Young Patient
- Melissa Keller as Party Guest
- Genelle Frenoy as Party Guest
- Nichole Hiltz as Harry's Lunch Date
- Leslie Upson as Broadway Actress
- Patrick Fischler as Stage Manager
- Lewis Dauber as Actor in Cast Photo
- Julia Sanford as Actor in Cast Photo
- Jamie Bullock as Actor in Cast Photo
- Peter Spears as Danny Benjamin
- Michelle Fabiano as Harry's Old Flame
- Catherine McGoohan as Harry's Old Flame
- Blaine Allen as Harry's Old Flame
- Julia Rose as Harry's Old Flame
- Joan Adelle Nelson as Harry's Old Flame
- Cindy Joseph as Harry's Old Flame
- Alexandra Neil as Harry's Old Flame
- Susan Misner as Harry's Old Flame
- Sean Smith as Maitre D'
- María Esquivel as Hostess
- Madelyn Kennedy as Marin's Baby
- Raney Kennedy as Marin's Baby
- Kevin Watson as Kevin Watson (uncredited)
- Cass Asher as ER Patient (uncredited)
- Lynne Langdon as Market Shopper (uncredited)
- John H. Tobin as Limo Driver (uncredited)
- Jennifer Montague as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Adele Jacques as Ritz Concierge (uncredited)
- James Hunter as Cab Driver (uncredited)
- Shashi Balooja as Bartender (uncredited)
- Dean Wood as Bartender (uncredited)
- Bev Reese as Girl in Bar (uncredited)
- Larry Lane as Karaoke Twin (uncredited)
- John Dalton as Waiter (uncredited)
- Ayse Eldek as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Alan Charof as Beaten Man (uncredited)
- Troy Christian as Dancer (uncredited)
- Elisabeth Granli as Girl (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 73
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 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 to 4 | 18 | 15 |
| 5 to 6 | 7 | 4 |
| 7 to 8 | 67 | 33 |
| 9 to 10 | 56 | 76 |
| 11 to 12 | 1 | 5 |
| 13 to 14 | 17 | 15 |
| 15 to 16 | 8 | 11 |
| 17 to 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 to 20 | 13 | 13 |
| 21 to 22 | 9 | 11 |
| 23 to 24 | 6 | 34 |
| 25 to 26 | 26 | 42 |
| 27 to 28 | 8 | 10 |
| 29 to 30 | 2 | 2 |
| 31 to 32 | 32 | 16 |
| 33 to 34 | 14 | 0 |
| 35 to 36 | 25 | 19 |
| 37 to 38 | 27 | 21 |
| 39 to 40 | 16 | 42 |
| 41 to 42 | 5 | 0 |
| 43 to 44 | 1 | 0 |
| 45 to 46 | 16 | 0 |
| 47 to 48 | 28 | 21 |
| 49 to 50 | 1 | 2 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 to 54 | 0 | 21 |
| 55 to 56 | 5 | 1 |
| 57 to 58 | 1 | 1 |
| 59 to 60 | 5 | 6 |
| 61 to 62 | 13 | 19 |
| 63 to 64 | 6 | 6 |
| 65 to 66 | 19 | 24 |
| 67 to 68 | 10 | 23 |
| 69 to 70 | 10 | 25 |
| 71 to 72 | 6 | 10 |
| 73 to 73 | 0 | 0 |
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.
ZOE: Hold on. Hold on. Let's not get so dramatic here. What are we four teenagers? We're all sophisticated people. Why can't we all stay, for the… MARIN: Seriously. I can handle it. ZOE: I can totally handle it. ERICA: I mean, well, I can "handle" it...
MARIN: Yeah...well. ..I am fluent. Be right back. ERICA: It's an epidemic. OUNG FRENCH GIRL: Merci madame. ERICA: Woops. Sorry.
ERICA: Yeah, but come on, how many words can you rhyme with 'Bitch'? MARIN: How we doin?
MARIN: So, Mom, how's the new play? You gettin' happy with it? ERICA: Well, the thing with me is that I'm about 90% hard word, 10% talent and so far the talent part hasn't exactly kicked in yet. ZOE: Yeah, right...
ZOE: Thank you Doctor. ERICA: Oh. . .Hey. . .Ew. . .Hot. Thanks.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 47 are women's.
479 lines from women, 535 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
29 women and 17 men in the cast. 7 women and 8 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 9 of 1,076.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 31 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 51% of the words (5,833), men 49% (5,678). Women have 47% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
30
Two men
20
Exhibit F: behind the camera
6 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 50% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Nancy Meyers (woman)
- Written by
- Nancy Meyers (woman)
- Produced by
- Nancy Meyers (woman), Bruce A. Block (man)
- Shot by
- Michael Ballhaus (man)
- Edited by
- Joe Hutshing (man)
- Music by
- Hans Zimmer (man)
- Production design by
- Jon Hutman (man)
- Costumes by
- Suzanne McCabe (woman)
- Cast by
- Janet Hirshenson (woman), Jane Jenkins (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 1 men, 4 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 1 men
-
Sound
2 women, 3 men
-
Art
1 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men
-
Directing
1 women, 0 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 45 on average. Men: 51 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Amanda Peet 31, Rachel Ticotin 45, Frances McDormand 46, Diane Keaton 57
Men
Jon Favreau 37, Keanu Reeves 39, Paul Michael Glaser 60, Jack Nicholson 66
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $80 million
- Box office
- $270 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 73 scenes and 1,076 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
