Passes the Bechdel test
Step Brothers
2008. Directed by Adam McKay, written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and John C. Reilly.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
10 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 121. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Brennan Huff and Dale Doback are both about 40 when Brennan's mom and Dale's dad marry. The sons still live with the parents so they must now share a room. Initial antipathy threatens the household's peace and the parents' relationship. Dad lays down the law: both slackers have a month to find a job. Out of the job search and their love of music comes a pact that leads to friendship but more domestic disarray compounded by the boys' sleepwalking. Hovering nearby are Brennan's successful brother and his lonely wife: the brother wants to help sell his step-father's house, the wife wants Dale's attention, and the newlyweds want to retire and sail the seven seas. Can harmony come from the discord?
- Released
- 25 Jul 2008
- Genres
- Comedy
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 51 / 100
- Awards
- 3 wins & 2 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Dale 280 lines, man
- Brennan 271 lines, man
- Nancy 146 lines, woman
- Robert 144 lines, man
- Derek 58 lines, man
- Denise 34 lines, woman
- Alice 20 lines, woman
- Randy 10 lines, man
- Dale And Brennan 9 lines, man
- Guy 9 lines, man
Full cast, 39 people
- Will Ferrell as Brennan Huff
- John C. Reilly as Dale Doback
- Richard Jenkins as Dr. Robert Doback
- Mary Steenburgen as Nancy Huff
- Adam Scott as Derek Huff
- Kathryn Hahn as Alice
- Andrea Savage as Denise
- Rob Riggle as Randy
- Lurie Poston as Tommy
- Elizabeth Yozamp as Tiffany
- Logan Manus as Chris Gardoki
- Travis T. Flory as Redheaded Kid
- Lili Rose McKay as 7-Year-Old Girl
- Shira Piven as Nurse
- Seth Morris as Doctor
- Wayne Federman as Blind Man
- Maria Quiban as TV Anchor
- Danielle Schneider as Receptionist
- Gillian Vigman as Pam Gringe
- Brian Huskey as Interviewer
- Adam McKay as Man without Glasses
- Seth Rogen as Sporting Goods Manager
- Chris Henchy as First Homebuyer
- Mary Catherine Hamelin as First Homebuyer
- Ian Roberts as Male Therapist
- Erica Vittina Phillips as Second Homebuyer
- Phil LaMarr as Second Homebuyer
- Jason Davis as TJ
- Paula Killen as Rental Agent
- Ken Jeong as Employment Agent
- Horatio Sanz as Lead Singer
- Kyle Felts as Wine Mixer Heckler
- Jake Szymanski as Caterer
- Matt Walsh as Drunk Corporate Guy
- Dmitri Schuyler-Linch as 6-Year-Old Derek
- Bryce Hurless as 9-Year-Old Brennan
- Brent White as Therapy Patient
- Denise Austin as Herself
- John D. Crawford as Bekins Mover
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 121
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 | 6 |
| 4 to 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 to 9 | 1 | 6 |
| 10 to 12 | 2 | 8 |
| 13 to 15 | 12 | 31 |
| 16 to 18 | 8 | 13 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 5 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 24 |
| 28 to 30 | 4 | 6 |
| 31 to 33 | 5 | 15 |
| 34 to 36 | 3 | 11 |
| 37 to 39 | 4 | 6 |
| 40 to 42 | 1 | 10 |
| 43 to 45 | 6 | 33 |
| 46 to 48 | 5 | 25 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 45 |
| 52 to 54 | 2 | 16 |
| 55 to 57 | 5 | 17 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 to 63 | 4 | 14 |
| 64 to 66 | 7 | 31 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 30 |
| 70 to 72 | 7 | 28 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 2 |
| 76 to 78 | 6 | 7 |
| 79 to 81 | 8 | 31 |
| 82 to 84 | 9 | 34 |
| 85 to 87 | 14 | 14 |
| 88 to 90 | 19 | 34 |
| 91 to 93 | 11 | 16 |
| 94 to 96 | 9 | 41 |
| 97 to 99 | 2 | 9 |
| 100 to 102 | 14 | 30 |
| 103 to 105 | 10 | 24 |
| 106 to 108 | 11 | 36 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 23 |
| 112 to 114 | 11 | 55 |
| 115 to 117 | 6 | 42 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 11 |
| 121 to 121 | 5 | 11 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
NANCY: Alice is your back still bothering you? Because I have some Doan's back pills. ALICE: I'm fine, thank you Nancy. We're almost done moving this chair.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 22 are women's.
222 lines from women, 807 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
10 women and 24 men in the cast. 7 women and 15 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 6 of 1,109.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 63 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 20% of the words (2,685), men 80% (10,478). Women have 22% 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
4
Two men
110
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Adam McKay (man)
- Written by
- Will Ferrell (man), Adam McKay (man)
- Story by
- Will Ferrell (man), John C. Reilly (man), Adam McKay (man)
- Produced by
- Judd Apatow (man), Jimmy Miller (man)
- Shot by
- Oliver Wood (man)
- Edited by
- Brent White (man)
- Music by
- Jon Brion (man)
- Production design by
- Clayton Hartley (man)
- Costumes by
- Susan Matheson (woman)
- Cast by
- Allison Jones (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
3 women, 12 men
-
Other crew
5 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 7 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 5 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 3 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 3 men, 5 not listed
-
Editing
2 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 5 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 34 on average. Men: 38 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Elizabeth Yozamp 12, Kathryn Hahn 35, Andrea Savage 35, Mary Steenburgen 55
Men
Lurie Poston 11, Adam Scott 35, Rob Riggle 38, Will Ferrell 41, John C. Reilly 43, Richard Jenkins 61
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $65 million
- Box office
- $128 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 121 scenes and 1,109 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
