Fails the Bechdel test

Super

Name: Super
Released: 2011

2011. Directed by James Gunn, written by James Gunn.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
9 women characters. 5 of them speak.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

Frank Darrbo is a hapless fry cook. When his wife Sarah falls off the wagon and dumps him for Jacques, a drug dealer, Frank tries to get her back by reporting her kidnapped, grabbing her from Jacques' car, and wailing for her to return. After watching Christian TV and having a vision, he becomes a superhero to fight evil. He sews a costume, finds a weapon (a pipe wrench) and looks for crimes to stop. He has problems: his wrench inflicts real injury, so the cops want him for being a vigilante, his sense of boundaries is flawed, and Jacques' gang has guns. Libby, a clerk at a comic book store, becomes his sidekick, and it's time to go save Sarah. What chance do they have?

Released: 10 Jun 2011
Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.7 / 10
Metascore: 50 / 100
Awards: 1 win total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Frank 257 lines, man
Libby 172 lines, woman
Jacques 52 lines, man
Sarah 42 lines, woman
Felkner 36 lines, man
Hamilton 26 lines, man
Abe 16 lines, man
Toby 13 lines, man
Nathaniel 12 lines, man
Holy Avenger 11 lines, man

Full cast, 48 people

Rainn Wilson as Frank Darbo
Elliot Page as Libby
Liv Tyler as Sarah
Kevin Bacon as Jacques
Gregg Henry as Detective John Felkner
Michael Rooker as Abe
Andre Royo as Hamilton
Sean Gunn as Toby
Stephen Blackehart as Quill
Linda Cardellini as Pet Store Employee
Nathan Fillion as The Holy Avenger
Don Mac as Mr. Range
Gerardo Davila as Cop
Grant Goodman as Young Frank
Paul T. Taylor as Frank Sr.
Connor Day as Teenage Frank
James Gunn as Demonswill
Mikaela Hoover as Holly
Nick Holmes as Jim
Matt Moore as Jesus / Guy In Line
Rob Zombie as Voice Of God (voice)
Steve Agee as Comic Book Store Jerk
Laurel Whitsett as Librarian
James Lentzsch as Passenger Teen
Nate Rubin as Driving Teen
Edrick Browne as Nathaniel
Danny Cosmo as Purse-snatcher
Krystal Mayo as Wheelchair Woman
Russell Towery as Chickenhawk
Mario Jiminez Jr. as Chicken
Jonathan Winkler as Transvestite
Mollie Milligan as Sarah's Sister
Gerry May as Newscaster
Valentine Miele as Line Butter
Michelle Gunn as Line Butter's Girlfriend
Darcel White Moreno as Waitress
Greg Ingram as Long-haired Hood
Lindsay Soileau as Libby's Friend
Brandon Belknap as Christian
Zach Gilford as Jerry
Lloyd Kaufman as 911 Man
Tim J. Smith as Range's Technician
Mark De Alessandro as Thug Jumped On By Boltie
Cole S. McKay as Thug Set On Fire
Dominick LaBanca as Thug #1
John W. Lawson as Thug Missing Arms
William Katt as Sgt. Fitzgibbon
Christine Quinn as Stoner Girl

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 168

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 4	0	7
5 to 8	0	1
9 to 12	2	1
13 to 16	2	5
17 to 20	4	17
21 to 24	0	12
25 to 28	0	25
29 to 32	9	25
33 to 36	0	20
37 to 40	0	10
41 to 44	15	8
45 to 48	0	3
49 to 52	0	6
53 to 56	11	34
57 to 60	1	2
61 to 64	0	1
65 to 68	0	4
69 to 72	2	0
73 to 76	17	6
77 to 80	8	37
81 to 84	20	47
85 to 88	0	4
89 to 92	2	5
93 to 96	0	1
97 to 100	3	23
101 to 104	27	20
105 to 108	0	10
109 to 112	27	22
113 to 116	20	19
117 to 120	25	22
121 to 124	27	23
125 to 128	4	9
129 to 132	2	12
133 to 136	2	1
137 to 140	2	7
141 to 144	0	14
145 to 148	0	2
149 to 152	2	14
153 to 156	1	3
157 to 160	0	5
161 to 164	0	4
165 to 168	0	7

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 32 are women's.

235 lines from women, 498 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

9 women and 34 men in the cast. 5 women and 25 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 10 of 747. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 47 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 33% of the words (2,258), men 67% (4,486). Women have 32% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.

Exhibit D: 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 E: behind the camera

2 of the 10 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: James Gunn (man)
Written by: James Gunn (man)
Produced by: Ted Hope (man), Miranda Bailey (woman), Iris Ichishita (gender not listed)
Shot by: Steve Gainer (man)
Edited by: Cara Silverman (woman)
Music by: Tyler Bates (man)
Production design by: William A. Elliott (man)
Costumes by: Mary Matthews (gender not listed)