Fails the Bechdel test
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
2006. Directed by Adam McKay, written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 13 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
NASCAR stock car racing sensation Ricky Bobby is a national hero because of his "win at all costs" approach. He and his loyal racing partner, childhood friend Cal Naughton Jr., are a fearless duo -- "Shake" and "Bake" by their fans for their ability to finish so many races in the #1 and #2 positions, with Cal always in second place. When flamboyant French Formula One driver Jean Girard challenges "Shake" and "Bake" for the supremacy of NASCAR, Ricky Bobby must face his own demons and fight Girard for the right to be known as racing's top driver.
- Released
- 04 Aug 2006
- Genres
- Comedy, Sport
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 66 / 100
- Awards
- 8 wins & 9 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ricky 206 lines, man
- Lucius 43 lines, man
- Reese Bobby 40 lines, man
- Jean Girard 32 lines, man
- Carley 31 lines, woman
- Lucy 19 lines, woman
- Mr. Dennit 17 lines, man
- Hank 15 lines, man
- Music 15 lines
- Williams Jr 14 lines, man
Full cast, 74 people
- Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby
- John C. Reilly as Cal Naughton, Jr.
- Sacha Baron Cohen as Jean Girard
- Gary Cole as Reese Bobby
- Leslie Bibb as Carley Bobby
- Michael Clarke Duncan as Lucius Washington
- Jane Lynch as Lucy Bobby
- Amy Adams as Susan
- Greg Germann as Larry Dennit Jr.
- Molly Shannon as Mrs. Dennit
- David Koechner as Hershell
- Jack McBrayer as Glenn
- Ian Roberts as Kyle
- Houston Tumlin as Walker Bobby
- Grayson Russell as Texas Ranger Bobby
- Andy Richter as Gregory
- Ted Manson as Chip
- Rob Riggle as Jack Telmont
- Jake Johnson as 5-Year-Old Ricky
- Jason Davis as Waffle House Manager
- Lorrie Bess Crumley as Schoolteacher
- Luke Bigham as 10-Year-Old Ricky
- Austin Crim as 10-Year-Old Cal
- Adam McKay as Terry Cheveaux
- John D. King as ESPN Reporter
- Pat Hingle as Mr. Dennit, Sr.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. as Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Dick Berggren as Dick Berggren
- Mike Joy as Mike Joy
- Larry McReynolds as Larry McReynolds
- Darrell Waltrip as Darrell Waltrip
- Jamie McMurray as Jamie McMurray
- Danny Vinson as Texas Ticket Seller
- Sylvia G. Lyerly as Texas Ticket Seller
- Dan Cox as Bartender
- Bob Jenkins as Bob Jenkins
- William Boyer as Rescue Worker
- Ruffin Copeland as Doctor
- Rick Benjamin as Reporter
- Matt Day as Pizza Delivery Boy
- Christoph Sanders as Pizza Delivery Boy
- Pete Burris as Police Officer
- Frank Hoyt Taylor as Frank
- Conrad Ricamora as DMV Officer
- Angie Fox as Waitress
- Jim Bohampton as Jim Wise
- Rebecca Koon as Car Wash Customer
- Yasiin Bey as Mos Def
- Elvis Costello as Elvis Costello
- Bill Weber as Bill Weber
- Benny Parsons as Benny Parsons
- Wally Dallenbach Jr. as Wally Dallenbach Jr.
- Jack Blessing as Jarvis
- John Baker as Ted Beaman
- Robert R. Lee as Talladega Ticket Seller
- Matt Coulter as PA Announcer
- Ed Lauter as John Hanafin (uncredited)
- George Peroulas as NASCAR Team Owner (uncredited)
- Paul Gibson as Dennit PR Rep (uncredited)
- Peter Musooli as Larry Bird (uncredited)
- Kevin Ledford as Track Owner (uncredited)
- Mark A. Keeton as Victory Lane Photographer / Pit Crew (uncredited)
- Cal Johnson as EMT Safety Crew (uncredited)
- Robert P. Johnson II as Camera Man (uncredited)
- Ernest 'Scooby' Rogers as Print Journalist / Bar Patron (uncredited)
- JoAnn Bernat as Housewife (uncredited)
- Riley McDonald as Church Choir Boy #2
- Sam Fisicaro as Ricky Fan #2 (uncredited)
- Rose Davidson as Avid Race Fan (uncredited)
- Todd Davis as Race Fan (uncredited)
- Cricket Ellis as Race Fan (uncredited)
- Chad C. Hundley as Race Fan (uncredited)
- Cody Lowe as Race Fan (uncredited)
- Josh Church as Fainting Guy (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 18% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 149
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 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 to 8 | 2 | 11 |
| 9 to 12 | 0 | 9 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 9 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 to 28 | 0 | 3 |
| 29 to 32 | 0 | 4 |
| 33 to 36 | 9 | 18 |
| 37 to 40 | 0 | 7 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 3 |
| 45 to 48 | 1 | 59 |
| 49 to 52 | 3 | 10 |
| 53 to 56 | 6 | 20 |
| 57 to 60 | 4 | 10 |
| 61 to 64 | 0 | 10 |
| 65 to 68 | 0 | 8 |
| 69 to 72 | 1 | 1 |
| 73 to 76 | 1 | 5 |
| 77 to 80 | 5 | 27 |
| 81 to 84 | 4 | 10 |
| 85 to 88 | 3 | 5 |
| 89 to 92 | 1 | 1 |
| 93 to 96 | 5 | 31 |
| 97 to 100 | 3 | 23 |
| 101 to 104 | 1 | 19 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 2 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 1 |
| 113 to 116 | 9 | 30 |
| 117 to 120 | 6 | 23 |
| 121 to 124 | 1 | 47 |
| 125 to 128 | 6 | 19 |
| 129 to 132 | 0 | 12 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 3 |
| 137 to 140 | 2 | 3 |
| 141 to 144 | 1 | 9 |
| 145 to 148 | 6 | 19 |
| 149 to 149 | 2 | 9 |
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, 15 are women's.
86 lines from women, 487 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
7 women and 42 men in the cast. 13 women and 45 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 697.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 66 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 14% of the words (1,221), men 86% (7,556). Women have 15% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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
3
Two men
83
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 10 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Adam McKay (man)
- Written by
- Adam McKay (man), Will Ferrell (man)
- Produced by
- Jimmy Miller (man), Judd Apatow (man)
- Shot by
- Oliver Wood (man)
- Edited by
- Brent White (man)
- Music by
- Alex Wurman (man)
- Production design by
- Clayton Hartley (man)
- Cast by
- Allison Jones (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
2 women, 33 men, 20 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 14 men, 14 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 6 men, 13 not listed
-
Sound
4 women, 13 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men, 14 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 1 men, 9 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 3 men, 5 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 38 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Amy Adams 31, Leslie Bibb 32, Molly Shannon 41, Jane Lynch 46
Men
Sacha Baron Cohen 34, Will Ferrell 39, John C. Reilly 41, Michael Clarke Duncan 48, Greg Germann 48, Gary Cole 49
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $72.5 million
- Box office
- $163 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 149 scenes and 697 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
