Passes the Bechdel test
The Addams Family
1991. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Charles Addams and Caroline Thompson and Larry Wilson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
15 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 58. -
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.
The film
The Addams Family steps out of Charles Addams' cartoons. They live with all of the trappings of the macabre (including a detached hand for a servant) and are quite wealthy. Added to this mix is a crooked accountant and his loan shark and a plot to slip the shark's son into the family as their long-lost Uncle Fester. Can the false Fester find his way into the vault before he is discovered?
- Released
- 22 Nov 1991
- Genres
- Comedy, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7 / 10
- Metascore
- 57 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 5 wins & 23 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Gomez 65 lines, man
- Morticia 59 lines, woman
- Fester 35 lines, man
- Abigail 34 lines, woman
- Tully 18 lines, man
- Pugsley 16 lines, man
- Wednesday 14 lines, woman
- Granny 13 lines, woman
- Margaret 7 lines, woman
- Personnel Officer 6 lines
Full cast, 42 people
- Raúl Juliá as Gomez Addams
- Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams
- Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester
- Dan Hedaya as Tully Alford
- Elizabeth Wilson as Abigail Craven
- Judith Malina as Granny
- Carel Struycken as Lurch
- Dana Ivey as Margaret Alford
- Paul Benedict as Judge Womack
- Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams
- Jimmy Workman as Pugsley Addams
- Christopher Hart as Thing
- John Franklin as Cousin It
- Tony Azito as Digit Addams
- Douglas Brian Martin as Dexter Addams
- Steven M. Martin as Donald Addams
- Allegra Kent as Cousin Ophelia Addams
- Richard Korthaze as Slosh Addams
- Ryan Holihan as Lumpy Addams
- Maureen Sue Levin as Flora Amor
- Darlene Levin as Fauna Amor
- Kate McGregor-Stewart as Employment Agent
- Lela Ivey as Susan Firkins
- Whit Hertford as Little Tully
- Patty Maloney as Lois Addams
- Victoria Hall as Swedish Blonde
- Jimmy Ross as Pre-Teen Gomez
- Ryan Anderson as Pre-Teen Fester
- Daniel Pikus as Teenage Gomez
- Michael Hittesdorf as Teenage Fester
- Lauren Walker as Teenage Flora
- Valerie C. Walker as Teenage Fauna
- Mercedes McNab as Girl Scout
- Joe Zimmerman as Long Arm Addams
- Steve Welles as Fingers Addams
- Eugene Jackson as One-Armed Bass Player
- Richard Tanner as Snake Charmer
- Marc Shaiman as Conductor
- Jonathan Wee as Juggler
- Owen Morse as Juggler
- Sally Jessy Raphael as Sally Jessy Raphael
- Barry Sonnenfeld as Miniature Train Passenger (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 58
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 | 2 |
| 3 to 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 to 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 to 8 | 5 | 4 |
| 9 to 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 to 14 | 4 | 7 |
| 15 to 16 | 7 | 7 |
| 17 to 18 | 3 | 7 |
| 19 to 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 to 24 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 to 26 | 2 | 11 |
| 27 to 28 | 0 | 3 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 to 32 | 6 | 7 |
| 33 to 34 | 5 | 4 |
| 35 to 36 | 13 | 3 |
| 37 to 38 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 to 40 | 1 | 1 |
| 41 to 42 | 6 | 7 |
| 43 to 44 | 8 | 1 |
| 45 to 46 | 2 | 1 |
| 47 to 48 | 11 | 4 |
| 49 to 50 | 0 | 3 |
| 51 to 52 | 6 | 6 |
| 53 to 54 | 16 | 24 |
| 55 to 56 | 23 | 31 |
| 57 to 58 | 3 | 2 |
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.
MORTICIA: You are a desperate woman, consumed by greed and infinite bitterness. We could have been such friends. ABIGAIL: I don't think so. The vault, Mrs. Addams - any thoughts? MORTICIA: Despite everything, I don't hate you. I pity you. Persecution, fiendish torture, inhuman depravity - sometimes it's just not enough. ABIGAIL: Gordon - let's get started.
MORTICIA: Oh yes - in the den. MARGARET: Trick or treat!
MARGARET: And what are you, darling? Where's your costume? WEDNESDAY: This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 48 are women's.
130 lines from women, 142 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
15 women and 22 men in the cast. 6 women and 6 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 7 of 302.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 7 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 45% of the words (1,503), men 55% (1,838). Women have 48% 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
11
Two men
21
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Barry Sonnenfeld (man)
- Written by
- Larry Wilson (man), Caroline Thompson (woman)
- Produced by
- Scott Rudin (man)
- Shot by
- Owen Roizman (man)
- Edited by
- Jim Miller (man), Dede Allen (woman)
- Music by
- Marc Shaiman (man)
- Production design by
- Richard Macdonald (man)
- Costumes by
- Ruth Myers (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
6 women, 18 men, 11 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 12 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
2 women, 8 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 5 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 6 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 47 on average. Men: 50 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Christina Ricci 11, Anjelica Huston 40, Dana Ivey 50, Judith Malina 65, Elizabeth Wilson 70
Men
Carel Struycken 43, Raúl Juliá 51, Dan Hedaya 51, Christopher Lloyd 53, Paul Benedict 53
Exhibit H: the money
It made 6.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $30 million
- Box office
- $192 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 58 scenes and 302 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
