Fails the Bechdel test
The Big Lebowski
1998. Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, written by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 3 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
When "the Dude" Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, two thugs urinate on his rug to coerce him into paying a debt he knows nothing about. While attempting to gain recompense for the ruined rug from his wealthy counterpart, he accepts a one-time job with high pay-off. He enlists the help of his bowling buddy, Walter, a gun-toting Jewish-convert with anger issues. Deception leads to more trouble, and it soon seems that everyone from porn empire tycoons to nihilists want something from the Dude.
- Released
- 06 Mar 1998
- Genres
- Comedy, Crime
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 8.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- 7 wins & 18 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Dude 411 lines, man
- Walter 275 lines, man
- Maude 63 lines, woman
- Lebowski 46 lines, man
- Donny 41 lines, man
- Brandt 24 lines, man
- Voice 24 lines
- The Stranger 18 lines, man
- Young Man 17 lines, man
- Dieter 16 lines, man
Full cast, 43 people
- Jeff Bridges as The Dude
- John Goodman as Walter Sobchak
- Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski
- Steve Buscemi as Donny
- David Huddleston as The Big Lebowski
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt
- Tara Reid as Bunny Lebowski
- Philip Moon as Treehorn Thug
- Mark Pellegrino as Treehorn Thug
- Peter Stormare as Nihilist
- Flea as Nihilist
- Torsten Voges as Nihilist
- Jimmie Dale Gilmore as Smokey
- Jack Kehler as Dude's Landlord
- John Turturro as Jesus Quintana
- James G. Hoosier as Quintana's Partner
- Carlos Leon as Maude's Thug
- Terrence Burton as Maude's Thug
- Richard Gant as Older Cop
- Christian Clemenson as Younger Cop
- Dom Irrera as Tony the Chauffeur
- Gérard L'Heureux as Lebowski's Chauffeur
- David Thewlis as Knox Harrington
- Lu Elrod as Coffee Shop Waitress
- Mike Gomez as Auto Circus Cop
- Peter Siragusa as Gary the Bartender
- Sam Elliott as The Stranger
- Marshall Manesh as Doctor
- Harry Bugin as Arthur Digby Sellers
- Jesse Flanagan as Little Larry Sellers
- Irene Olga López as Pilar
- Luis Colina as Corvette Owner
- Ben Gazzara as Jackie Treehorn
- Leon Russom as Malibu Police Chief
- Ajgie Kirkland as Cab Driver
- Jon Polito as Private Snoop
- Aimee Mann as Nihilist Woman
- Jerry Haleva as Saddam
- Jennifer Lamb as Pancake Waitress
- Warren Keith as Funeral Director
- Wendy Braun as Chorine Dancer (uncredited)
- Asia Carrera as Sherry in 'Logjammin' (uncredited)
- Kiva Dawson as Dancer (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, 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 3
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 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 to 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 to 3 | 80 | 942 |
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, 8 are women's.
80 lines from women, 943 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
9 women and 33 men in the cast. 3 women and 15 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 142 of 1,102.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 307 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 9% of the words (861), men 91% (9,167). Women have 8% 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
0
Two men
48
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Joel Coen (man), Ethan Coen (man)
- Written by
- Ethan Coen (man), Joel Coen (man)
- Produced by
- Ethan Coen (man)
- Shot by
- Roger Deakins (man)
- Edited by
- Tricia Cooke (woman), Ethan Coen (man), Joel Coen (man)
- Music by
- Carter Burwell (man)
- Production design by
- Rick Heinrichs (man)
- Costumes by
- Mary Zophres (woman)
- Cast by
- John S. Lyons (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 8 men, 9 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 8 men, 11 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 13 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 8 men, 8 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men, 9 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
7 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Editing
2 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 30 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Tara Reid 22, Julianne Moore 37
Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman 30, Mark Pellegrino 32, Philip Moon 36, Steve Buscemi 40, Peter Stormare 44, John Goodman 45, Jeff Bridges 48, David Huddleston 67
Exhibit G: the money
It made 3.1 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $15 million
- Box office
- $47 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 3 scenes and 1,102 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
