Passes the Bechdel test
The Bodyguard
1992. Directed by Mick Jackson, written by Lawrence Kasdan.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
14 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 225. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
A pop singer has been receiving threatening notes, and her manager hires a bodyguard known for his good work. The bodyguard ruffles the singer's feathers and most of her entourage by tightening security more than they feel is necessary. The bodyguard is haunted by the fact that he was on Reagan's secret service staff but wasn't there to prevent the attack by Hinckley. Eventually the bodyguard and the singer start an affair, and she begins to believe his precautions are necessary when the stalker strikes close to home.
- Released
- 25 Nov 1992
- Genres
- Drama, Music, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 39 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 14 wins & 22 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Frank 293 lines, man
- Rachel 228 lines, woman
- Devaney 74 lines, man
- Spector 67 lines, man
- Nicki 42 lines, woman
- Herb 26 lines, man
- Fletcher 25 lines, man
- Henry 22 lines, man
- Portman 22 lines, man
- Tony 21 lines, man
Full cast, 80 people
- Kevin Costner as Frank Farmer
- Whitney Houston as Rachel Marron
- Gary Kemp as Sy Spector
- Bill Cobbs as Bill Devaney
- Ralph Waite as Herb Farmer
- Tomas Arana as Greg Portman
- Michele Lamar Richards as Nicki Marron
- Mike Starr as Tony Scipelli
- Christopher Birt as Henry
- DeVaughn Nixon as Fletcher Marron
- Gerry Bamman as Ray Court
- Joe Urla as Minella
- Tony Pierce as Dan
- Charles Keating as Klingman
- Robert Wuhl as Oscar Host
- Debbie Reynolds as Debbie Reynolds
- Danny Kamin as Thuringer
- Ethel Ayler as Emma
- Sean Cheesman as Rory
- Richard Schiff as Skip Thomas
- Chris Connelly as Oscar Arrivals M.C.
- Nathaniel Parker as Clive Healy
- Bert Remsen as Rotary Club President
- Donald Hotton as Reverend Hardy
- Nita Whitaker as Oscar Singer
- Patricia Healy as Sound Winner #1
- Blumen Young as Sound Winner #2
- Rob Sullivan as Best Sound Presenter
- Jennifer Lyon-Buchanan as Best Song Winner
- Stephen Shellen as Tom Winston
- Victoria Bass as Woman in Green
- Abbey Vine as Ben Shiller
- Phil Redrow as Video Director
- Joe Hess as Cuban Husband
- Marta Velasco as Cleaning Woman
- Joe Unger as Journalist
- Gwen Seliger as Rachel's Valet
- Susan Traylor as Dress Designer
- Pat Poole as Woman in Restaurant
- Shelley A. Hill as Mother at Restaurant
- Amy Lou Dempsey as Little Girl at Restaurant
- Rosie Lee Hooks as Thrift Shop Owner
- Ken Myles as Sound Technician #1
- Robert L. Feist as Sound Technician #2
- Charles Bazaldua as TV Director
- Tracye Logan as Girl On Stairway
- Art Spaan as Billy Thomas
- Douglas Price as Pantages Assistant
- Ellin La Var as Rachel's Hairstylist
- Joseph Zabrosky as Skip's Assistant
- Rollin Jarrett as Miami Reporter
- David M. Morano as Fontainebleau Barkeeper
- Carla Lizzette Mejia as Fontainebleau Maid
- Linda Thompson as Female Academy Member
- David Foster as Oscar Conductor
- Towanna King as Rachel's Assistant
- David Joseph Martinez as Janitor (uncredited)
- Tony Burrer as Dancer (uncredited)
- Jorga Caye as Dancer (uncredited)
- Shaun Earl as Dancer (uncredited)
- Bruce Holman as Rotory Club VIP on Dais (uncredited)
- Dan Koko as Cameraman in Helicopter (uncredited)
- Damon Stout as Award Show Recipient (uncredited)
- John Tesh as Entertainment Tonight Host (voice) (uncredited)
- Mark Thomason as Killer with Mask (uncredited)
- Marilyn Brandt as Evelyn Gardner (uncredited)
- Robert Buckingham as Academy Awards Guest (uncredited)
- Edward Coch Jr. as Cameraman (uncredited)
- Juan De Villa as Academy Awards Backstage Waiter (uncredited)
- Bruce Dobos as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Lanier Edwards as Academy Awards Guest (uncredited)
- Roy Goldman as Academy Awards Backstage Staffer (uncredited)
- Kevin Grevioux as Bar Patron (uncredited)
- Gail L. Harrington as Constance Simpson (uncredited)
- Robert Lombardo as Academy Awards Guest (uncredited)
- Douglas Maida as Academy Awards Guest (uncredited)
- Jim Mohlman as Rachel's New Bodyguard (uncredited)
- Rudy E. Morrison as Academy Awards Guest (uncredited)
- Nils Nichols as Academy Awards Guest (uncredited)
- George Sasaki as FBI Building Passerby (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 225
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 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 to 10 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 to 15 | 1 | 41 |
| 16 to 20 | 29 | 38 |
| 21 to 25 | 0 | 81 |
| 26 to 30 | 5 | 8 |
| 31 to 35 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 to 40 | 2 | 36 |
| 41 to 45 | 1 | 10 |
| 46 to 50 | 29 | 29 |
| 51 to 55 | 2 | 13 |
| 56 to 60 | 0 | 2 |
| 61 to 65 | 7 | 12 |
| 66 to 70 | 3 | 16 |
| 71 to 75 | 1 | 4 |
| 76 to 80 | 10 | 4 |
| 81 to 85 | 26 | 21 |
| 86 to 90 | 30 | 22 |
| 91 to 95 | 4 | 25 |
| 96 to 100 | 0 | 6 |
| 101 to 105 | 7 | 8 |
| 106 to 110 | 9 | 22 |
| 111 to 115 | 4 | 4 |
| 116 to 120 | 7 | 3 |
| 121 to 125 | 0 | 7 |
| 126 to 130 | 8 | 12 |
| 131 to 135 | 9 | 23 |
| 136 to 140 | 0 | 7 |
| 141 to 145 | 3 | 12 |
| 146 to 150 | 13 | 12 |
| 151 to 155 | 3 | 11 |
| 156 to 160 | 13 | 22 |
| 161 to 165 | 3 | 1 |
| 166 to 170 | 1 | 5 |
| 171 to 175 | 0 | 4 |
| 176 to 180 | 0 | 19 |
| 181 to 185 | 14 | 5 |
| 186 to 190 | 5 | 13 |
| 191 to 195 | 3 | 12 |
| 196 to 200 | 2 | 6 |
| 201 to 205 | 8 | 17 |
| 206 to 210 | 1 | 6 |
| 211 to 215 | 1 | 1 |
| 216 to 220 | 8 | 10 |
| 221 to 225 | 7 | 6 |
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.
RACHEL: I'll be with you in a second. NICKI: I think Bill's right, Rachel. It's time you took more precautions.
NICKI: Rachel! Sandy Harris is on the phone! RACHEL: Tell her she'll have to wait, babe. I'm getting fixed up here.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 31 are women's.
280 lines from women, 627 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
14 women and 47 men in the cast. 6 women and 25 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 52 of 938.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 96 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 35% of the words (3,862), men 65% (7,194). Women have 31% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
6
Two men
72
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 13 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Mick Jackson (man)
- Written by
- Lawrence Kasdan (man)
- Produced by
- Kevin Costner (man), Lawrence Kasdan (man), Jim Wilson (man)
- Shot by
- Andrew Dunn (man)
- Edited by
- Donn Cambern (man), Richard A. Harris (man)
- Music by
- Allan Dennis Rich (man), Alan Silvestri (man)
- Production design by
- Jeffrey Beecroft (man)
- Costumes by
- Susan Nininger (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Elisabeth Leustig (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
8 women, 20 men, 7 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 18 men, 11 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 7 men, 14 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 10 men, 9 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 1 men, 7 not listed
-
Editing
2 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
- 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
Whitney Houston 29, Michele Lamar Richards 38
Men
DeVaughn Nixon 9, Christopher Birt 27, Gary Kemp 33, Kevin Costner 37, Tomas Arana 37, Mike Starr 42, Bill Cobbs 58, Ralph Waite 64
Exhibit H: the money
It made 16.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $25 million
- Box office
- $411 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 225 scenes and 938 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
