Passes the Bechdel test

The Fabelmans

Name: The Fabelmans
Released: 2022

2022. Directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
25 women characters. 15 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 13 scenes out of 85.
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

Loosely based on Spielberg's childhood growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, from age seven to eighteen, a young man named Sammy Fabelman discovers a shattering family secret, and explores how the power of movies help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.

Released: 23 Nov 2022
Genres: Biography, Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.5 / 10
Metascore: 85 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 7 Oscars. 32 wins & 298 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Sammy 253 lines, man
Mitzi 146 lines, woman
Burt 139 lines, man
Bennie 53 lines, woman
Monica 51 lines, woman
Logan 44 lines, man
Reggie 42 lines, woman
Natalie 29 lines, woman
Chad 24 lines, man
Boris 22 lines, man

Full cast, 83 people

Michelle Williams as Mitzi Fabelman
Paul Dano as Burt Fabelman
Seth Rogen as Benny Loewy
Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman
Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord as Younger Sammy Fabelman
Keeley Karsten as Natalie Fabelman
Alina Brace as Young Natalie Fabelman
Julia Butters as Reggie Fabelman
Birdie Borria as Younger Reggie Fabelman
Judd Hirsch as Uncle Boris
Sophia Kopera as Lisa Fabelman
Jeannie Berlin as Hadassah Fabelman
Robin Bartlett as Tina Schildkraut
Sam Rechner as Logan Hall
Oakes Fegley as Chad Thomas
Chloe East as Monica Sherwood
Isabelle Kusman as Claudia Denning
Chandler Lovelle as Renee
Gustavo Escobar as Sal
Nicolas Cantu as Hark
Cooper Dodson as Turkey
Gabriel Bateman as Roger
Stephen Matthew Smith as Angelo
James Urbaniak as Grand View High School Principal
Alex Quijano as Grand View High School PE Coach
Kalama Epstein as Barry
Connor Trinneer as Phil Newhart
Lane Factor as Dean
Greg Grunberg as Bernie Fein
David Lynch as John Ford
Jan Hoag as Nona
Carlos Javier Castillo as Camera Store Clerk
Ezra Buzzington as Camera Store Clerk #2
Paul Chepikian as Pinnacle Peak Owner
Brinly Marum as Janet Benedict
Mason Bumba as Stunt Soldier Boy
Mary M. Flynn as Singer #1
Adriel Porter as Singer #2
Tia Nalls as Singer #3
Larkin Campbell as Scout Father
Harper Dustin as Natalie Photo Double
Crystal the Monkey as Bennie the Monkey
Art Bonilla as Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Meredith VanCuyk as Student (uncredited)
Vera Myers as Senior Classmate (uncredited)
Cody Mitchell Key as Boy Scout (uncredited)
Caroline Anna-Kaye Green as Senior Classmate (uncredited)
Rob Shiells as Chad's Posse (uncredited)
Julyah Rose as Theater Goer (uncredited)
Jonathan Moorwood as Chad's Posse (uncredited)
Ari Davis as Theatre Patron (uncredited)
Jared Becker as Lead Guitarist (uncredited)
Kendal Evans as Balloon Girl (uncredited)
Trang Vo as High School Friend (uncredited)
Alejandro Fuenzalida as Boy Scout (uncredited)
Orion Hunter as Boy Scout (uncredited)
Samantha Rose Gomez as Boy Scout Sibling (uncredited)
Taylor Stone as Senior Classmate (uncredited)
Sarah Hamilton as Senior Classmate (uncredited)
Paige Locke as Cheerleader (uncredited)
Marissa McBride as Senior Classmate (uncredited)
Malachi Mickelonis as Student (uncredited)
Max David Weinberg as Student (uncredited)
Cameron Hennings as Student (uncredited)
Nicole Alicia Xavier as Sammy’s Classmate (uncredited)
Nikolai Bazan as Boy Scout (uncredited)
Nicco Caruso as Prom Date (uncredited)
Colt Carville as Boy Scout (uncredited)
Ure Egbuho as Theater Patron (uncredited)
April Elize as Classmate (uncredited)
Seth Fuentes as Student (uncredited)
Andrew Goodman as Pedestrian/Theater Patron (uncredited)
Phoebe Grant as Student (uncredited)
Cat Heinen as High School Student (uncredited)
Jake Kidwell as Volleyball Player (uncredited)
Julian Lerma as Boy Scout in Theater (uncredited)
Cody Miller as Chad's Teammate (uncredited)
Nick W. Nicholson as Teacher (uncredited)
Molly Renze as Driver (uncredited)
Paige Robberstad as Cheerleader (uncredited)
Brandon Keith Rogers as Senior Class Member (uncredited)
Lucy Schmidt as Sammy's Classmate (uncredited)
Nicole Singh as Student (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 85

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	3	14
3 to 4	0	0
5 to 6	6	9
7 to 8	1	2
9 to 10	6	2
11 to 12	0	0
13 to 14	0	5
15 to 16	7	6
17 to 18	35	17
19 to 20	4	1
21 to 22	2	3
23 to 24	1	0
25 to 26	0	0
27 to 28	1	1
29 to 30	8	7
31 to 32	8	5
33 to 34	4	17
35 to 36	0	9
37 to 38	0	22
39 to 40	2	2
41 to 42	17	6
43 to 44	0	34
45 to 46	4	2
47 to 48	31	17
49 to 50	9	21
51 to 52	14	38
53 to 54	3	1
55 to 56	6	17
57 to 58	6	8
59 to 60	21	19
61 to 62	18	11
63 to 64	7	3
65 to 66	0	24
67 to 68	16	10
69 to 70	10	40
71 to 72	32	16
73 to 74	41	21
75 to 76	10	3
77 to 78	9	8
79 to 80	34	76
81 to 82	0	26
83 to 84	5	44
85 to 85	0	0

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.

MITZI: The living room, I guess. BENNIE: Hey, sorry I’m late, I picked up Mrs. Fabelman. Where should I put her? HADASSAH: Otpusti menya, kayzol, tebe shto, nyeh stiidno?! BENNIE: OWWWW!!!! OW OW OW!

MITZI: It’s on the table. HADASSAH: Cossack. HADASSAH: This is brisket?

BENNIE: And deep down inside you, Mrs. Fabelman, admit it: I’m your friend too. HADASSAH: Deep down inside of me is none of your business. MITZI: Sid Caesar’s on at 8! Help me.

BENNIE: Get the corner! Get the corner!! REGGIE: Can I help you take it out?

MITZI: Wow... Oh... MITZI: You weren’t kidding! REGGIE: How close is it? Why does the sky look - MITZI: Come on! Come on, let’s go see!

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 40 are women's.

381 lines from women, 567 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

25 women and 37 men in the cast. 15 women and 19 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 13 of 1,002. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 48 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 40% of the words (3,938), men 60% (5,878).

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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 32% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Steven Spielberg (man)
Written by: Tony Kushner (man), Steven Spielberg (man)
Produced by: Kristie Macosko Krieger (woman), Tony Kushner (man), Steven Spielberg (man)
Shot by: Janusz Kamiński (man)
Edited by: Michael Kahn (man), Sarah Broshar (woman)
Music by: John Williams (man)
Production design by: Rick Carter (man)
Cast by: Cindy Tolan (woman)