Passes the Bechdel test

The Family Man

Name: The Family Man
Released: 2000

2000. Directed by Brett Ratner, written by David Diamond and David Weissman.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
22 women characters. 7 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 138.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.

The film

A modern-day Frank Capra story. Jack Campbell, a successful and talented businessman, is happily living his single life. He has everything, or so he thinks. One day he wakes up in a new life in which he didn't leave his college girlfriend for a London trip. He's married to Kate, lives in New Jersey, and has two kids. He, of course, desperately wants back the life for which he has worked 13 years. He's president of P. K. Lassiter Investment House and not a tire salesman at Big Ed's. He drives a Ferrari and not a mini-van that never starts. And most importantly he doesn't wake up in the morning with kids jumping on the bed. After a bad start, day by day he's more confident in his new life and starts to see what he's been missing. Turns out money's good to have but it's not everything.

Released: 22 Dec 2000
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.9 / 10
Metascore: 42 / 100
Awards: 4 wins & 7 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Jack 488 lines, man
Kate 209 lines, woman
Cash 60 lines, man
Arnie 48 lines, man
Annie 36 lines, woman
Alan 32 lines, man
Lassiter 22 lines, man
Evelyn 20 lines, woman
Adelle 15 lines, woman
Big Ed 15 lines, man

Full cast, 50 people

Nicolas Cage as Jack Campbell
Téa Leoni as Kate Reynolds
Don Cheadle as Cash
Jeremy Piven as Arnie
Saul Rubinek as Alan Mintz
Josef Sommer as Peter Lassiter
Makenzie Vega as Annie Campbell
Jake Milkovich as Josh Campbell
Ryan Milkovich as Josh Campbell
Lisa Thornhill as Evelyn Thompson
Harve Presnell as Big Ed
Mary Beth Hurt as Adelle
Amber Valletta as Paula
Francine York as Lorraine
Ruth Williamson as Betty Peterson
John F. O'Donohue as Tony the Doorman
Daniel Whitner as Frank the Security Man
Lucy Lin as Executive
Lisa LoCicero as Executive
Wass Stevens as Trader
Thomas James Foster as Joe the Valet
Irene Roseen as Mintz's Assistant
Ken Leung as Sam Wong
Mak Fai as Grandfather at Deli
Maggi-Meg Reed as Lady at Deli
Kate Walsh as Jeannie
Ray Valentine as Mr. Thompson
Gianni Russo as Nick
Tom McGowan as Bill
Joel McKinnon Miller as Tommy
Tanya Newbould as Nick's Wife
Hilary Adahms as Party Guest
Troy Hall as Kenny
Kathleen Doyle as Big Ed's PA (voice)
Mary Civiello as CNBC Reporter
Paul Keith as Suit Salesman
Elisabeth Sjoli as Hostess
Philippe Bergeron as Waiter
Christopher Breslin as Restaurant Patron
Si Picker as Tire Customer
Lisa Guzman as Girl at Market
Robert Downey Sr. as Man in House
P.J. Barry as Limo Driver
Nina Barry as Kate's Assistant
Danielle Camastra as Model in Restaurant (uncredited)
Kylie Delre as Principal / Cashier (uncredited)
Elena Fabri as Neighbor Betty (uncredited)
Tarri Markel as Neighbor / Party Guest (uncredited)
Adam Mucci as Customer (uncredited)
Nick Taylor as Salesman (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 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 138

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 3	18	12
4 to 6	11	8
7 to 9	0	0
10 to 12	2	6
13 to 15	0	0
16 to 18	2	14
19 to 21	10	29
22 to 24	0	5
25 to 27	0	56
28 to 30	15	11
31 to 33	0	0
34 to 36	3	15
37 to 39	0	42
40 to 42	0	32
43 to 45	22	15
46 to 48	8	13
49 to 51	13	9
52 to 54	0	7
55 to 57	13	20
58 to 60	5	9
61 to 63	0	14
64 to 66	12	50
67 to 69	14	14
70 to 72	10	21
73 to 75	24	39
76 to 78	2	19
79 to 81	10	8
82 to 84	14	7
85 to 87	7	13
88 to 90	22	22
91 to 93	4	1
94 to 96	1	7
97 to 99	0	14
100 to 102	0	2
103 to 105	1	2
106 to 108	15	69
109 to 111	8	4
112 to 114	2	1
115 to 117	2	19
118 to 120	6	6
121 to 123	4	5
124 to 126	3	25
127 to 129	0	15
130 to 132	17	13
133 to 135	0	1
136 to 138	6	19

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

KATE: We’re almost done here... ANNIE: Mary Janes, Mom. You promised. KATE: That’s right. Okay, let’s make a quick stop at the kids’ shoe department, pick up my watch from the battery place, then I’ll run into the li…

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 30 are women's.

306 lines from women, 713 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

22 women and 23 men in the cast. 7 women and 17 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 85 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 27% of the words (2,867), men 73% (7,941). Women have 30% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Brett Ratner (man)
Written by: David Diamond (man), David Weissman (man)
Produced by: Marc Abraham (man), Howard Rosenman (man), Alan Riche (man), Tony Ludwig (man)
Shot by: Dante Spinotti (man)
Edited by: Mark Helfrich (man)
Music by: Danny Elfman (man)
Production design by: Kristi Zea (woman)
Costumes by: Betsy Heimann (woman)
Cast by: Nancy Green-Keyes (woman), Matthew Barry (man)