Passes the Bechdel test

The Front Runner

Name: The Front Runner
Released: 2018

2018. Directed by Jason Reitman, written by Matt Bai and Jay Carson and Jason Reitman.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
23 women characters. 14 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 120.
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

Gary Hart, a U.S. senator from Colorado, is the widely accepted front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. After losing the 1984 nomination to vice-president Walter Mondale, Hart decides to run for President of the United States. At one point during his campaign, against the will of his manager Bill Dixon, Hart challenges the press and public to "follow him around" while he's not campaigning on weekends. This proves to be a mistake when in 1987, photos of him and journalist Donna Rice are published by Miami Herald Reporters. In a desperate attempt to clear his name, Hart tries to fix his reputation at a news event concerning the affair but to no avail. Because of the consequences of his actions, Hart is disgraced, berated by Dixon, and forced to drop out of the campaign while his wife Oletha remains to be close with him. Donna also announces that she has personally denied sleeping with the now former senator..

Released: 21 Nov 2018
Genres: Biography, Drama, History
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.1 / 10
Metascore: 61 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 5 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Hart 234 lines, man
Dixon 81 lines, man
Fiedler 72 lines, man
Parker 53 lines, man
Donna 51 lines, woman
Lee 51 lines, woman
Kelly 49 lines, woman
Stratton 49 lines, man
Shore 47 lines, man
Murphy 45 lines, man

Full cast, 83 people

Hugh Jackman as Gary Hart
Vera Farmiga as Lee Hart
J.K. Simmons as Bill Dixon
Mark O'Brien as Billy Shore
Molly Ephraim as Irene Kelly
Chris Coy as Kevin Sweeney
Alex Karpovsky as Mike Stratton
Josh Brener as Doug Wilson
Tommy Dewey as John B. Emerson
Kaitlyn Dever as Andrea Hart
Oliver Cooper as Joe Trippi
Jenna Kanell as Ginny Terzano
RJ Brown as Bill Martin
Alfred Molina as Ben Bradlee
Mamoudou Athie as A.J. Parker
Ari Graynor as Ann Devroy
John Bedford Lloyd as David Broder
Steve Coulter as Bob Kaiser
Spencer Garrett as Bob Woodward
Steve Zissis as Tom Fiedler
Bill Burr as Pete Murphy
Kevin Pollak as Bob Martindale
Mike Judge as Jim Savage
Nyasha Hatendi as Roy Valentine
Margo Moorer as Miami Assistant Editor
Kenneth Nance Jr. as Herald Reporter
Sara Paxton as Donna Rice
Toby Huss as Billy Broadhurst
Courtney Ford as Lynn Armandt
Rachel Walters as Dana Weems
Randy Havens as Alan Weinberg
Jennifer Landon as Ann McDaniel
Joe Chrest as Ira Wyman
Mike Lawrence as Mike Shanahan
Lee Armstrong as Jack Germond
Jonny Pasvolsky as Steve Dunleavy
Jeff Witzke as Mike Ritchie
Michael Crider as Bob Dole
Evan Castelloe as John Hart
Stephanie Allynne as SF TV Producer
Danny Kang as SF Engineer
Evan Kelly as SF Field Reporter 1
Joe Washington as SF Field Reporter 2
Jon Meacham as Georgetown Moderator
Lucius Baston as DC Cab Driver
Patricia French as Disco Waitress
Victor McCay as Male Co-Correspondent
Scott Deal as Male Co-Correspondent
Carrie Walrond Hood as Female Co-Correspondent
Joanne Clendining as NY Reporter
Tony J. Scott as Telecom Engineer
Christen Orr as Autograph Seeker
David Dillon as Diner Waiter
Cristina Figarola as Miami Shouter 1
Kristopher Charles as Miami Shouter 2
Jason Edwards as Miami Shouter 3
Gara Coffey as Flight Attendant
Monica Mears as Campaign Reporter
Kendrick Cross as Chairmaker
Matt Bai as Rumba Reporter
Ryan Davenport as Angry Woodsman
Collin Sutton as Hunter 1
Bart Hansard as Hunter 2
Deadra Moore as Hunter 3
Chuck Tedder as Hunter 4
Adam Drescher as Hunter 5
Theodore Murphy as Georgetown Student
Gabriel Manak as David Axelrod
Milton Saul as Washington Post Reporter (uncredited)
Olivia De Paux as Hart Campaign Staff (uncredited)
Christine Marie Evans as Yacht Model (uncredited)
Marc Demeter as ABC News Reporter (uncredited)
Robin Dyke as NBC News Reporter (uncredited)
Enya Flack as Layout Editor (uncredited)
Donna Sexton as New York City Shopper / Pedestrian (uncredited)
Ellen Soderberg as Publisher (uncredited)
Jim Bakker as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tammy Faye Bakker as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tom Brokaw as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Johnny Carson as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Walter Mondale as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jane Pauley as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Maria Shriver as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 120

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	7	19
4 to 6	7	28
7 to 9	1	18
10 to 12	18	72
13 to 15	2	19
16 to 18	7	8
19 to 21	7	12
22 to 24	5	40
25 to 27	2	5
28 to 30	2	51
31 to 33	0	0
34 to 36	4	21
37 to 39	0	30
40 to 42	8	60
43 to 45	11	27
46 to 48	2	21
49 to 51	0	32
52 to 54	0	21
55 to 57	0	23
58 to 60	0	6
61 to 63	0	41
64 to 66	12	29
67 to 69	1	18
70 to 72	0	3
73 to 75	6	4
76 to 78	16	23
79 to 81	22	34
82 to 84	10	22
85 to 87	5	6
88 to 90	18	5
91 to 93	26	4
94 to 96	1	5
97 to 99	1	54
100 to 102	7	32
103 to 105	12	12
106 to 108	19	33
109 to 111	2	8
112 to 114	10	54
115 to 117	0	5
118 to 120	1	4

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.

ANDREA: Just think what my chores will be. LEE: Just think what your rent will be.

KELLY: You sure you don’t want any? DONNA: Tea?

DONNA: Why did Lynn get to leave? KELLY: Because I’m not sure you can trust her. And I don’t. DONNA: You’re kidding. Lynn? KELLY: I don’t know.

ANDREA: Mom? ANDREA: Mom, what’s happening? LEE: It’s an invasion. ANDREA: I don’t understand.

LAYOUT EDITOR: If we push the girl scout diamond anniversary to page three, we’ll have to lose the picture. DEVROY: Fuck. I liked the picture. Is this to make room for the tank piece? DEVROY: Find a way to save the girl scouts.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 22 are women's.

252 lines from women, 909 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

23 women and 50 men in the cast. 14 women and 44 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 1,205. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 136 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 21% of the words (2,311), men 79% (8,879). Women have 22% 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

101

Exhibit F: behind the camera

1 of the 13 people in these jobs is a woman. Across the whole crew, 14% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Jason Reitman (man)
Written by: Jay Carson (man), Jason Reitman (man), Matt Bai (man)
Produced by: Jason Reitman (man), Helen Estabrook (woman), Aaron L. Gilbert (man)
Shot by: Eric Steelberg (man)
Edited by: Stefan Grube (man)
Music by: Rob Simonsen (man)
Production design by: Steve Saklad (man)
Costumes by: Danny Glicker (man)
Cast by: John Papsidera (man)