Fails the Bechdel test

The Hangover

2009. Directed by Todd Phillips, written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

  1. No 1. At least two women
    Fewer than two women characters.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. 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.

Poster for The Hangover

The film

Angelenos Doug Billings and Tracy Garner are about to get married. Two days before the wedding, the four men in the wedding party - Doug, Doug's two best buddies Phil Wenneck and Stu Price, and Tracy's brother Alan Garner - hop into Tracy's father's beloved Mercedes convertible for a 24-hour stag party to Las Vegas. Phil, a married high school teacher, has the same maturity level as his students when he's with his pals. Stu, a dentist, is worried about everything, especially what his controlling girlfriend Melissa thinks. Because she disapproves of traditional male bonding rituals, Stu has to lie to her about the stag, he telling her that they are going on a wine tasting tour in the Napa Valley. Regardless, he intends on eventually marrying her, against the advice and wishes of his friends. And Alan seems to be unaware of what are considered the social graces of the western world. The morning after their arrival in Las Vegas, they awaken in their hotel suite each with the worst hangover. None remembers what happened in the past twelve or so hours. The suite is in shambles. And certain things are in the suite that shouldn't be, and certain things that should be in the suite are missing. Probably the most important in the latter category is Doug. As Phil, Stu and Alan try to find Doug using only what little pieces of information they have at hand, they go on a journey of discovery of how certain things got into the suite and what happened to the missing items. However they are on a race for time as if they can't find Doug in the next few hours, they are going to have to explain to Tracy why they are not yet back in Los Angeles. And even worse, they may not find Doug at all before the wedding.

Released
05 Jun 2009
Genres
Comedy
Rated
R
IMDb
7.7 / 10
Metascore
73 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award. 13 wins & 25 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Vick 298 lines, man
  2. Alan 230 lines, man
  3. Stu 209 lines, man
  4. Chastity 49 lines
  5. Doug 29 lines, man
  6. Jimmy Lang 23 lines, man
  7. Tracy 22 lines, woman
  8. Roger 19 lines, man
  9. Steve 12 lines
  10. Becky 11 lines
Full cast, 70 people
  • Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck
  • Ed Helms as Stu Price
  • Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner
  • Justin Bartha as Doug Billings
  • Heather Graham as Jade
  • Sasha Barrese as Tracy
  • Jeffrey Tambor as Sid Garner
  • Ken Jeong as Mr. Chow
  • Rachael Harris as Melissa
  • Mike Tyson as Mike Tyson
  • Mike Epps as Black Doug
  • Jernard Burks as Leonard
  • Rob Riggle as Officer Franklin
  • Cleo King as Officer Garden
  • Bryan Callen as Eddie Palermo
  • Matt Walsh as Dr. Valsh
  • Ian Anthony Dale as Chow's #1
  • Michael Li as Chow's #2
  • Sondra Currie as Linda
  • Gillian Vigman as Stephanie
  • Nathalie Fay as Lisa
  • Chuck Pacheco as Hotel Guest at Valet
  • Jesse Erwin as Hotel Valet
  • Dan Finnerty as Wedding Singer
  • Keith Lyle as Casino Dealer
  • Brody Stevens as Officer Foltz
  • Todd Phillips as Mr. Creepy
  • Mike Vallely as Neeco
  • James Martin Kelly as Police Clerk
  • Murray Gershenz as Felix
  • Andrew Astor as Eli
  • Casey Margolis as Budnick
  • Ken Flaherty as Old Timer at Gas Station
  • Joe Alexander as Pit Boss
  • Constance Broge as Woman in Elevator
  • Sue Pierce as Mini-Mart Cashier
  • Floyd Levine as Tailor
  • Robert A. Ringler as Minister
  • Britt Barrett as Bridesmaid
  • Chauntae Davies as Bridesmaid
  • Alisa Allapach as Bridesmaid
  • Nicholas Furu as Stun Gun Boy
  • Angelica Flameno as Stun Gun Girl
  • Lily Winn as Screaming Girl
  • Katerina Moutsatsou as Eddie's Assistant
  • Faleolo Alailima as Tyson's Bodyguard
  • Rio Ahn as Orderly (uncredited)
  • Joey Brander as Student (uncredited)
  • John Jason Bailey as Caesar's Palace Pimp (uncredited)
  • Cody Deal as Roman Soldier at Caesar's Palace (uncredited)
  • Natalie Cohen as Casino Guest (uncredited)
  • Carrie Keagan as Casino Guest (uncredited)
  • Stephanie Mathis as Casino Guest (uncredited)
  • Guile Branco as Casino Guest (uncredited)
  • Richard Alan Reid as Casino High Roller (uncredited)
  • Tom Spano as Casino High Roller (uncredited)
  • Lanette Fugit Hannah as High Roller (uncredited)
  • David Hill as Parent Driving Jaguar (uncredited)
  • Mitch Holleman as Max - Student (uncredited)
  • Jessica Simons as Casino Guest (uncredited)
  • Anthony Mingilino as Precision Driver (uncredited)
  • Michael A. Rizza as Guy in the Elevator (uncredited)
  • Charlene Geisler as Katie / Girl in the Elevator (uncredited)
  • Kaitlin Clark as Girl in Elevator (uncredited)
  • Heather Roop as Mom in Elevator (uncredited)
  • Joe Satriani as Guitarist in Wedding Band (uncredited)
  • Carrot Top as Himself (uncredited)
  • Jaira Valenti as Bartender Hostess (uncredited)
  • Anat Gerber as Cocktail Waitress (uncredited)
  • Victor Yerrid as Tiger (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 11% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 84

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 200
3 to 445
5 to 6030
7 to 800
9 to 10021
11 to 12021
13 to 14038
15 to 16025
17 to 1803
19 to 20046
21 to 22065
23 to 24043
25 to 26039
27 to 28018
29 to 30055
31 to 3202
33 to 34030
35 to 36034
37 to 38737
39 to 4027
41 to 4206
43 to 4400
45 to 4600
47 to 4800
49 to 50013
51 to 5202
53 to 54049
55 to 56016
57 to 58025
59 to 60026
61 to 62044
63 to 6428
65 to 66039
67 to 68517
69 to 70020
71 to 7200
73 to 74010
75 to 7607
77 to 7801
79 to 8000
81 to 8202
83 to 84438

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, 3 are women's.

24 lines from women, 842 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

17 women and 35 men in the cast. 1 women and 6 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 975. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 554 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 2% of the words (150), men 98% (7,858). Women have 3% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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

Exhibit E: behind the camera

3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Todd Phillips (man)
Written by
Jon Lucas (man), Scott Moore (man)
Produced by
Todd Phillips (man), Daniel Goldberg (man)
Shot by
Lawrence Sher (man)
Edited by
Debra Neil-Fisher (woman)
Music by
Christophe Beck (man)
Production design by
Bill Brzeski (man)
Costumes by
Louise Mingenbach (woman)
Cast by
Seth Yanklewitz (man), Juel Bestrop (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    2 women, 24 men, 3 not listed

  • Sound

    4 women, 19 men, 4 not listed

  • Camera

    1 women, 11 men, 4 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 14 men

  • Art

    1 women, 4 men, 4 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    4 women, 0 men, 4 not listed

  • Directing

    2 women, 3 men, 2 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 0 men, 3 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 36 on average. Men: 40 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Sasha Barrese 28, Heather Graham 39, Rachael Harris 41

Men

Justin Bartha 30, Bradley Cooper 34, Ed Helms 35, Zach Galifianakis 39, Ken Jeong 39, Mike Tyson 42, Jeffrey Tambor 64

Exhibit G: the money

It made 13.4 times what it cost.

Budget
$35 million
Box office
$469 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 84 scenes and 975 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

Related films

Back to the whole shelf