Passes the Bechdel test
The Holdovers
2023. Directed by Alexander Payne, written by David Hemingson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 8 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 143. -
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
Nobody likes teacher Paul Hunham (Giamatti) -- not his students, not his fellow faculty, not the headmaster, who all find his pomposity and rigidity exasperating. With no family and nowhere to go over Christmas holiday in 1970, Paul remains at school to supervise students unable to journey home. After a few days, only one student holdover remains -- a trouble-making 15-year-old named Angus, a good student whose bad behavior always threatens to get him expelled. Joining Paul and Angus is head cook Mary (Randolph)- who caters to sons of privilege and whose own son was recently lost in Vietnam. These three very different shipwrecked people form an unlikely Christmas family sharing comic misadventures during two very snowy weeks in New England. The real journey is how they help one another understand that they are not beholden to their past-they can choose their own futures.
- Released
- 10 Nov 2023
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 82 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 137 wins & 211 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Paul 302 lines, man
- Angus 227 lines, man
- Mary 106 lines, woman
- Kountze 46 lines, man
- Miss Crane 43 lines, woman
- Dr. Woodrup 22 lines, man
- Smith 21 lines, man
- Danny 13 lines, man
- Hugh 12 lines, man
- Judy 12 lines, woman
Full cast, 46 people
- Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham
- Dominic Sessa as Angus Tully
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Mary Lamb
- Carrie Preston as Miss Lydia Crane
- Brady Hepner as Teddy Kountze
- Ian Dolley as Alex Ollerman
- Jim Kaplan as Ye-Joon Park
- Michael Provost as Jason Smith
- Andrew Garman as Dr. Hardy Woodrup
- Naheem Garcia as Danny
- Stephen Thorne as Thomas Tully
- Gillian Vigman as Judy Clotfelter
- Tate Donovan as Stanley Clotfelter
- Darby Lee-Stack as Elise
- Bill Mootos as Mr. Endicott
- Dustin Tucker as Mr. Rosensweig
- Juanita Pearl as Mary's Sister Peggy
- Alexander Cook as Priest / Bartender
- Liz Bishop as Office Lady
- Cole Tristan Murphy as Toothbrushing Student
- Will Sussbauer as Cobb Salad Student
- Carter Shimp as Weed Buyer Harriman
- Michael Malvesti as Christmas Tree Guy
- Dakota Lustick as Christmas Tree Helper
- Melissa McMeekin as Hooker
- Jonathan von Mering as ER Doctor
- Rena Maliszewski as ER Nurse
- Osmani Rodriguez as Pharmacist
- Oscar Wahlberg as Pinball Player
- Dan Aid as Vietnam Vet Kenneth
- Mike Kaz as Hip Party Guest
- Kelly AuCoin as Hugh Cavanaugh
- Colleen Clinton as Mrs. Cavanaugh
- Fred Robbins as Santa Claus
- David J. Curtis as Psychiatric Orderly
- Pamela Jayne Morgan as Waitress
- Davis Robinson as Maître d'hôtel
- Joe Howell as Liquor Store Cashier
- Peter Krasinski as Choir Leader
- Greg Chopoorian as Jason Smith's Father
- Ian Lyons as Miss Crane's Boyfriend
- Kevin Fennessy as Irritated Movie Patron
- Kevin Daigneault as Barton Parent (uncredited)
- Bhanu Gopal as Boston Streeter / Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Quinn Stone as Student (uncredited)
- Lily Steven as Kristy (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 143
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 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 to 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 to 12 | 2 | 20 |
| 13 to 15 | 1 | 4 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 64 |
| 19 to 21 | 5 | 22 |
| 22 to 24 | 6 | 62 |
| 25 to 27 | 1 | 8 |
| 28 to 30 | 14 | 14 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 33 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 3 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 13 |
| 43 to 45 | 9 | 9 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 5 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 19 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 19 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 16 |
| 61 to 63 | 13 | 60 |
| 64 to 66 | 4 | 22 |
| 67 to 69 | 9 | 10 |
| 70 to 72 | 5 | 0 |
| 73 to 75 | 21 | 15 |
| 76 to 78 | 25 | 21 |
| 79 to 81 | 3 | 11 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 1 |
| 85 to 87 | 2 | 5 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 7 |
| 91 to 93 | 8 | 22 |
| 94 to 96 | 11 | 9 |
| 97 to 99 | 4 | 12 |
| 100 to 102 | 5 | 37 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 37 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 15 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 9 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 9 |
| 115 to 117 | 21 | 27 |
| 118 to 120 | 1 | 7 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 0 |
| 124 to 126 | 1 | 0 |
| 127 to 129 | 3 | 7 |
| 130 to 132 | 4 | 11 |
| 133 to 135 | 5 | 11 |
| 136 to 138 | 7 | 13 |
| 139 to 141 | 0 | 15 |
| 142 to 143 | 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.
MISS CRANE: You made it! I'm so glad you're here. MARY: We're happy to be here. Where should I put these? MISS CRANE: Your brownies. Those you can put on my bedside table. MARY: You are a wicked woman.
PEGGY: Mary! MARY: Hi! MARY: Bye.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.
192 lines from women, 707 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
11 women and 27 men in the cast. 8 women and 20 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 4 of 928.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 86 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 20% of the words (2,080), men 80% (8,287). Women have 21% 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
5
Two men
77
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Alexander Payne (man)
- Written by
- David Hemingson (man)
- Produced by
- Mark Johnson (man), David Hemingson (man), Bill Block (man)
- Shot by
- Eigil Bryld (man)
- Edited by
- Kevin Tent (man)
- Music by
- Mark Orton (man)
- Production design by
- Ryan Warren Smith (man)
- Costumes by
- Wendy Chuck (woman)
- Cast by
- Susan Shopmaker (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
6 women, 12 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 3 men, 9 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 4 men, 8 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 7 men, 6 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 6 men, 4 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men, 4 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 47 on average. Men: 27 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Da'Vine Joy Randolph 37, Carrie Preston 56
Men
Ian Dolley 16, Brady Hepner 18, Dominic Sessa 21, Michael Provost 25, Paul Giamatti 56
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.3 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $13 million
- Box office
- $42.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 143 scenes and 928 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
