Fails the Bechdel test
The Invention of Lying
2009. Directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, written by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
15 women characters. 12 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
It's a world where everyone tells the truth - and just about anything they're thinking. Mark Bellison is a screenwriter, about to be fired. He's short and chunky with a flat nose - a genetic setup that means he won't get to first base with Anna, the woman he loves. At a bank, on the spur of the moment he blurts out a fib, with eye-popping results. Then, when his mother's on her deathbed, frightened of the eternal void awaiting her, Mark invents fiction. The hospital staff overhear his description of Heaven, believe every word, and tell others. Soon Mark is a prophet, his first inventive screenplay makes him rich, and he's basically a good guy. But will that be enough for Anna?
- Released
- 02 Oct 2009
- Genres
- Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 58 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Mark 414 lines, man
- Jennifer 141 lines, woman
- Greg 75 lines, man
- Anthony 21 lines, man
- Frank 17 lines, man
- Jim 16 lines, man
- Martha 14 lines, woman
- Bank Teller 13 lines, woman
- Rob 13 lines
- Blonde 11 lines, woman
Full cast, 75 people
- Ricky Gervais as Mark Bellison
- Jennifer Garner as Anna McDoogles
- Louis C.K. as Greg Kleinschmidt
- Rob Lowe as Brad Kessler
- Jonah Hill as Frank Fawcett
- Jeffrey Tambor as Anthony James
- Fionnula Flanagan as Martha Bellison
- Tina Fey as Shelley Bailey
- Donna Sorbello as Anna's Mother
- Jason Bateman as Doctor
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Jim the Bartender
- Jimmi Simpson as Bob
- Stephanie March as Blonde
- Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Landlord
- John Hodgman as Wedding Overseer
- Nate Corddry as News Reporter
- Christopher Guest as Nathan Goldfrappe
- Alton Fitzgerald White as Angelo Badsmith
- Edward Norton as Cop
- Shaun Williamson as Richard Bellison
- Stephen Merchant as Man at the Door
- Michael Patrick Gough as Homeless Man
- Ashlie Atkinson as Bank Teller
- Lisa Paige Robinson as Arguing Girlfriend
- Matt Stadelmann as Arguing Boyfriend
- Martin Starr as Waiter #1
- Tate Ellington as Waiter #2
- Arnie Burton as Waiter at Fancy Restaurant
- Bobby Moynihan as Assistant
- Cole Jensen as Short Fat Brian
- Conner Rayburn as Son
- Roz Ryan as Nurse #1
- Nada Despotovich as Nurse #2
- Jared Voss as Person #1
- Jessica Baade as Person #2
- Elena Wohl as Person #3
- Matthew Robinson as Person #4
- Donald Foley as Yelling Man
- Patrick Shea as Man #7
- Joe Stapleton as Man #8
- Dennis Lemoine as Young Man
- Lance Norris as Man #1
- Joe Wong as Man #2
- Collin Knight as Man #3
- Eric André as Man #4
- Gene Amoroso as Man #5
- Armen Garo as Man #6
- Dreama Walker as Receptionist
- Brigid O'Connor as Woman #1
- Christine Mascott as Woman #2
- Ellen Colton as Woman #3
- Layla Hosseini as Woman #4
- Erica Newhall as Woman #5
- Nydia Calon as Woman #6
- Hope Farley as Woman #7
- Paul Donlon as Elderly #1
- Mauriel Gould as Elderly #2
- Mary Klug as Elderly #3
- Rachel Harker as Woman in Business Suit
- Brett Cramp as Crying Man
- Toni Saladna as Cocktail Waitress
- Guy Strauss as Pit Man
- Nick Towne as Roulette Dealer
- Luz Alexandra Ramos as Chip Woman
- Ken Cheeseman as Shouting Man
- David Pittu as Tour Guide
- Danielle Perry as Hostess in La Bonisera
- Joseph Badalucco Jr. as Blue Collar Guy
- Douglass Bowen Flynn as Tourist #1
- Celeste Oliva as Secretary
- Jake Watkins as Bully Kid
- Valerie Hager as Talking Head Woman
- Alison Quinn as Talking Head Woman
- Mitchell Roche as Talking Head Man
- John Franchi as Casino Gambler (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 73
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 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 to 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 to 6 | 14 | 12 |
| 7 to 8 | 24 | 27 |
| 9 to 10 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 to 12 | 1 | 8 |
| 13 to 14 | 1 | 8 |
| 15 to 16 | 6 | 18 |
| 17 to 18 | 4 | 5 |
| 19 to 20 | 13 | 12 |
| 21 to 22 | 2 | 19 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 14 |
| 25 to 26 | 13 | 10 |
| 27 to 28 | 0 | 8 |
| 29 to 30 | 3 | 51 |
| 31 to 32 | 8 | 6 |
| 33 to 34 | 0 | 11 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 27 |
| 37 to 38 | 4 | 56 |
| 39 to 40 | 0 | 39 |
| 41 to 42 | 10 | 15 |
| 43 to 44 | 12 | 41 |
| 45 to 46 | 8 | 15 |
| 47 to 48 | 9 | 19 |
| 49 to 50 | 5 | 5 |
| 51 to 52 | 4 | 7 |
| 53 to 54 | 10 | 8 |
| 55 to 56 | 2 | 5 |
| 57 to 58 | 27 | 87 |
| 59 to 60 | 23 | 33 |
| 61 to 62 | 3 | 29 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 14 |
| 65 to 66 | 1 | 7 |
| 67 to 68 | 10 | 11 |
| 69 to 70 | 0 | 2 |
| 71 to 72 | 10 | 10 |
| 73 to 73 | 13 | 14 |
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, 27 are women's.
243 lines from women, 658 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
15 women and 38 men in the cast. 12 women and 29 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 9 of 965.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 88 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 26% of the words (2,790), men 74% (7,917). Women have 27% 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
Two women
0
Two men
26
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ricky Gervais (man), Matthew Robinson (man)
- Written by
- Ricky Gervais (man), Matthew Robinson (man)
- Produced by
- Dan Lin (man), Ricky Gervais (man), Lynda Obst (woman), Oly Obst (man)
- Shot by
- Tim Suhrstedt (man)
- Edited by
- Chris Gill (man)
- Music by
- Tim Atack (man)
- Production design by
- Alec Hammond (man)
- Costumes by
- Susie DeSanto (woman)
- Cast by
- Lynn Kressel (woman), Francine Maisler (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
7 women, 6 men
-
Sound
0 women, 10 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 0 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 48 on average. Men: 44 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jennifer Garner 37, Tina Fey 39, Fionnula Flanagan 67
Men
Jonah Hill 25, Jason Bateman 40, Louis C.K. 42, Rob Lowe 45, Ricky Gervais 48, Jeffrey Tambor 65
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $18.5 million
- Box office
- $32.4 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 73 scenes and 965 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
