Passes the Bechdel test
The Jerk
1979. Directed by Carl Reiner, written by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
13 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 116. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Navin is an idiot. He grew up in Mississippi as the adopted son of a black family, but on his 18th birthday he feels he wants to discover the rest of the world and sets out for St. Louis. There everyone exploits his naivete, until a simple invention brings him a fortune.
- Released
- 14 Dec 1979
- Genres
- Comedy
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 61 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Navin 369 lines, man
- Marie 93 lines, woman
- Harry 48 lines, man
- Patty 22 lines, woman
- Madman 21 lines, man
- Mother 15 lines, woman
- Stan 15 lines, man
- Father 11 lines, man
- Taj 11 lines, man
- 1st Punk 10 lines, man
Full cast, 55 people
- Steve Martin as Navin R. Johnson
- Bernadette Peters as Marie Kimble Johnson
- Catlin Adams as Patty Bernstein
- Mabel King as Mother
- Richard Ward as Father
- Carl Gottlieb as Iron Balls McGinty
- Dick Anthony Williams as Taj
- Bill Macy as Stan Fox
- M. Emmet Walsh as Madman
- Dick O'Neill as Frosty
- Maurice Evans as Hobart
- Helena Carroll as Hester
- Ren Woods as Elvira
- Pepe Serna as Punk #1
- Sonny Terry as Blues Singer
- Brownie McGhee as Blues Singer
- Jackie Mason as Harry Hartounian
- Sharon Johansen as Lenore Hartounian
- Gene LeBell as Con Man
- Carl Reiner as Carl Reiner the Celebrity
- Larry Hankin as Circus Hand (uncredited)
- Howard Hesseman as Carnival Worker (uncredited)
- Rob Reiner as Truck Driver Picking Up Navin (uncredited)
- Gailard Sartain as Guy with Cracked Airplane Seats (uncredited)
- Lenny Montana as Con Man
- William Schallert as Judge M.A. Loring
- David Landsberg as Bank Manager
- Domingo Ambriz as Father De Cordoba
- Richard Foronjy as Con Man
- Clete Roberts as Announcer
- Frances E. Williams as Grandma Johnson
- Lydia McGhee as Cleotis Johnson
- Niko Denise Holmes as Satch Johnson
- Shawn Harris as Pierre Johnson
- Nyles Harris as Leroy Johnson (as Niles Harris)
- Susan Denise Harrison as Lisa Johnson
- Douglas S. Close as Fireman
- Trinidad Silva as Punk
- Alston Ahern as Bride
- Lawrence Green as Father of the Bride
- Ken Magee as Carnival Rube
- Tom J. Delaney as Tourist
- Alfred Dennis as Irving
- Marc Loge as Farm Boy
- Jon Leichter as Billy
- Lillian Adams as Tillie
- Joe Lynn as Voodoo Dancer
- Maurice Marsac as French Waiter
- Fred Lerner as Con Man
- Jerry G. Velasco as Man in Garden
- Kimberly Cameron as Disco Party
- Elizabeth Macey as Disco Party
- Richie Reiner as Disco Party
- Daniel Trevor as Disco Party
- Benjie Bancroft as Bailiff (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 12% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 116
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 | 2 |
| 4 to 6 | 11 | 11 |
| 7 to 9 | 8 | 17 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 6 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 39 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 9 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 14 |
| 28 to 30 | 1 | 18 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 5 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 12 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 7 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 52 |
| 46 to 48 | 7 | 9 |
| 49 to 51 | 23 | 29 |
| 52 to 54 | 30 | 36 |
| 55 to 57 | 2 | 5 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 12 |
| 61 to 63 | 6 | 15 |
| 64 to 66 | 1 | 2 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 6 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 15 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 10 |
| 76 to 78 | 3 | 2 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 7 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 36 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 5 |
| 88 to 90 | 16 | 14 |
| 91 to 93 | 3 | 4 |
| 94 to 96 | 6 | 7 |
| 97 to 99 | 2 | 49 |
| 100 to 102 | 16 | 23 |
| 103 to 105 | 3 | 12 |
| 106 to 108 | 5 | 12 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 5 |
| 112 to 114 | 7 | 24 |
| 115 to 116 | 0 | 1 |
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.
MARIE: We're sorry. HESTER: Not as sorry as you're going to be if it ever happens again. They continue grumbling as they put their robes on.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.
150 lines from women, 549 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
13 women and 32 men in the cast. 9 women and 17 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 5 of 793.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 107 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 18% of the words (1,955), men 82% (8,841). 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
4
Two men
28
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 30% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Carl Reiner (man)
- Written by
- Carl Gottlieb (man), Steve Martin (man), Michael Elias (man)
- Produced by
- David V. Picker (man), William E. McEuen (man)
- Shot by
- Victor J. Kemper (man)
- Edited by
- Bud Molin (gender not listed), Ron Spang (man)
- Music by
- Jack Elliott (man)
- Production design by
- Jack T. Collis (man)
- Costumes by
- Theadora Van Runkle (woman)
- Cast by
- Geno Havens (man), Penny Perry (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
1 women, 4 men
-
Other crew
3 women, 1 men
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
-
Art
0 women, 2 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 0 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 35 on average. Men: 48 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Catlin Adams 29, Bernadette Peters 31, Mabel King 46
Men
Steve Martin 34, Carl Gottlieb 41, M. Emmet Walsh 44, Dick Anthony Williams 45, Dick O'Neill 51, Bill Macy 57, Richard Ward 64
Exhibit H: the money
It made 25.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $4 million
- Box office
- $100 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 116 scenes and 793 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
