Fails the Bechdel test

The Kings of Summer

Name: The Kings of Summer
Released: 2013

2013. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, written by Chris Galletta.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 6 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.

The film

Joe Toy, on the verge of adolescence, finds himself increasingly frustrated by his single father, Frank's attempts to manage his life. Declaring his freedom once and for all, he escapes to a clearing in the woods with his best friend, Patrick, and a strange kid named Biaggio. He announces that they are going to build a house there, free from responsibility and parents. Once their makeshift abode is finished, the three young men find themselves masters of their own destiny, alone in the woods.

Released: 23 Aug 2013
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.1 / 10
Metascore: 61 / 100
Awards: 5 wins & 10 nominations
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Joe 289 lines, man
Patrick 176 lines, man
Frank 105 lines, man
Kelly 83 lines, woman
Biaggio 67 lines, man
Mrs. Mcguire 26 lines, woman
Aaron 20 lines, man
Mr. Mcguire 19 lines, man
Lisa 14 lines
Capt. Davis 12 lines, woman

Full cast, 59 people

Nick Robinson as Joe Toy
Gabriel Basso as Patrick Keenan
Moisés Arias as Biaggio
Nick Offerman as Frank Toy
Erin Moriarty as Kelly
Craig Cackowski as Mr. Larson
Alison Brie as Heather Toy
Megan Mullally as Mrs. Keenan
Marc Evan Jackson as Mr. Keenan
William Sonnie as Track Suit
Nathan Keyes as Paul
Cristoffer Carter as Construction Kid
Priscilla Kaczuk as Grandma Keenan
Eugene Cordero as Colin
Gillian Vigman as Carol
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Captain Davis
Thomas Middleditch as Rookie Cop
Lili Reinhart as Vicki
Austin Abrams as Aaron
Paul Floriano as Italian Man
Brian Sacca as No Sideburns
Peter Karinen as No Sideburns' Friend
Tony Hale as Bus Passenger
Hannibal Buress as Bus Driver
Kumail Nanjiani as Gary
Jeffrey Grover as Detective
Eric Wasserman as Second Detective
Nick Rutherford as Visor
Angela Trimbur as Face Paint
Jennifer Lindgren as News Reporter
Michael Cipiti as Biaggio's Dad
Kim Bordwine as Nurse (uncredited)
Christina Cacic as High School Teacher (uncredited)
Justin Cooney as Teen / Beach Party (uncredited)
Anthony Daniel as High School Student (uncredited)
Eric Frank as Doctor (uncredited)
Logan Fry as Hospital Patient in Wheelchair (uncredited)
Joe Gallipoli as Doctor (uncredited)
David Gragg as Doctor (uncredited)
Hannah Harris as Parade Spectator (uncredited)
Linda Marie Howell as Doctor in Plain Clothes (uncredited)
Christopher Kaczmarek as Boston Market Employee (uncredited)
Cole Kornell as Track Suit Friend (uncredited)
Maria Laskowski as High School Student (uncredited)
Daniel T. Martin as Detective (uncredited)
Derick Mayes as Nurse (uncredited)
Christine McBurney as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Shawn Michelle as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Tyler Moliterno as Big Italian Kid (uncredited)
Taylor Nelms as High School Student (uncredited)
Brady Novak as Deli Owner (uncredited)
David Sanborn as High School Student (uncredited)
Julie Simon as Teacher (uncredited)
Joel Thingvall as High School Principal (uncredited)
Josh Tippey as Paul's Friend (uncredited)
Nicole Tubbs as Doctor (uncredited)
Lisa Y. Wong as Doctor (uncredited)
Abigail Wylie as High School Student (uncredited)
Theresa Wylie as Doctor (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 162

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 4	1	7
5 to 8	13	10
9 to 12	7	55
13 to 16	10	38
17 to 20	0	4
21 to 24	12	50
25 to 28	13	8
29 to 32	0	16
33 to 36	0	28
37 to 40	0	0
41 to 44	0	16
45 to 48	6	5
49 to 52	0	27
53 to 56	0	19
57 to 60	0	28
61 to 64	0	47
65 to 68	0	11
69 to 72	0	5
73 to 76	5	21
77 to 80	15	16
81 to 84	0	25
85 to 88	11	27
89 to 92	9	24
93 to 96	5	6
97 to 100	3	13
101 to 104	11	27
105 to 108	9	24
109 to 112	4	23
113 to 116	1	7
117 to 120	0	0
121 to 124	4	6
125 to 128	0	0
129 to 132	4	3
133 to 136	5	4
137 to 140	0	3
141 to 144	0	12
145 to 148	0	25
149 to 152	0	43
153 to 156	5	21
157 to 160	0	13
161 to 162	0	0

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, 18 are women's.

153 lines from women, 717 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

12 women and 21 men in the cast. 6 women and 11 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 9 of 928. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 176 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 (1,460), men 82% (6,511).

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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 37% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts (man)
Written by: Chris Galletta (man)
Produced by: Tyler Davidson (man), John Hodges (man), Peter Saraf (man)
Shot by: Ross Riege (man)
Edited by: Terel Gibson (man)
Music by: Ryan Miller (gender not listed)
Production design by: Tyler B. Robinson (man)
Costumes by: Lynette Meyer (woman)
Cast by: Nicole Abellera Hallman (woman), Jeanne McCarthy (woman), Lillian Pyles (woman)