Fails the Bechdel test
The Last Boy Scout
1991. Directed by Tony Scott, written by Shane Black and Greg Hicks.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
8 women characters. 3 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
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
A down and out cynical detective teams up with a down and out ex-quarterback to try and solve a murder case involving a pro football team and a politician.
- Released
- 13 Dec 1991
- Genres
- Action, Comedy, Crime
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7 / 10
- Metascore
- 52 / 100
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Hallenbeck 420 lines, man
- Jimmy 297 lines, man
- Milo 66 lines, man
- Marcon 56 lines, man
- Darian 47 lines, woman
- Sarah 44 lines, woman
- Pablo 26 lines, man
- Bessalo 22 lines, man
- Male 17 lines
- Cory 16 lines, woman
Full cast, 52 people
- Bruce Willis as Joe Hallenbeck
- Damon Wayans as James Alexander 'Jimmy' Dix
- Chelsea Field as Sarah Hallenbeck
- Danielle Harris as Darian Hallenbeck
- Noble Willingham as Sheldon Marcone
- Taylor Negron as Milo
- Chelcie Ross as Senator Baynard
- Joe Santos as Bessalo
- Halle Berry as Cory
- Bruce McGill as Mike Matthews
- Frank Collison as Pablo
- Kim Coates as Chet
- Clarence Felder as McCoskey
- Tony Longo as Big Ray Walston
- Badja Djola as Alley Thug
- Bill Medley as Bill Medley
- Verne Lundquist as Verne Lundquist
- Dick Butkus as Dick Butkus
- Lynn Swann as Lynn Swann
- Billy Blanks as Billy Cole
- Ken Kells as Head Coach
- Morris Chestnut as Locker Room Kid
- Michael J. Fisher as Wounded Player
- Doug Simpson as Wounded Player
- Joe El Rady as Kid
- Donna W. Scott as Sleeping Party Girl
- Frank Kopyc as Neighbor
- Teal Roberts as Dancer
- Sara Suzanne Brown as Dancer
- Ryan Cutrona as Harp
- Eddie Griffin as M.C.
- John Cenatiempo as Main Hitman
- Michael Papajohn as Hitman
- James Keane as Garage Patrolman
- Jack Kehler as Scrabble Man
- Duke Valenti as Jake
- Manny Perry as Cigar Thug
- Frank Ferrara Sr. as Milo's Goon
- Shane Dixon as Baynard's Bodyguard
- Rick Ducommun as Pool Owner
- Dick Ziker as Marcone's Goon
- Fred Lerner as Marcone's Goon
- John C. Meier as Marcone's Goon
- Gene Borkan as Stadium Cop
- Vic Manni as Granddad Thug
- Robert Apisa as Baynard's Bodyguard
- Denise Ames as Jacuzzi Party Girl
- E. Brian Dean as Stadium Guard
- David McMillan as Kid (as David L. McMillan)
- Adam DiSpirito as Football Player (uncredited)
- Julie K. Smith as Dancer (uncredited)
- James Gandolfini as Marcone's Goon (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 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 127
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 | 4 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 6 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 23 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 to 18 | 11 | 18 |
| 19 to 21 | 12 | 42 |
| 22 to 24 | 14 | 76 |
| 25 to 27 | 1 | 19 |
| 28 to 30 | 1 | 13 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 56 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 66 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 10 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 89 |
| 43 to 45 | 4 | 35 |
| 46 to 48 | 20 | 88 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 2 |
| 52 to 54 | 2 | 97 |
| 55 to 57 | 12 | 36 |
| 58 to 60 | 7 | 29 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 18 |
| 64 to 66 | 6 | 16 |
| 67 to 69 | 3 | 13 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 to 75 | 3 | 7 |
| 76 to 78 | 1 | 3 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 6 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 4 |
| 85 to 87 | 4 | 16 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 12 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 1 |
| 94 to 96 | 1 | 7 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 3 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 29 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 6 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 66 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 2 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 4 |
| 115 to 117 | 6 | 13 |
| 118 to 120 | 2 | 6 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 2 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 16 |
| 127 to 127 | 0 | 4 |
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, 10 are women's.
111 lines from women, 981 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
8 women and 42 men in the cast. 3 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 86 of 1,174.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 261 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 8% of the words (824), men 92% (9,607). Women have 10% 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
59
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 8% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Tony Scott (man)
- Written by
- Shane Black (man)
- Story by
- Shane Black (man), Greg Hicks (man)
- Produced by
- Michael Levy (man), Joel Silver (man), Steve Perry (man)
- Shot by
- Ward Russell (gender not listed)
- Edited by
- Stuart Baird (man), Mark Goldblatt (man), Mark Helfrich (man)
- Music by
- Michael Kamen (man)
- Production design by
- Brian Morris (man)
- Costumes by
- Marilyn Vance (woman)
- Cast by
- Marion Dougherty (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 40 men, 2 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 7 men, 4 not listed
-
Production
1 women, 8 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 24 on average. Men: 44 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Danielle Harris 14, Halle Berry 25, Chelsea Field 34
Men
Damon Wayans 31, Taylor Negron 34, Bruce Willis 36, Bruce McGill 41, Chelcie Ross 49, Noble Willingham 60, Joe Santos 60
Exhibit G: the money
It made 3.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $29 million
- Box office
- $115 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 127 scenes and 1,174 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
