Fails the Bechdel test

The Other Guys

Name: The Other Guys
Released: 2010

2010. Directed by Adam McKay, written by Adam McKay and Chris Henchy.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
13 women characters. 8 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

Terry Hoitz's past mistakes in the line of duty and Allen Gamble's reluctance to take risks have landed them the roles of the "Other Guys", disgraced New York City police detectives relegated to filling out paperwork for cocky hero cops Danson and Highsmith. The mismatched duo must look past their differences when they take on a high-profile investigation of shady capitalist David Ershon and attempt to fill the shoes of the notoriously reckless officers they idolize.

Released: 06 Aug 2010
Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.7 / 10
Metascore: 64 / 100
Awards: 3 wins & 15 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Allen 285 lines, man
Terry 274 lines, man
Lieutenant Mauch 45 lines, man
Ershon 41 lines, man
Martin 25 lines, man
Music 25 lines
Tim 18 lines
Fosse 17 lines, man
Manzetti 17 lines
Francine 16 lines, woman

Full cast, 78 people

Will Ferrell as Detective Allen Gamble
Mark Wahlberg as Detective Terry Hoitz
Eva Mendes as Sheila Gamble
Michael Keaton as Captain Gene Mauch
Steve Coogan as David Ershon
Ray Stevenson as Roger Wesley
Samuel L. Jackson as P.K. Highsmith
Dwayne Johnson as Christopher Danson
Lindsay Sloane as Francine
Natalie Zea as Christinith
Rob Riggle as Martin
Damon Wayans Jr. as Fosse
Derek Jeter as Self
Larnell Stovall as Rasta
Jalil Jay Lynch as Rasta
Roy T. Anderson as Rasta
Andrew Secunda as Press Conference Reporter
Sara Chase as Press Conference Reporter
David Gideon as Mayor
Josh Church as Hot Dog Guy
Michael Delaney as Bob Littleford
Alison Becker as Financial News Anchor
Warren Kelley as NYSE Official
Bobby Cannavale as Jimmy
Zoe Lister-Jones as Therapist
Sean Heilig as Therapy Cop
Matthew J. McCarthy as Therapy Cop
Adam Phillips as Therapy Cop
Tess Kartel as Brazilian Woman
Rob Mars as Wesley's Guard
C.C. Taylor as Wesley's Guard
Zach Woods as Douglas
Jake Quinn as Precinct Detective #1
Andy Buckley as Don Beaman
Elizabeth Kaledin as NY1 Reporter
Will Lyman as Frontline Narration App
Rob Huebel as Officer Watts
Peter R. Thewes as Hazmat Officer
Robin Ng as Waiter
Brett Gelman as Hal
Malachy McCourt as Old Man at Irish Bar
Barry Carl as Irish Singer
Benjamin Magnuson as Irish Singer
Thomas McDonnell as Irish Singer
Jimmy O'Donnell as Irish Singer
Kevin Osborne as Irish Singer
Pierce Turner as Irish Singer
James Archie Worley as Irish Singer
Shakiem Evans as Dancer
Danielle Cell as Brenda
Brianne Moncrief as Ershon's Assistant
Brooke Shields as Brooke Shields
Rosie Perez as Rosie Perez
Patrick Ferrell as Precinct Detective #2
Adam McKay as Dirty Mike
Oliver Wood as Captain Salty
James Mazzola as Homeless Dude
Patrick Crowley as Homeless Dude
Ben Schwartz as Beaman's Assistant
Tara Copeland as Police Dispatcher
Eamon Speer as Ice Cream Man
Patrick Reale as Beaman Tow Cop
Zak Orth as Accountant
Pete Antico as Chechen Rebel
Viola Harris as Mama Ramos
Jamie Dugal as Schoolgirl
Chris Gethard as Clerk
Michael Fawcett as Minister
Pilar Angelique as Stunning Woman
Ice-T as Narrator (voice)
Anne Heche as Pamela Boardman (uncredited)
Horatio Sanz as Gallery Owner
Thomas Middleditch as Gallery Attendee
Tracy Morgan as Tracy Morgan
Monty Sopp as Kip James (uncredited)
Brian James as BG James (uncredited)
Josef Sommer as District Attorney Radford (uncredited)
John Farrer as Priest (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 18% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 159

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	0
5 to 8	0	3
9 to 12	0	2
13 to 16	0	2
17 to 20	0	4
21 to 24	0	17
25 to 28	7	24
29 to 32	0	49
33 to 36	3	9
37 to 40	4	38
41 to 44	9	19
45 to 48	0	29
49 to 52	0	25
53 to 56	0	5
57 to 60	0	94
61 to 64	8	23
65 to 68	1	34
69 to 72	13	12
73 to 76	2	25
77 to 80	0	4
81 to 84	0	12
85 to 88	0	40
89 to 92	0	0
93 to 96	0	7
97 to 100	2	41
101 to 104	0	26
105 to 108	0	21
109 to 112	0	0
113 to 116	1	1
117 to 120	2	5
121 to 124	0	35
125 to 128	2	54
129 to 132	0	50
133 to 136	0	8
137 to 140	7	7
141 to 144	1	12
145 to 148	0	12
149 to 152	1	8
153 to 156	1	20
157 to 159	0	17

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, 8 are women's.

65 lines from women, 794 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

13 women and 48 men in the cast. 8 women and 25 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 1,047. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 199 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 (806), men 92% (9,758).

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

1 of the 12 people in these jobs is a woman. Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Adam McKay (man)
Written by: Adam McKay (man), Chris Henchy (man)
Produced by: Adam McKay (man), Will Ferrell (man), Patrick Crowley (man), Jimmy Miller (man)
Shot by: Oliver Wood (man)
Edited by: Brent White (man)
Music by: Jon Brion (man)
Production design by: Clayton Hartley (man)
Cast by: Allison Jones (woman)