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Passes the Bechdel test

The Proposal

2009. Directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Peter Chiarelli.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    14 women characters. 5 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 6 scenes out of 103.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

Poster for The Proposal

The film

For three years, Andrew Paxton has slaved as the assistant to Margaret Tate, hard-driving editor at a New York publisher. When Margaret, a Canadian, faces deportation for an expired visa, she hatches a scheme to marry Andrew, and he agrees if she will promise him a promotion. A skeptical INS agent vows to test the couple about each other the next Monday. Andrew had plans to fly home that weekend for his grandma's 90th, so Margaret goes with him--to Sitka, Alaska, where Mom, Dad, and Grandma await. Family dynamics take over: tensions between Andrew and his dad, an ex-girlfriend, Andrew's dislike of Margaret, and Margaret's past color the next few days, with the INS ready to charge Andrew with fraud.

Released
19 Jun 2009
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
6.8 / 10
Metascore
48 / 100
Awards
7 wins & 20 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Margaret 414 lines, woman
  2. Richard 372 lines, man
  3. Geoffrey 77 lines, man
  4. Gertrude 63 lines, woman
  5. Mr. Gilbertson 56 lines, man
  6. Debbie 55 lines
  7. Grandma Annie 30 lines, woman
  8. Handsome Man 14 lines, man
  9. Ramone 12 lines, man
  10. Annie 11 lines, woman
Full cast, 36 people
  • Sandra Bullock as Margaret Tate
  • Ryan Reynolds as Andrew Paxton
  • Malin Akerman as Gertrude
  • Craig T. Nelson as Joe Paxton
  • Mary Steenburgen as Grace Paxton
  • Betty White as Grandma Annie
  • Denis O'Hare as Mr. Gilbertson
  • Oscar Nuñez as Ramone
  • Aasif Mandvi as Bob Spaulding
  • Michael Nouri as Chairman Bergen
  • Gregg Edelman as Lead Counsel Malloy
  • Michael Mosley as Chuck
  • Dale Place as Jim McKittrick
  • Alicia Hunt as Coffee Barista
  • Alexis Garcia as Immigration Clerk
  • Kortney Adams as Colden Books Receptionist
  • Chris Whitney as Medivac Pilot
  • Jerrell Lee Wesley as Jordan
  • Phyllis Kay as Mrs. McKittrick
  • Kate Lacey as Party Guest
  • Gene Fleming as Store Owner
  • Mary Linda Rapelye as Executive Secretary
  • Anne Fletcher as Jill
  • B. Johnson as Guy in Office
  • John Franchi as Taxicab Driver (uncredited)
  • Dan Griffin as Businessman / Pedestrian on Sidewalk (uncredited)
  • London Hall as Wedding and Reception Guest (uncredited)
  • Dan Marshall as Lawyer at Publishing Company (uncredited)
  • Ron Murphy as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
  • Niecy Nash-Betts as Stewardess (uncredited)
  • Thomas Olson as Party Guest (uncredited)
  • Donna Glee Reim as Reception Guest (uncredited)
  • Rich Skinner as New York Cab Driver (uncredited)
  • Ylian Alfaro Snyder as Immigrant at INS Office (uncredited)
  • Uzimann as Pedestrian (uncredited)
  • Larry Vigus as Party Guest (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 103

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 304
4 to 605
7 to 931
10 to 1214
13 to 1520
16 to 1810
19 to 2143
22 to 242519
25 to 275066
28 to 3098
31 to 331314
34 to 361612
37 to 3941
40 to 42512
43 to 455043
46 to 48138
49 to 514342
52 to 5433
55 to 572219
58 to 601414
61 to 6324
64 to 662940
67 to 692823
70 to 723023
73 to 754022
76 to 784448
79 to 81718
82 to 842622
85 to 871630
88 to 9077
91 to 93010
94 to 9628
97 to 9907
100 to 1021516
103 to 10300

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MARGARET: Uh, is everyone coming to our hotel? GRANDMA ANNIE: Oh, we cancelled your reservation. You're part of the family now. Family doesn't stay at a hotel. Also, we've got another little surprise fo… MARGARET: Surprise? Another surprise?
MARGARET: Are you witches? GRANDMA ANNIE: Just quaint. During the solstice it's good luck. It's an Alaskan thing.
MARGARET: What's going on? GRANDMA ANNIE: Just sit there dear.
MARGARET: Well let's go. See you at the wedding, Gertrude. Gertrude just smiles. GERTRUDE: Yeah. See you at the wedding.
GRANDMA ANNIE: This was my dress from 1929. My mother made it by hand. Amazing how things come back into style. How does it fit? Margaret speaks through th… MARGARET: Just buttoning up here. GRANDMA ANNIE: Drum roll! Grandma and Debbie enthusiastically make drum roll sounds. Margaret opens the door and smiles. She's unsure of herself, but looks… MARGARET: Yeah, it's a little snug.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 49 are women's.

524 lines from women, 556 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

14 women and 19 men in the cast. 5 women and 11 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 15 of 1,194. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 46 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 51% of the words (7,708), men 49% (7,364). Women have 49% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

4 of the 10 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 44% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Anne Fletcher (woman)
Written by
Peter Chiarelli (man)
Produced by
Todd Lieberman (man), David Hoberman (man)
Shot by
Oliver Stapleton (man)
Edited by
Priscilla Nedd-Friendly (woman)
Music by
Aaron Zigman (man)
Production design by
Nelson Coates (man)
Cast by
Amanda Mackey (woman), Cathy Sandrich Gelfond (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Production

    5 women, 5 men

  • Sound

    2 women, 6 men, 2 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    6 women, 0 men, 3 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 3 men, 1 not listed

  • Other crew

    1 women, 3 men, 2 not listed

  • Directing

    2 women, 2 men, 2 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed

  • Editing

    1 women, 0 men, 1 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 55 on average. Men: 50 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Malin Akerman 31, Sandra Bullock 44, Mary Steenburgen 56, Betty White 87

Men

Ryan Reynolds 32, Aasif Mandvi 43, Denis O'Hare 47, Oscar Nuñez 50, Michael Nouri 63, Craig T. Nelson 65

Exhibit H: the money

It made 7.9 times what it cost.

Budget
$40 million
Box office
$317 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 103 scenes and 1,194 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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