Fails the Bechdel test
The Rum Diary
2011. Directed by Bruce Robinson, written by Bruce Robinson and Hunter S. Thompson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
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 1 out of 3.
The film
Hard-drinking journalist Paul Kemp takes a job at a besieged newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His volatile editor, Lotterman, assigns him to tourist pieces and horoscopes, but promises more. Paul rooms with Sala, an aging and equally alcoholic reporter, in a rundown flat. Sanderson, a wealthy entrepreneur, hires Paul to flack for a group of investors who plan to buy an island near the capital and build a resort. Sanderson's girl-friend, the beguiling Chenault, bats her eyes at Paul. His loyalties face challenges when he and Sala get in trouble with locals, when a Carnival dance enrages Sanderson, and when the paper hits the skids. Is the solution always alcohol?
- Released
- 28 Oct 2011
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 56 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Kemp 319 lines, man
- Sala 178 lines, man
- Sanderson 68 lines, man
- Moburg 54 lines, man
- Lotterman 49 lines, man
- Chenault 44 lines, woman
- Zimburger 27 lines, man
- Segurra 14 lines, man
- Donavon 11 lines, man
- Girl 10 lines, woman
Full cast, 20 people
- Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp
- Amber Heard as Chenault
- Aaron Eckhart as Sanderson
- Michael Rispoli as Sala
- Giovanni Ribisi as Moberg
- Richard Jenkins as Lotterman
- Amaury Nolasco as Segurra
- Marshall Bell as Donavon
- Bill Smitrovich as Zimburger
- Julian Holloway as Wolsley
- Enzo Cilenti as Digby
- Karimah Westbrook as Papa Nebo
- Aaron Lustig as Monk
- Natalia Rivera as Chenault's Friend
- Jimmy Ortega as Cop on Fire
- Guillermo Valedón as Xanadu Maitre d'
- Bruno Irizarry as Lazar
- Karen Austin as Mrs. Zimburger
- Andy Umberger as Mr. Green
- Fran Mendez as Pedestrian (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
We couldn't read who says what in this film's script, so there's no dialogue chart for it yet.
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, 7 are women's.
57 lines from women, 765 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
4 women and 16 men in the cast. 1 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 70 of 891.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 134 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 5% of the words (537), men 95% (9,550). Women have 7% 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
58
Exhibit E: behind the camera
5 of the 16 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Bruce Robinson (man)
- Written by
- Bruce Robinson (man)
- From the novel by
- Hunter S. Thompson (man)
- Produced by
- Christi Dembrowski (woman), Johnny Depp (man), Tim Headington (man), Graham King (man), Robert Kravis (man), Anthony Rhulen (man)
- Shot by
- Dariusz Wolski (man)
- Edited by
- Carol Littleton (woman)
- Music by
- Christopher Young (man)
- Production design by
- Chris Seagers (man)
- Costumes by
- Colleen Atwood (woman), Diana Noris (woman)
- Cast by
- Denise Chamian (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
4 women, 10 men, 4 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 10 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 0 men, 2 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men
-
Art
2 women, 1 men
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 25 on average. Men: 53 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Amber Heard 25
Men
Giovanni Ribisi 36, Amaury Nolasco 40, Aaron Eckhart 43, Johnny Depp 48, Michael Rispoli 50, Richard Jenkins 64, Bill Smitrovich 64, Julian Holloway 67, Marshall Bell 69
Exhibit G: the money
It made 53% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $45 million
- Box office
- $24 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 1 scenes and 891 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
