Fails the Bechdel test
The Wrestler
2009. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Robert Siegel.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
19 women characters. 5 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 1 out of 3.
The film
An aging professional wrestler, decades past his prime, who now barely gets by working small wrestling shows in VFW halls and as a part-time grocery store employee. As he faces health problems that may end his wrestling career for good he attempts to come to terms with his life outside the ring: by working full time at the grocery store, trying to reconcile with the daughter he abandoned in childhood and forming a closer bond with a stripper he has romantic feelings for. He struggles with his new life and an offer of a high-profile rematch with his 1980s arch-nemesis, The Ayatollah, which may be his ticket back to stardom.
- Released
- 30 Jan 2009
- Genres
- Drama, Sport
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 80 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 58 wins & 93 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Randy 400 lines, man
- Cassidy 169 lines, woman
- Stephanie 72 lines, woman
- Wayne 22 lines, man
- The Ayatollah 21 lines, man
- Scott Brumberg 20 lines, man
- Music 18 lines
- Customer 13 lines, man
- Dr. Tarachandani 13 lines
- Lex Lethal 12 lines
Full cast, 97 people
- Mickey Rourke as Randy
- Marisa Tomei as Cassidy
- Evan Rachel Wood as Stephanie
- Mark Margolis as Lenny
- Todd Barry as Wayne
- Wass Stevens as Nick Volpe
- Judah Friedlander as Scott Brumberg
- Ernest Miller as The Ayatollah
- Dylan Keith Summers as Necro Butcher
- Tommy Farra as Tommy Rotten
- Mike Miller as Lex Lethal
- Marcia Jean Kurtz as Admissions Desk Woman
- John D'Leo as Adam
- Ajay Naidu as Medic
- Gregg Bello as JAPW Promoter Larry Cohen
- Scott Siegel as Greg
- Maurizio Ferrigno as Spotter
- Donnetta Lavinia Grays as Jen
- Andrea Langi as Alyssa
- Armin Amiri as Dr. Moayedizadeh
- Lynn Tovale Anoa'i as Pharmacist
- Ryan Lynn as Strip Club Best Man
- Michael Drayer as Strip Club Bachelor
- Alyssa Bresnahan as Cheeques Bartender
- Jeff Chena as Hotel Bartender
- Vernon Campbell as Big Chris
- Felice Choi as Beautician
- Bernadette Penotti as Tanning Salon Owner
- John L. Sullivan as The Legend Johnny Valiant
- Ron Killings as Ron "The Truth" Killings
- Giovanni Roselli as Romeo Roselli
- Robert D. Siegel as Autograph Fan #1
- Scott Franklin as Autograph Fan #2
- Sylvia Kauders as Hudson Acres Lady at Deli Counter
- Alissa Reisler as Young Housewife at Deli Counter
- Willy Rosner as Touchdown Man at Deli Counter
- Rebecca Darke as German Potato Salad Lady at Deli Counter
- E.J. Carroll as Teamster at Deli Counter
- Abraham Aronofsky as Annoyed Man at Deli Counter
- Charlotte Aronofsky as Annoyed Woman at Deli Counter
- TJ Kedzieerski as Jameson
- Jen Cohn as Get a Room Lady
- Tyrone Scott as WXW Announcer
- Douglas Crosby as WXW Referee
- Larry Mercer as CZW Announcer
- Nick Papagerio as CZW Referee
- Kevin Foote as ROH Announcer
- Jon Trosky as ROH Referee
- Andrew Anderson as Wrestler
- Daniel Solwold Jr. as Wrestler
- Brian Heffron as Wrestler
- Nicholas K. Berk as Wrestler
- Brolly as Wrestler
- Lamar Braxton Porter as Wrestler
- Claudio Castagnoli as Wrestler
- Cobian as Wrestler
- Doc Daniels as Wrestler
- Bobby Dempsey as Wrestler
- Billy Dream as Wrestler
- Robert Strauss as Wrestler
- Nate Hatred as Wrestler
- Kristopher Cope as Wrestler
- David John Markland as Wrestler
- Inferno as Wrestler
- Jess Liaudin as Wrestler
- Judas as Wrestler
- Kid U.S.A. as Wrestler
- Lloyd Anoa'i as Wrestler
- Toa Mairie as Wrestler
- Kevin Matthews as Wrestler
- Charles Renner as Wrestler
- Pete Nixon as Wrestler
- Paul E. Normous as Wrestler
- Papadon as Wrestler
- Darnell Kittrell as Wrestler
- Jay Santana as Wrestler
- Sugga as Wrestler
- Alex Whybrow as Wrestler
- Whacks as Wrestler
- Ryan Tygh as Fan (uncredited)
- Olivia Baseman as Alyssa's Roommate (uncredited)
- Brandon DiCamillo as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Sakinah Bingham as Ring Girl (uncredited)
- Matt Cannon as Crazy Fan (uncredited)
- Peter Conboy as Fans at Table (uncredited)
- Anna-Karin Eskilsson as Girl in Supermarket (uncredited)
- Cory Kastle as Wrestler (uncredited)
- Robert Oppel as Wrestler (uncredited)
- Piper Kenny as DJ (uncredited)
- Mike Marino as Medic #2 (uncredited)
- Rafaela Ochoa as Wrestling Fan (uncredited)
- Bill Walters as Wrestling Fan (uncredited)
- Erika Smith as Dancer (uncredited)
- Henry Kwan as Strip Club Patron (uncredited)
- Ben Van Bergen as Deli Customer (uncredited)
- Emmanuel Yarborough as Sumo Wrestler (uncredited)
- John Corson as Wrestler (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 139
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 | 2 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 9 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 5 |
| 19 to 21 | 2 | 2 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 to 27 | 19 | 35 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 23 |
| 31 to 33 | 9 | 18 |
| 34 to 36 | 17 | 18 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 11 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 to 45 | 3 | 15 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 51 | 3 | 1 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 to 57 | 1 | 18 |
| 58 to 60 | 32 | 27 |
| 61 to 63 | 1 | 0 |
| 64 to 66 | 11 | 22 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 22 |
| 70 to 72 | 23 | 21 |
| 73 to 75 | 13 | 28 |
| 76 to 78 | 31 | 47 |
| 79 to 81 | 10 | 15 |
| 82 to 84 | 13 | 23 |
| 85 to 87 | 5 | 6 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 3 |
| 91 to 93 | 25 | 49 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 22 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 11 |
| 100 to 102 | 6 | 3 |
| 103 to 105 | 1 | 0 |
| 106 to 108 | 23 | 13 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 6 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 0 |
| 115 to 117 | 7 | 2 |
| 118 to 120 | 2 | 2 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 2 |
| 124 to 126 | 3 | 1 |
| 127 to 129 | 0 | 0 |
| 130 to 132 | 2 | 17 |
| 133 to 135 | 0 | 3 |
| 136 to 138 | 9 | 15 |
| 139 to 139 | 2 | 28 |
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, 33 are women's.
273 lines from women, 555 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
19 women and 47 men in the cast. 5 women and 19 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 45 of 912.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 58 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 32% of the words (1,661), men 68% (3,564). Women have 33% 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
20
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Darren Aronofsky (man)
- Written by
- Robert D. Siegel (man)
- Produced by
- Scott Franklin (man), Darren Aronofsky (man)
- Shot by
- Maryse Alberti (woman)
- Edited by
- Andrew Weisblum (man)
- Music by
- Clint Mansell (man)
- Production design by
- Tim Grimes (man)
- Costumes by
- Amy Westcott (woman)
- Cast by
- Mary Vernieu (woman), Suzanne Smith Crowley (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
1 women, 12 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 5 men, 4 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 9 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 1 men, 6 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 33 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Evan Rachel Wood 21, Marisa Tomei 44
Men
Dylan Keith Summers 35, Wass Stevens 38, Judah Friedlander 39, Todd Barry 44, Ernest Miller 44, Mickey Rourke 56, Mark Margolis 69
Exhibit G: the money
It made 7.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $6 million
- Box office
- $44.7 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 139 scenes and 912 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
