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Passes the Bechdel test

This Is 40

2012. Directed by Judd Apatow, written by Judd Apatow.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    18 women characters. 11 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 23 scenes out of 154.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

Poster for This Is 40

The film

Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are turning 40. But instead of celebrating, they're mired in a mid-life crisis with unruly kids, debt and unhappiness mounding. Pete's record label is failing and Debbie is unable to come to terms with her aging body. As Pete's 40th birthday party arrives, Pete and Debbie are going to have to rely on family, friends, employees, fitness trainers, aging rockers and ultimately each other to come to terms with life at age 40.

Released
21 Dec 2012
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated
R
IMDb
6.2 / 10
Metascore
59 / 100
Awards
2 wins & 11 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Debbie 497 lines, woman
  2. Pete 423 lines, man
  3. Larry 112 lines, man
  4. Sadie 96 lines, woman
  5. Desi 61 lines, woman
  6. Charlotte 59 lines, woman
  7. Oliver 51 lines, man
  8. Ronnie 43 lines, man
  9. Jason 40 lines, man
  10. Catherine 27 lines, woman
Full cast, 49 people
  • Paul Rudd as Pete
  • Leslie Mann as Debbie
  • John Lithgow as Oliver
  • Megan Fox as Desi
  • Maude Apatow as Sadie
  • Iris Apatow as Charlotte
  • Chris O'Dowd as Ronnie
  • Jason Segel as Jason
  • Melissa McCarthy as Catherine
  • Graham Parker as Graham Parker
  • Albert Brooks as Larry
  • Lena Dunham as Cat
  • Annie Mumolo as Barb
  • Robert Smigel as Barry
  • Lo Mutuc as Jodi
  • Lisa Darr as Clair
  • Billie Joe Armstrong as Billie Joe Armstrong
  • Michael Ian Black as Accountant
  • Wyatt Russell as Flirty Hockey Player
  • Tom Yi as Charlotte's Teacher
  • Tim Bagley as Dr. Pellegrino
  • Ava Sambora as Wendy
  • Megan Grano as School Playdate Parent
  • D.A. Sandoval as Older Pregnant Parent
  • Derek Basco as Room Service Waiter
  • Nicol Paone as E.R. Nurse
  • Tom Everett as Pete's Doctor
  • Tatum O'Neal as Realtor
  • Ryan Adams as Ryan Adams
  • Ryan Lee as Joseph
  • Dan Bakkedahl as Dentist
  • Rebekka Johnson as Gyno Nurse
  • Johnny Pemberton as Room Service Waiter
  • Hugh Fink as Male Boutique Customer
  • Damon Gupton as Colonoscopy Technician
  • Joanne Baron as Vice Principal Laviati
  • Phil Hendrie as Man in Range Rover
  • Phil Burke as Hockey Player
  • Spencer Daniels as Obnoxious Teenager in SUV
  • Charlotte Townsend as Obnoxious Teenager in SUV
  • Christopher Stills as Ryan Adams Band
  • Ian McLagan as Ryan Adams Band
  • Marshall Vore as Ryan Adams Band
  • Cindy Cashdollar as Ryan Adams Band
  • Gus Seyffert as Ryan Adams Band
  • Bill Hader as Desi's Store Pickup (uncredited)
  • Lynne Alana Delaney as Disturbed Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
  • Katia Kieling as BBQ Guest (uncredited)
  • Jessica Lee as Party Guest #1 (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 154

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 41313
5 to 8132
9 to 121612
13 to 162037
17 to 202912
21 to 241718
25 to 28228
29 to 323766
33 to 362919
37 to 4046
41 to 44134
45 to 4862
49 to 5275
53 to 56529
57 to 60825
61 to 644018
65 to 683134
69 to 72911
73 to 76379
77 to 804637
81 to 841930
85 to 88323
89 to 922420
93 to 96931
97 to 1005117
101 to 1041510
105 to 10890
109 to 1122023
113 to 1165110
117 to 1202722
121 to 124725
125 to 1282658
129 to 1322742
133 to 1364011
137 to 1401514
141 to 144818
145 to 14803
149 to 1521620
153 to 1542121

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.
BARB: Well, I wouldn’t know, because I don’t have any feeling down there anymore. I have nerve damage from my C-section so everything is just kind… DEBBIE: She’s numb down there. BARB: I could sit down hard on a fire hydrant, and I wouldn’t even know that I was sitting. I could get stung by a hornet down there, and I would …
DEBBIE: Look how angry you get while listening to this. It’s my birthday. You don’t control the radio on my birthday. I control the radio on my birt… CHARLOTTE: Sadie’s watching Lost. DEBBIE: Sadie, how many times have you watched Lost this week? SADIE: I’ve only watched eleven. I have eight more and then I’m done.
DEBBIE: Hi. How’s Jodi treating you? DESI: Jodi? Oh, Jodi’s my new BFF. She’s like a little kitty cat. Sometimes she comes and rubs up against my leg.
DESI: She loves me. DEBBIE: Huh. DEBBIE: Can you do inventory so that we can do the sidewalk sale? And you really need to pay attention to the numbers because we have twelve thousan…
DEBBIE: Stop looking. DESI: Maybe some deep oranges and browns and maybe dark greens? That would really play up your features.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 51 are women's.

790 lines from women, 765 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

18 women and 26 men in the cast. 11 women and 21 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 1,633. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 22 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

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

Words spoken

Women speak 45% of the words (6,883), men 55% (8,297). Women have 51% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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

2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Judd Apatow (man)
Written by
Judd Apatow (man)
Produced by
Barry Mendel (man), Clayton Townsend (man), Judd Apatow (man)
Shot by
Phedon Papamichael (man)
Edited by
Jay Deuby (man), Brent White (man), David L. Bertman (man)
Music by
Jon Brion (man)
Production design by
Jefferson Sage (man)
Costumes by
Leesa Evans (woman)
Cast by
Allison Jones (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    2 women, 17 men, 2 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    7 women, 5 men, 3 not listed

  • Sound

    2 women, 7 men, 1 not listed

  • Production

    3 women, 4 men, 1 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 3 men

  • Directing

    1 women, 4 men

  • Editing

    0 women, 3 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 27 on average. Men: 47 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Iris Apatow 10, Maude Apatow 15, Megan Fox 26, Leslie Mann 40, Melissa McCarthy 42

Men

Jason Segel 32, Chris O'Dowd 33, Paul Rudd 43, Graham Parker 62, John Lithgow 67

Exhibit H: the money

It made 2.5 times what it cost.

Budget
$35 million
Box office
$88.2 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 154 scenes and 1,633 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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