Passes the Bechdel test

Tootsie

Name: Tootsie
Released: 1982

1982. Directed by Sydney Pollack, written by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
16 women characters. 10 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 10 scenes out of 87.
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 1 out of 3.

The film

Michael Dorsey is an unemployed actor with an impossible reputation. In order to find work and fund his friend's play he dresses as a woman, Dorothy Michaels, and lands the part in a daytime drama. Dorsey loses himself in this woman role and essentially becomes Dorothy Michaels, captivating women all around the city and inspiring them to break free from the control of men and become more like Dorsey's initial identity. This newfound role, however, lands Dorsey in a hot spot between a female friend/'lover,' a female co-star he falls in love with, that co-star's father who falls in love with him, and a male co-star who yearns for his affection.

Released: 17 Dec 1982
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated: PG
IMDb: 7.4 / 10
Metascore: 88 / 100
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. 27 wins & 32 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Dorothy 196 lines, woman
Michael 169 lines, man
Julie 107 lines, woman
George 79 lines, man
Sandy 78 lines, woman
Les 47 lines, man
Ron 45 lines, man
Jeff 43 lines, man
Rita 27 lines, woman
Van Horn 15 lines, man

Full cast, 48 people

Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels
Jessica Lange as Julie Nichols
Teri Garr as Sandy Lester
Dabney Coleman as Ron Carlisle
Charles Durning as Les Nichols
Bill Murray as Jeff Slater
Sydney Pollack as George Fields
George Gaynes as John Van Horn
Geena Davis as April
Doris Belack as Rita
Ellen Foley as Jacqui
Peter Gatto as Rick
Lynne Thigpen as Jo
Ronald L. Schwary as Phil Weintraub
Debra Mooney as Mrs. Mallory
Amy Lawrence as Amy
Kenny Sinclair as Boy
Susan Merson as Page
Robert D. Wilson as Stage Hand
James Carruthers as Middle-Aged Man
Estelle Getty as Middle-Aged Woman
Christine Ebersole as Linda
Bernie Pollack as Actor #1
Sam Stoneburner as Actor #2
Marjorie Lovett as Salesgirl
Barbara Spiegel as Billie
Suzanne von Schaack as Party girl
Anne Shropshire as Mrs. Crawley
Murray Schisgal as Party guest
Richard Whiting as Priest
Jim Jansen as Stage Manager #2
Tom Mardirosian as Stage Manager
Gavin Reed as Director
Annie Korzen as Autograph Hound
Ibbits Warriner as Autograph Hound
Lois de Banzie as Autograph Hound
Stephen Prutting as Autograph Hound
Michael M. Ryan as Middle-Aged Man
Bob Levine as Second Actor
Pamela Lincoln as Secretary
Tobin Bell as Waiter (uncredited)
Phillip Borsos as (uncredited)
Jim Dratfield as Acting Student (uncredited)
John Kapelos as Actor at Party (uncredited)
Joyce Worsley as Shocked Bystander as Dorothy Grabs a Cab (uncredited)
Andy Warhol as Self (uncredited)
Gene Shalit as Self (uncredited)
Michael Tarawhiti McGifford as (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 17% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 87

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 2	2	21
3 to 4	10	15
5 to 6	0	3
7 to 8	0	3
9 to 10	0	0
11 to 12	24	23
13 to 14	13	7
15 to 16	4	39
17 to 18	27	11
19 to 20	4	4
21 to 22	13	15
23 to 24	6	11
25 to 26	28	4
27 to 28	16	22
29 to 30	15	25
31 to 32	33	7
33 to 34	24	0
35 to 36	18	0
37 to 38	13	11
39 to 40	4	18
41 to 42	25	24
43 to 44	0	7
45 to 46	2	1
47 to 48	2	3
49 to 50	20	17
51 to 52	13	3
53 to 54	6	7
55 to 56	23	8
57 to 58	1	0
59 to 60	0	0
61 to 62	0	0
63 to 64	27	0
65 to 66	10	10
67 to 68	3	4
69 to 70	20	24
71 to 72	4	43
73 to 74	5	2
75 to 76	9	0
77 to 78	7	2
79 to 80	6	2
81 to 82	4	2
83 to 84	2	0
85 to 86	0	20
87 to 87	12	17

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.

RITA: Ready. JACQUI: Alright, ladies, please have your resumes ready and follow me. SANDY: Wish me luck.

RITA: Have you ever done Television? DOROTHY: No, Ma'am. I have not. RITA: Was that for real in there or were you auditioning for the part? DOROTHY: Which answer will get me a reading?

JACQUI: Can we use it? RITA: Are you kidding?

JULIE: Hi. What a pretty outfit! DOROTHY: Thank you. JULIE: Come in. DOROTHY: r brought you these.

JULIE: Is it? An interior decorator did it. Before the show, I had no money, since the show I've got no time. MRS. CRAWLEY enters with her hat and … DOROTHY: How do you do.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

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

455 lines from women, 435 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

16 women and 22 men in the cast. 10 women and 14 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 50 of 1,078. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 49 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 (6,837), men 49% (6,457).

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

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Sydney Pollack (man)
Written by: Larry Gelbart (man), Murray Schisgal (man), Elaine May (woman)
Story by: Don McGuire (man), Larry Gelbart (man)
Produced by: Sydney Pollack (man), Dick Richards (man), Ronald L. Schwary (man)
Shot by: Owen Roizman (man)
Edited by: Fredric Steinkamp (man), William Steinkamp (man)
Music by: Dave Grusin (man)
Production design by: Peter S. Larkin (man)
Costumes by: Ruth Morley (woman)
Cast by: Lynn Stalmaster (man), Sylvia Fay (woman)