Fails the Bechdel test
Tropic Thunder
2008. Directed by Ben Stiller, written by Justin Theroux and Ben Stiller and Etan Cohen.
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
Action movie star Tugg Speedman is on the downslide of his professional career. He wants to be considered a serious actor, but his latest serious role as the title character in "Simple Jack" resulted in negative reviews and ridicule. Comedian Jeff Portnoy is best known for his leading roles in sophomoric comedies, and may be less well known for his rampant drug use. Five time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus is a serious method actor, who immerses himself in whatever the role. On location in southeast Vietnam, they are the stars of "Tropic Thunder", based on Vietnam war veteran 'Four Leaf' Tayback's memoirs of his rescue during the war, that rescue which was considered a near suicide mission for the assigned army force and resulted in him losing both hands. For his role, Caucasian Australian Lazarus even went through a controversial surgical skin dying procedure so that he could convincingly play a black man. Production is not going well since rookie director Damien Cockburn is unable to control the prima-donna attitude of his three stars. Cockburn and Tayback decide that the five primary actors - Speedman, Portnoy, Lazarus, rapper Alpa Chino, and newcomer Kevin Sandusky - need to work together as a unit as did their real life characters. The five are placed in the middle of the jungle, and with only a map and their prop machine guns in hand, are asked to work together to battle through the stunt pyrotechnics in their way. What none of the seven of them know is that they have been dropped into a real life drug war led by the Flaming Dragons. It isn't until Speedman is captured by the Flaming Dragons and tortured that they all realize that what they believed was make believe gunfire and land mines was actually real life. As the four actors try to figure out what to do concerning Speedman's situation, all five go through their own journey of self-discovery. Meanwhile, the movie's megalomaniacal profanity spewing producer Les Grossman and Speedman's faithful agent Rick Peck argue about what to do about Speedman's situation. And Tayback inadvertently shows a little of his true self.
- Released
- 13 Aug 2008
- Genres
- Action, Comedy, War
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 10 wins & 47 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Speedman 132 lines, man
- Sandusky 91 lines, man
- Lazarus 67 lines, man
- Redykulous 67 lines, man
- Portnoy 55 lines, man
- Damien 47 lines, man
- Four Leaf 44 lines, man
- Cody 33 lines, man
- Tran 20 lines, man
- Julie 14 lines
Full cast, 72 people
- Ben Stiller as Tugg Speedman
- Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus
- Jack Black as Jeff Portnoy
- Jay Baruchel as Kevin Sandusky
- Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino
- Brandon Soo Hoo as Tran
- Matthew McConaughey as Rick Peck
- Tom Cruise as Les Grossman
- Nick Nolte as Four Leaf Tayback
- Danny McBride as Cody
- Steve Coogan as Damien Cockburn
- Bill Hader as Rob Slolom
- Reggie Lee as Byong
- Trieu Tran as Tru
- Tobey Maguire as Tobey Maguire
- Tyra Banks as Tyra Banks
- Jon Voight as Jon Voight
- Jennifer Love Hewitt as Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Alicia Silverstone as Alicia Silverstone
- Jason Bateman as Jason Bateman
- Christine Taylor as Rebecca - Simple Jack Clip
- Jeff Kahn as Snooty Waiter - Fatties Trailer
- Anthony Ruivivar as Platoon Sergeant Shot in Head - Hot LZ
- Eric Winzenried as Chopper Pilot - Hot LZ
- Valerie Azlynn as Damien's Assistant - Vietnam Crew
- Matt Levin as Cameraperson - Vietnam Crew
- David Pressman as First Assistant Director - Vietnam Crew
- Amy Stiller as Script Supervisor - Vietnam Crew
- Dempsey Silva as Special Effects Assistant - Vietnam Crew
- Jeff Weidemann as Speedman Assistant - Vietnam Crew
- Nadine Ellis as Speedman Assistant - Vietnam Crew
- Rachel Avery as Speedman Assistant - Vietnam Crew
- Darryl Farmer as Alpa's Posse - Vietnam Crew
- Rod Tate as Alpa's Posse - Vietnam Crew
- Maria Menounos as Maria Menounos
- Jel Galiza as Speedman's Chef - Speedman's Mansion
- Yvette Nicole Brown as Peck's Assistant - Peck's Office
- Andrea De Oliveira as Speedman's Trainer - Speedman's Mansion
- J. Thomas Chon as Half Squat - Flaming Dragon Compound
- Jacob Chon as Half Squat - Flaming Dragon Compound
- Mini Anden as Grossman's Secretary - Grossman's Office
- Mike Hoagland as Grossman's Assistant - Grossman's Office
- Lance Bass as Lance Bass
- Linda Bella as Jon Voight's Date (uncredited)
- Denise Bradley as Academy Awards Guest (uncredited)
- Ella Christopher as Stewardess (uncredited)
- Natalie Cohen as Stewardess (uncredited)
- Larry Cruz as Gorilla Soldier (uncredited)
- Angela Daun as Starlet (uncredited)
- Clark DeVol as Sack Race Boy (uncredited)
- Kaylee Dodson as Sack Race Girl (uncredited)
- Jasmine Dustin as Trophy Presenter (uncredited)
- David D. Espinoza as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Eric Feliciano as Academy Awards Audience Member (uncredited)
- Miko Hughes as Radio DJ (uncredited)
- Dave Johnson as Journalist (uncredited)
- Jillian Johnston as Four Leaf's Date (uncredited)
- James Lew as Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
- Lesley Nicole Lewis as Booty Sweat Dancer (uncredited)
- Fadhia Carmelle Marcelin as Academy Awards Attendee (uncredited)
- Anya Monzikova as Trophy Presenter (uncredited)
- Chad Mountain as Agency Assistant (uncredited)
- Brittany Perry-Russell as Booty Sweat Girl (uncredited)
- Simon Rhee as Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
- Samantha Sadoff as Farm Girl (uncredited)
- Gaku Space as Guerilla Guard (uncredited)
- Becca Sweitzer as Go Go Dancer (uncredited)
- Kaye Marie Talise as Academy Awards Attendee (uncredited)
- Sandra Valladares as Red Carpet Reporter (uncredited)
- Julie Van as Academy Awards Attendee (uncredited)
- John Garry as Trailer Announcer - The Fatties (voice) (uncredited)
- Justin Theroux as UH-1 Huey Gunner (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 12% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 79
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 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 to 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 to 6 | 0 | 58 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 to 10 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 14 | 1 | 4 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 to 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 to 20 | 0 | 5 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 24 |
| 23 to 24 | 1 | 49 |
| 25 to 26 | 0 | 17 |
| 27 to 28 | 0 | 12 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 39 |
| 31 to 32 | 0 | 6 |
| 33 to 34 | 0 | 9 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 23 |
| 37 to 38 | 0 | 33 |
| 39 to 40 | 0 | 26 |
| 41 to 42 | 0 | 6 |
| 43 to 44 | 0 | 10 |
| 45 to 46 | 0 | 32 |
| 47 to 48 | 0 | 11 |
| 49 to 50 | 0 | 24 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 21 |
| 53 to 54 | 0 | 6 |
| 55 to 56 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 to 58 | 0 | 18 |
| 59 to 60 | 0 | 13 |
| 61 to 62 | 0 | 60 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 10 |
| 65 to 66 | 0 | 2 |
| 67 to 68 | 0 | 2 |
| 69 to 70 | 0 | 1 |
| 71 to 72 | 0 | 20 |
| 73 to 74 | 0 | 17 |
| 75 to 76 | 0 | 51 |
| 77 to 78 | 0 | 2 |
| 79 to 79 | 0 | 5 |
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, 0 are women's.
2 lines from women, 635 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
29 women and 31 men in the cast. 2 women and 22 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 102 of 726.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 573 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 0% of the words (19), men 100% (12,594).
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
59
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 16 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ben Stiller (man)
- Written by
- Etan Cohen (man), Ben Stiller (man), Justin Theroux (man)
- Story by
- Justin Theroux (man), Ben Stiller (man)
- Produced by
- Ben Stiller (man), Eric McLeod (man), Stuart Cornfeld (man)
- Shot by
- John Toll (man)
- Edited by
- Greg Hayden (man)
- Music by
- Theodore Shapiro (man)
- Production design by
- Jeff Mann (man)
- Costumes by
- Marlene Stewart (woman)
- Cast by
- Kathy Driscoll-Mohler (woman), Francine Maisler (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 34 men, 12 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 21 men, 2 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 17 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 6 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 7 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 5 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Men: 37 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Men
Brandon Soo Hoo 12, Brandon T. Jackson 24, Jay Baruchel 26, Danny McBride 31, Jack Black 38, Matthew McConaughey 38, Ben Stiller 42, Robert Downey Jr. 43, Tom Cruise 46, Nick Nolte 67
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.1 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $92 million
- Box office
- $196 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 79 scenes and 726 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
