Passes the Bechdel test
Up in the Air
2009. Directed by Jason Reitman, written by Walter Kirn and Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
8 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 7 scenes out of 151. -
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 2 out of 3.
The film
Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles, and just after he's met the frequent-traveller woman of his dreams.
- Released
- 23 Dec 2009
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 83 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 6 Oscars. 75 wins & 171 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ryan 395 lines, man
- Natalie 171 lines, woman
- Alex 119 lines, woman
- Craig Gregory 48 lines, man
- Kara 35 lines, woman
- Jim 26 lines, man
- Julie 15 lines, woman
- Bob 11 lines, man
- Karen 8 lines, woman
- Kevin 7 lines, man
Full cast, 60 people
- George Clooney as Ryan Bingham
- Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran
- Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener
- Sam Elliott as Maynard Finch
- Amy Morton as Kara Bingham
- Jason Bateman as Craig Gregory
- Melanie Lynskey as Julie Bingham
- J.K. Simmons as Bob
- Danny McBride as Jim Miller
- Zach Galifianakis as Steve
- Tamala Jones as Karen Barnes
- Adhir Kalyan as Fired IT worker
- Keri Maletto as Software convention geek
- Steve Eastin as Samuels
- Adrienne Lamping as Tammy
- Chris Lowell as Kevin
- Erin McGrane as Dianne
- Marvin Young as Young MC
- Cut Chemist as Conference DJ
- Meagan Flynn as Flight Attendant
- Dustin Miles as Ned
- Tamara Tungate as Club Hostess
- Laura Ackermann as Check-in Lady
- Meghan Maguire as Business Woman
- Courtney Kling as Airport Clerk
- Matt O'Toole as Alex's Husband
- Alan David as Hilton Clerk
- Cari Mohr as Purser
- Jerry Vogel as San Francisco Manager
- Jeff Witzke as Goalquest Host
- Dave Engfer as Software Dude
- Paul Goetz as Rental Car Assistant
- Michele Reitman as Conference Worker
- Jennifer Nitzband as Wedding Cousin
- Bill Yancy as Wedding Pastor
- John Mebruer as Band Leader
- Ellen Gutierrez as Wedding Coordinator
- Adam Rose as Makeout Dave
- Kevin Pilla as Terminated Employee
- Kelly Bertha as Terminated Employee
- Cozy Bailey as Terminated Employee
- Lamorris Conner as Terminated Employee
- Deborah L. Norman as Terminated Employee
- Casey Bartels as Terminated Employee
- Bill Phelan as Terminated Employee
- Arthur Hill as Terminated Employee
- Patricia Allison as Terminated Employee
- David F. Rybicki as Terminated Employee
- Andy Glantzman as Terminated Employee
- Kevin D. Lewis as Terminated Employee
- Jo Michelle Favaro as Terminated Employee
- Stephanie Janiunas as Terminated Employee
- Thomas M. Martilotti as Terminated Employee
- Erin Welsh-Krengel as Terminated Employee
- Marlene Gorkiewicz as Terminated Employee
- Mark Sommers as Terminated Employee
- Wilbur Weidlich as Terminated Employee
- Grace Smith as Terminated Employee
- Scott Lapinski as Terminated Employee
- George Batten as Terminated Employee
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 151
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 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 to 12 | 2 | 10 |
| 13 to 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 14 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 12 |
| 25 to 28 | 11 | 12 |
| 29 to 32 | 26 | 28 |
| 33 to 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 to 40 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 to 44 | 1 | 11 |
| 45 to 48 | 34 | 52 |
| 49 to 52 | 3 | 3 |
| 53 to 56 | 9 | 15 |
| 57 to 60 | 7 | 7 |
| 61 to 64 | 20 | 47 |
| 65 to 68 | 11 | 10 |
| 69 to 72 | 20 | 6 |
| 73 to 76 | 0 | 7 |
| 77 to 80 | 45 | 21 |
| 81 to 84 | 23 | 18 |
| 85 to 88 | 4 | 4 |
| 89 to 92 | 21 | 21 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 1 |
| 97 to 100 | 2 | 16 |
| 101 to 104 | 23 | 16 |
| 105 to 108 | 16 | 14 |
| 109 to 112 | 33 | 35 |
| 113 to 116 | 9 | 7 |
| 117 to 120 | 5 | 7 |
| 121 to 124 | 10 | 45 |
| 125 to 128 | 7 | 7 |
| 129 to 132 | 0 | 7 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 0 |
| 137 to 140 | 2 | 2 |
| 141 to 144 | 8 | 8 |
| 145 to 148 | 4 | 37 |
| 149 to 151 | 0 | 0 |
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.
ALEX: I should give you both a moment. NATALIE: No, it's fine. I'm fine. Just stupid emotions. ALEX: Maybe a drink? NATALIE: Now we're talking.
NATALIE: I look in the mirror and I just see compromise... I'm supposed to do something. ALEX: You'll do plenty. NATALIE: I just can't... I thought I'd be engaged by now. No offense.
NATALIE: When I was sixteen, I thought by twenty three, I would be married, maybe have a kid... Corner office by day, entertaining at night. I was su… ALEX: Life can underwhelm you that way. NATALIE: Now I have my sights on twenty nine, because thirty is just way too... apocalyptic. I mean, where did you think you'd be by... ALEX: It doesn't work that way.
ALEX: They can be a little counterproductive. NATALIE: I don't want to say anything that's... anti-feminist. I mean, I really appreciate everything your generation did for me. ALEX: It was our pleasure.
ALEX: It's nothing like that. NATALIE: We are in Miami.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 41 are women's.
358 lines from women, 508 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
8 women and 17 men in the cast. 7 women and 13 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 20 of 906.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 35 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 42% of the words (3,761), men 58% (5,169). Women have 41% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
Two women
17
Two men
20
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Jason Reitman (man)
- Written by
- Jason Reitman (man), Sheldon Turner (man)
- From the novel by
- Walter Kirn (man)
- Produced by
- Jason Reitman (man), Ivan Reitman (man), Daniel Dubiecki (man), Jeffrey Clifford (man)
- Shot by
- Eric Steelberg (man)
- Edited by
- Dana E. Glauberman (woman)
- Music by
- Rolfe Kent (man)
- Production design by
- Steve Saklad (man)
- Costumes by
- Danny Glicker (man)
- Cast by
- Mindy Marin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
4 women, 12 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 7 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 3 men
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
-
Other crew
0 women, 2 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 36 on average. Men: 47 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Anna Kendrick 24, Melanie Lynskey 32, Vera Farmiga 36, Amy Morton 50
Men
Danny McBride 32, Jason Bateman 40, Zach Galifianakis 40, George Clooney 48, J.K. Simmons 54, Sam Elliott 65
Exhibit H: the money
It made 6.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $25 million
- Box office
- $167 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 151 scenes and 906 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
