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Passes the Bechdel test

Weird Science

1985. Directed by John Hughes, written by John Hughes and Al Feldstein and William M. Gaines.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    15 women characters. 6 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 3 scenes out of 202.
  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 Weird Science

The film

Two unpopular teenagers, Gary Wallace and Wyatt Donnelly, fail at all attempts to be accepted by their peers. Their desperation to be liked leads them to "create" a woman via their computer. Their living, breathing creation is a gorgeous woman, Lisa, whose purpose is to boost their confidence level by putting them into situations which require them to act like men. On their road to becoming accepted, they encounter many hilarious obstacles, which gives the movie an overall sense of silliness.

Released
02 Aug 1985
Genres
Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
6.6 / 10
Metascore
46 / 100
Awards
2 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Wyatt 243 lines, man
  2. Gary 231 lines, man
  3. Lisa 187 lines, woman
  4. Chet 72 lines, man
  5. Max 39 lines, man
  6. Deb 34 lines, woman
  7. Ian 32 lines, man
  8. Hilly 25 lines, woman
  9. Woman 10 lines, woman
  10. Carmen 9 lines, woman
Full cast, 45 people
  • Anthony Michael Hall as Gary
  • Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Wyatt
  • Kelly LeBrock as Lisa
  • Bill Paxton as Chet
  • Suzanne Snyder as Deb
  • Judie Aronson as Hilly
  • Barbara Lang as Lucy
  • Ivor Barry as Henry
  • Ann Coyle as Carmen
  • Robert Downey Jr. as Ian
  • Robert Rusler as Max
  • Vernon Wells as Lord General
  • Britt Leach as Al
  • Michael Berryman as Mutant Biker
  • Suzy J. Kellems as Gymnast
  • John Kapelos as Kandy Bar Owner
  • Fred D. Scott as Bar Patron
  • Vince Townsend Jr. as Bar Patron
  • Chino 'Fats' Williams as Bar Patron
  • Jill Whitlow as Perfume Salesgirl
  • Theodocia Goodrich as Lingerie Saleswoman
  • Wallace Langham as The Weenies
  • Johnny Timko as The Weenies
  • Mikul Robins as The Weenies
  • Darren Harris as The Weenies
  • Renee Props as The Weenies
  • Michael Cramer as The Weenies
  • D'Mitch Davis as Bartender
  • Mary Steelsmith as Girl in Bathroom
  • Robin Frohman as Girl in Bathroom
  • Alison Carole Lowe as Girl in Upside Down Bathroom
  • Kym Malin as Girl Playing Piano
  • Jennifer Balgobin as Biker Girl
  • Jeff Jensen as Metal Face
  • Prince Hughes as Party Guest
  • Rick LeFevour as Policeman
  • Rock A. Walker as Policeman
  • Joe Gieb as Blob Operator
  • Kevin Thompson as Blob Operator
  • Doug MacHugh as Wyatt's Father
  • Pamela Gordon as Wyatt's Mother
  • Steve James as Guy at Table (uncredited)
  • Michael K. Washko as Mall Shopper (uncredited)
  • Todd Hoffman as The Weenies
  • Bill Baker as Gym Class Student (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 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 202

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 5072
6 to 10017
11 to 1500
16 to 20016
21 to 2500
26 to 3078
31 to 35635
36 to 40924
41 to 451228
46 to 50934
51 to 551034
56 to 601444
61 to 6515
66 to 70514
71 to 753932
76 to 8035
81 to 85215
86 to 902114
91 to 952230
96 to 100238
101 to 10530
106 to 11012
111 to 11510
116 to 12024
121 to 12500
126 to 1301515
131 to 13587
136 to 14000
141 to 145911
146 to 150020
151 to 1552021
156 to 16014
161 to 16512
166 to 1701847
171 to 17522
176 to 1801618
181 to 1851838
186 to 19000
191 to 19538
196 to 20000
201 to 20210

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.
DEB: We're not impressed. HILLY: It was pretty mean, Max.
DEB: They seem fairly civilized tonight. HILLY: It won't last.
HILLY: It's really great. DEB: Is it okay if I check my face?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 30 are women's.

281 lines from women, 664 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

15 women and 29 men in the cast. 6 women and 13 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 116 of 987. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 115 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

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

Words spoken

Women speak 35% of the words (3,698), men 65% (6,997). Women have 30% 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
John Hughes (man)
Written by
John Hughes (man)
Produced by
Joel Silver (man), Bill Damaschke (man)
Shot by
Matthew F. Leonetti (man)
Edited by
Chris Lebenzon (man), Mark Warner (man), Scott K. Wallace (man)
Music by
Ira Newborn (man)
Production design by
John W. Corso (man)
Costumes by
Marilyn Vance (woman)
Cast by
Jackie Burch (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    1 women, 11 men, 2 not listed

  • Sound

    1 women, 8 men, 4 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Art

    1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    1 women, 1 men, 1 not listed

  • Editing

    0 women, 3 men

  • Directing

    1 women, 1 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 36 on average. Men: 30 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Judie Aronson 21, Suzanne Snyder 22, Kelly LeBrock 25, Barbara Lang 48, Ann Coyle 66

Men

Ilan Mitchell-Smith 16, Anthony Michael Hall 17, Robert Downey Jr. 20, Bill Paxton 30, Ivor Barry 66

Exhibit H: the money

It made 5.2 times what it cost.

Budget
$7.5 million
Box office
$38.9 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 202 scenes and 987 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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