Fails the Bechdel test
Wise Guys
1986. Directed by Brian De Palma, written by George Gallo and Norman Steinberg.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 3 of them speak. -
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
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Harry Valentini and Moe Dickstein are goons for the Newark mob boss Castelo. They are sent to the race track to place a bet on a horse but screw it up by betting on the wrong horse. Now they owe $250,000 but they separately get an offer to work it off; by killing the other one. Together they go off to Atlantic City where Harry's mobster uncle Mike may be able to bail them out.
- Released
- 18 Apr 1986
- Genres
- Comedy, Crime
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 5.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 62 / 100
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Harry 305 lines, man
- Moe 244 lines, man
- Frank The Fixer 67 lines, man
- Larosa 51 lines, man
- Bobby 29 lines, man
- Grandma 25 lines, woman
- Santo 18 lines, man
- Aunt Sadie 13 lines, woman
- Lil 13 lines, woman
- Marco 12 lines, man
Full cast, 54 people
- Danny DeVito as Harry Valentini
- Joe Piscopo as Moe Dickstein
- Harvey Keitel as Bobby DiLea
- Ray Sharkey as Marco
- Dan Hedaya as Anthony Castelo
- Louis Albano as Frank "The Fixer" Acavano
- Julie Bovasso as Lil Dickstein
- Patti LuPone as Wanda Valentini
- Antonia Rey as Aunt Sadie
- Mimi Cecchini as Grandma Valentini
- Matthew Kaye as Harry Jr.
- Tony Munafo as Santo Ravallo
- Tony Rizzoli as Joey "New Shoes" Siclione
- Frank Vincent as Louie Fontucci
- Rick Petrucelli as Al the Bookie
- Anthony Holland as Karl the Desk Clerk
- Marcelino Rivera as Bellhop
- Joseph Cipriano as Parking Valet
- Julius Cristinzio as Roulette Operator
- Dan Resin as Maitre d'
- Alessandro Falcini as Priest
- Jill Larson as Mrs. Fixer
- Maria Pitillo as Massuese
- Christine Poor as Massuese
- Stephanie Quinn as Massuese
- Cecilia I. Battaglini as Luggage Salesperson
- Frank D. Formica as Pit Boss
- Deborah Groen as Roulette Dealer
- Bradley Neilson as Clothing Salesman
- Maryellen Nugent as Jewelry Saleswoman
- Frank Ferrara Sr. as Thug
- Gaetano Lisi as Hood
- Vince Pacimeo as Hood
- Henry Stewart as Tailor
- Carol Cass as Birthday Guest
- Mary Engel as Birthday Guest
- Bruce Katzman as Birthday Guest
- Dayna Lee as Birthday Guest
- Louisiana as Birthday Guest
- Myles O'Connor as Birthday Guest
- Don R. Richardson as Birthday Guest
- Johnny George Sarno as Birthday Guest
- Reuben Schafer as Birthday Guest
- Catherine Scorsese as Birthday Guest
- Charles Scorsese as Birthday Guest
- Gary Cookson as Race Track Bettor
- Kiya Ann Joyce as Race Track Bettor
- Willow Hale as Race Track Bettor
- Bob O'Connell as Race Track Bettor
- Joe Schmieg as Race Track Bettor
- Richardson Taylor as Race Track Bettor
- Kim Delgado as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Larry Guardino as Race Track Bettor (uncredited)
- Ned Martin as Gangster (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 146
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 | 5 | 14 |
| 5 to 8 | 12 | 35 |
| 9 to 12 | 0 | 44 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 11 |
| 17 to 20 | 1 | 20 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 34 |
| 25 to 28 | 0 | 67 |
| 29 to 32 | 0 | 65 |
| 33 to 36 | 0 | 24 |
| 37 to 40 | 0 | 23 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 53 |
| 45 to 48 | 0 | 13 |
| 49 to 52 | 0 | 10 |
| 53 to 56 | 0 | 2 |
| 57 to 60 | 0 | 16 |
| 61 to 64 | 0 | 8 |
| 65 to 68 | 1 | 13 |
| 69 to 72 | 0 | 9 |
| 73 to 76 | 0 | 22 |
| 77 to 80 | 0 | 14 |
| 81 to 84 | 0 | 0 |
| 85 to 88 | 2 | 5 |
| 89 to 92 | 4 | 33 |
| 93 to 96 | 12 | 19 |
| 97 to 100 | 8 | 27 |
| 101 to 104 | 10 | 33 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 12 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 34 |
| 113 to 116 | 0 | 2 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 16 |
| 121 to 124 | 0 | 11 |
| 125 to 128 | 0 | 13 |
| 129 to 132 | 3 | 3 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 23 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 0 |
| 141 to 144 | 0 | 6 |
| 145 to 146 | 0 | 16 |
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, 7 are women's.
58 lines from women, 750 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
11 women and 19 men in the cast. 3 women and 12 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 7 of 832.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 344 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 6% of the words (528), men 94% (8,277). Women have 7% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
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
77
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 9 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 5% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Brian De Palma (man)
- Written by
- George Gallo (man)
- Produced by
- Aaron Russo (man)
- Shot by
- Fred Schuler (man)
- Edited by
- Gerald B. Greenberg (man)
- Music by
- Ira Newborn (man)
- Production design by
- Edward Pisoni (man)
- Costumes by
- Richard Bruno (man)
- Cast by
- Dianne Crittenden (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
1 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 4 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
-
Sound
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 50 on average. Men: 42 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Patti LuPone 36, Julie Bovasso 55, Antonia Rey 59
Men
Ray Sharkey 33, Joe Piscopo 34, Danny DeVito 41, Dan Hedaya 45, Harvey Keitel 46, Louis Albano 52
Exhibit G: the money
It made 65% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $13 million
- Box office
- $8.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 146 scenes and 832 lines of dialogue. How the test works
