Passes the Bechdel test
Yes Man
2008. Directed by Peyton Reed, written by Nicholas Stoller and Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
23 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 149. -
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
Carl Allen is at a standstill. No future - until the day he enrolls into a personal development program based on a very simple idea: say yes to everything. Carl discovers with amazement the magical power of "Yes", and sees his professional and romantic life turned upside down overnight: an unexpected promotion and a new girlfriend. But he'll soon discover that better can be good's enemy, and that not all opportunities should be taken.
- Released
- 19 Dec 2008
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 46 / 100
- Awards
- 3 wins & 9 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Carl 490 lines, man
- Renee 120 lines, woman
- Peter 68 lines, man
- Lucy 56 lines, woman
- Chris Parker 52 lines, man
- Norman 48 lines, man
- Sanji 48 lines, man
- Rooney 34 lines, man
- Kath 23 lines
- Tony 19 lines, man
Full cast, 67 people
- Jim Carrey as Carl Allen
- Zooey Deschanel as Renee Allison
- Bradley Cooper as Peter
- John Michael Higgins as Nick
- Rhys Darby as Norman
- Danny Masterson as Rooney
- Fionnula Flanagan as Tillie
- Terence Stamp as Terence
- Sasha Alexander as Lucy
- Molly Sims as Stephanie
- Brent Briscoe as Homeless Guy
- Rocky Carroll as Wes
- John Cothran as Tweed
- Spencer Garrett as Multack
- Luis Guzmán as Jumper
- Kai Lennox as Flyer Guy
- Cecelia Antoinette as Woman Bank Employee
- Stephanie Hodge as Ticket Lady
- Jamie Denbo as Marv's Wife
- Rebecca Corry as Yes Patron
- Anna Khaja as Faranoush
- Roni Meron as Bigfoot Waitress
- Heidi Herschbach as Daphne
- Vivian Bang as Soo-Mi
- Kat Sawyer-Young as Woman in Gallery
- Sean O'Bryan as Ted
- Shelby Zemanek as Sophie
- Patrick Labyorteaux as Marv
- Alfred De Contreras as Orange Seller
- Peter Giles as Loan Applicant
- Whit Anderson as Yes Patron
- Pride Grinn as Yes Patron
- Kerry Hoyt as Yes Patron
- Maile Flanagan as Janet
- Graham Shiels as Scary Boyfriend
- Brandon Walter as Mormon
- Emily Chen as Buttercup Girl
- Ashley Martinez as Buttercup Girl
- Kenny Searle as Flight Instructor
- John H. Song as Korean Instructor
- Lauren Kim as Korean Class Student
- Mike Gomez as Father at Homeless Shelter
- E.J. Callahan as Farmer
- Kelly Harris as Munchausen By Proxy Band Member
- Becky Kupersmith as Munchausen By Proxy Band Member
- Jillian Iva Meador as Munchausen By Proxy Band Member
- Jarrad Paul as Reggie
- Aaron Takahashi as Lee
- Jon Baggio as Quidditch Player
- Peter Spellos as Security Guard (Hollywood Bowl)
- William Will Simm as Chul-Soo
- Jackie Harris Greenberg as Bystander
- Trent Minx as Guy in Crowd
- Sally Stevens as Singer
- Eric Bradley as Singer
- Teri Eiko Koide as Singer
- Guy Maeda as Singer
- John Pagano as Singer
- Lisa Long as Airline Representative
- Mary-Pat Green as Tour Guide
- Matt Miller as Corporate Exec
- J.R. Nutt as Caddy
- Lance Wesley as Tow Truck Driver
- Katsy Chappell as Nurse
- Poetri as Security Guard (Hospital)
- Trisha Paytas as Convention Goer (uncredited)
- Michael Papajohn as Security Guard (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 149
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 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 to 8 | 1 | 11 |
| 9 to 12 | 4 | 14 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 6 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 5 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 40 |
| 25 to 28 | 4 | 67 |
| 29 to 32 | 17 | 32 |
| 33 to 36 | 13 | 26 |
| 37 to 40 | 4 | 27 |
| 41 to 44 | 7 | 32 |
| 45 to 48 | 4 | 50 |
| 49 to 52 | 3 | 12 |
| 53 to 56 | 14 | 10 |
| 57 to 60 | 6 | 25 |
| 61 to 64 | 12 | 9 |
| 65 to 68 | 11 | 36 |
| 69 to 72 | 2 | 47 |
| 73 to 76 | 23 | 29 |
| 77 to 80 | 13 | 17 |
| 81 to 84 | 5 | 32 |
| 85 to 88 | 12 | 12 |
| 89 to 92 | 14 | 18 |
| 93 to 96 | 7 | 36 |
| 97 to 100 | 0 | 28 |
| 101 to 104 | 15 | 20 |
| 105 to 108 | 9 | 5 |
| 109 to 112 | 11 | 13 |
| 113 to 116 | 2 | 7 |
| 117 to 120 | 12 | 10 |
| 121 to 124 | 0 | 16 |
| 125 to 128 | 0 | 12 |
| 129 to 132 | 0 | 24 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 12 |
| 137 to 140 | 5 | 17 |
| 141 to 144 | 0 | 28 |
| 145 to 148 | 8 | 13 |
| 149 to 149 | 1 | 9 |
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.
RENEE: You think? We went to three different Prada stores to find the right fit. LUCY: What do yo do for a living, Renee? RENEE: I paint. I'm in a band. I do volunteer work at a shelter. I teach ESL. I do balloon animal art. You know, a little of this, a little of that…
LUCY: Do you rent or own? RENEE: I sublet. I have this corner of a loft.
LUCY: If you're ever interested in buying, you should ring me up. RENEE: I hate owning things. Because when you own something, you suddenly are invested in that thing not breaking. And I break everything. I've gon…
AIRLINE REP: That'll be twelve hundred and thirty three dollars. RENEE: Maybe we shouldn't do this.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 23 are women's.
242 lines from women, 819 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
23 women and 31 men in the cast. 7 women and 9 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 22 of 1,180.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 122 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 23% of the words (2,489), men 77% (8,282).
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
6
Two men
86
Exhibit F: behind the camera
None of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Peyton Reed (man)
- Written by
- Andrew Mogel (man), Jarrad Paul (man), Nicholas Stoller (man)
- Produced by
- Richard D. Zanuck (man), David Heyman (man)
- Shot by
- Robert D. Yeoman (man)
- Edited by
- Craig Alpert (man)
- Music by
- Lyle Workman (man), Mark Oliver Everett (man)
- Production design by
- Andrew Laws (man)
- Costumes by
- Mark Bridges (man)
- Cast by
- David Rubin (man), Richard Hicks (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
1 women, 12 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 8 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 5 men
-
Other crew
5 women, 1 men
-
Art
2 women, 3 men
-
Directing
1 women, 4 men
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men
-
Camera
1 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 41 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Zooey Deschanel 28, Sasha Alexander 35, Molly Sims 35, Fionnula Flanagan 66
Men
Danny Masterson 32, Bradley Cooper 33, Rhys Darby 34, John Michael Higgins 45, Jim Carrey 46, Terence Stamp 70
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $70 million
- Box office
- $223 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 149 scenes and 1,180 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
