Bechdel Test Movie List

Pretty much half the cast is female (and named). There aren't many one-on-one interactions between the different main characters and their story arcs. The only real talk I remember is between Ash and Rosita, however it's about Ash's ex-boyfriend an their recent break-up.
There is however a conversation between Meena and her (unnamed) Mother about Meenas performance anxiety and participation in the contest, so it kinda fits?

(I'm not sure, do the talking characters need to be named as well?!)

Well, Becky asks Ash for her glasses back, right?

The context makes the whole thing about Lance (Ash and later Becky's boyfriend) but the line isn't about a guy.

That is the only time that two named women talk to one another, and since Becky has a smaller part than most of the unnamed extras in the film, this is a dubious pass at very best.

This film is 2/3.

The women in the film mostly don't talk to one another.

But there's no time when two named women talk and it isn't about a guy.

It is worth noting that this is mostly because the stories do not interact, except to talk about Ash's boyfriend.

Watching this film again, I feel that it is a clear 2/3.

The film definitely has named female characters that talk to one another- but they only talk to each other about Ash's boyfriend, Lance.

Meena's unnamed mother talks at her (their scenes together are dominated by Meena's unnamed grandfather). This does not count because Meena's mother is not named.

The only argument this film has at passing is "Becky." She is a tiny bit part who speak one of her two lines in the film to Ash (the other is to Lance).

Her one line to Ash is a passive-aggressive way to say "I'm stealing your boyfriend and there's nothing you can do about it." Ash's response to her shows that she understood it this way.

Becky's relationship to Ash is 100% about Lance. Becky has no role other than as 'the other woman' and no qualities that don't feed into that (don't fault her too much, she's a really minor side character).


2/3- the named women in this film only talk about men (and apparently always about Lance).

I'm really surprised that this film is listed as a pass.

This film is a clear example of sexism, and what makes the Bechdel test important. The women of this film are defined by their relationships to the men.

Also, it fails the test (the named women only talk about the men).

The film is an ensemble piece in which each character has their own story, and they rarely interact with one another.

About half of the protagonists are women.

Each character has their own supporting cast for their story- and the supporting cast. The supporting cast is overwhelmingly male.

The male stories are mostly about various criminal activities (ranging from fraud, cheating or heists- interestingly enough, the film only seems to disapprove of the bank robbery)

On the other side of things, the female characters have conflicts about cheating boyfriends, being an overworked mother or her trying to live up to her pushy father's expectations.


And for a more direct comparison- Johnny and Meena are both dealing with their fathers. The solution for Johnny is to stand up to his father, while the solution for Meena is to do what her pushy patriarch says and lie about things that might upset him.


Ultimately, this leads to a film in which the named women only ever talk about the men.

How about Miss Crawley giving Nana tea - they do both talk to each other, albeit very briefly.