Bechdel Test Movie List

There's the old woman who boos Buttercup in the dream sequence. However, she's booing her for having left Wesley behind. So it passes the first two tests but not the third.

Does booing count as talking to each other? :-)

If my memory serves me well, she doesn't just "boo" but tells her she forgot about her true love (so she speaks). However I'll admit I am unsure if Buttercup replies, in which case it wouldn't be a conversation.

Buttercup does reply - she says, "They would have killed Wesley" and the old woman returns, "Your true love lives and you marry another!" So they talk, but it's true it's only about a man.

Okay, I've updated the rating from 1/3 to 2/3.

But the old woman isn't named...dont the characters have to be named?

It definitely passes the first test, as the Queen of Florence speaks, as does Valerie, wife of Miracle Max.

So there are more than two named female characters who speak, but not together (if you discount the "booer" on the basis that she is not named).

Buttercup and the "booing woman" do speak but it's all about Buttercup leaving Westley behind and marrying Humperdink.

The Ancient Booer: Boo! Boo! Boo!
Buttercup: Why do you do this?
The Ancient Booer: Because you had love in your hands, and you gave it up.
Buttercup: But they would have killed Westley if I hadn't done it.
The Ancient Booer: Your true love lives. And you marry another!

Given that the woman is a figment of Buttercup's imagination it would be tough for her to have a name, but thems the rules.

I love this movie, but I don't think it passes. The conversation Buttercup has in her dream with the old woman figure is about men, and I don't recall Valerie or the queen talking to any other female characters. I think the queen has a scene with Buttercup, but I can't recall any significant dialogue - the king gets more lines.

Quick question--looking at the rules listed at the top of the page, where exactly does it stipulate that the women have to be named? It simply says 'two women who talk to each other about something other than a man', 'named' doesn't come into it at all.

So I think this test passes the first two rules, considering the old woman and Buttercup have a conversation.

This is my favorite movie, but I would still disagree. More than 2 women are named, but 2 named women do not speak to each other. If you look up the legitimate Bechdel Test, the speaking women have to have names.

although there are two woman named in the movie, they do not speak to each other. the only two women talking with each other are the booer and Buttercup- but the booer is left unnamed, and they are talking about a man. I absolutley love this movie, but it passes only the first level (the icon should be the mike+X thing)

It's implied (but not proven/credited) that the booer from Buttercup's dream is Buttercup herself; if that's true then she does have a name. However, I'm not sure a dream sequence where you talk to your future self would count as passing that point.

@Amber "If you look up the legitimate Bechdel Test, the speaking women have to have names." Footnote please? Ms. Bechdel's comic strip says nothing about the women being maned (which is why that arguable criterion is in brackets above). Evidently that is a rule on this site, though one I think should be approached with some flexibility when the unnamed characters are having really important conversations. However, I'd love to know what source for this test is more 'legitimate' than Ms. Bechdel's comic. Either way, this movie is a clear fail on the Bechdel test and for the legitimately bang-head-against-wall-and-sigh reason that it participates in the male default gender convention, lovely film though it is in a lot of other ways.

Definitely does not pass the bechdel test. Funny movie but seriously Buttercup is the damseliest damsel in distress, cannot lift a finger for herself.

Check out the entry for the movie on the bechdel test wiki- does not pass

To be fair, the "named" requirement is applied fairly arbitrarily on the website (sometimes it is applied, sometimes it is not).

I always figured it was to keep marginal incidental characters from passing (so that a woman ordering coffee from a waitress doesn't constitute a 3/3 pass).

If that's what we're talking about, this film is on a borderline between 1/3 and 2/3. The heckling scene is one of the film's most iconic moments, yet the heckler isn't even a real character in the narrative (she's a dream, and manifestation of Buttercup's guilt).

I would rate this 1/3.

The old woman is named. She is The Ancient Booer. It is not merely a description. You may think it's not much of a name, but she is a figment of Buttercup's imagination and this is a fantasy film. They actually have a very significant conversation. I agree with the score of 2/3.