# Any movies fail a reverse Bechdel Test? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630 "2013-09-25T06:48:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/61 "2013-12-27T00:01:11Z")
> [@randompattern](#): > > Castaway? I don’t remember the beginning and ending of the movie very well, but it actually has a [fairly large cast](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162222/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) with many men in it. Since the Tom Hanks character is the main character I’d be pretty sure he speaks with at least some of these other male characters at some point, although I don’t remember any specific conversations. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/62 "2013-12-27T00:30:25Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Since the Tom Hanks character is the main character I’d be pretty sure he speaks with at least some of these other male characters at some point, although I don’t remember any specific conversations. After being rescued: **Stan:** We buried you. There was a coffin, a gravestone… the whole thing. **Chuck Noland:** I had a coffin? Well what was in it? ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/63 "2013-12-27T00:42:41Z")
[Muriel’s Wedding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel's_Wedding) is another that would fail simply by virtue of never leaving the female lead’s POV. And I think including obviously male-centric movies like **American Pie** misses the point - all the major characters are male and the movie is about them and their activities, even if they never talk about anything but women. The point of the original Bechdel test is that the female characters exist only to further the men’s stories and have no indepndent existance. So **American Pie** fails the Bechdel test, but not the reverse Bechdel test. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/64 "2013-12-27T00:51:22Z")
> [@kenetic](#): > > And I think including obviously male-centric movies like **American Pie** misses the point - all the major characters are male and the movie is about them and their activities, even if they never talk about anything but women. The point of the original Bechdel test is that the female characters exist only to further the men’s stories and have no indepndent existance. So **American Pie** fails the Bechdel test, but not the reverse Bechdel test. American Pie actually passes the real Bechdel test because Tara Reid and Natasha Lyonne discuss female masturbation in one scene. There may be others, but that’s the one I remember (shut up!). ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/65 "2013-12-27T01:09:09Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > American Pie actually passes the real Bechdel test because Tara Reid and Natasha Lyonne discuss female masturbation in one scene. There may be others, but that’s the one I remember (shut up!). I “stand” corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/66 "2013-12-27T01:28:09Z")
_Aliens_ comes to mind as a Bechdel fail. There are named characters of both genders but among conversations between females: Ripley and Newt: discuss monsters and nightmares and such but not the male characters, except briefly when Ripley asks about Newt’s brother, who only appears in the extended version. Vasquez and Ferro: chat briefly, about Ripley. As for the OP’s proposed reverse Bechdel…hmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/67 "2013-12-27T01:37:58Z")
_Aliens_ is a Bechdel pass, due to those conversations between Ripley and Newt (in fact, it’s the specific movie pointed out by Bechdel as being a pass). I think you might be misunderstanding the Bechdel test. And I’d say that _Gravity_ just barely passes the reverse Bechdel test (the Indian astronaut has a name, even if nobody who saw the movie actually remembers what it is, and they talk about the mission and the immediate aborting thereof), but it fails the straight Bechdel test by virtue of only having one female character. I think, though, that it can fairly be considered a female-centric movie despite that. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/68 "2013-12-27T02:07:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > _Aliens_ is a Bechdel pass, due to those conversations between Ripley and Newt (in fact, it’s the specific movie pointed out by Bechdel as being a pass). I think you might be misunderstanding the Bechdel test. No, just its null hypothesis, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/69 "2013-12-27T03:25:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > _Aliens_ is a Bechdel pass, due to those conversations between Ripley and Newt (in fact, it’s the specific movie pointed out by Bechdel as being a pass). Nitpick, but the specific movie named in the [comic strip that introduced this concept](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dykes_to_Watch_Out_For_%28Bechdel_test_origin%29.jpg) was actually the original _Alien_. The strip was published before the sequel _Aliens_ was released. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/70 "2013-12-27T05:41:36Z")
**The Dreamlife of Angels** ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/71 "2013-12-27T15:39:35Z")
I’m pretty sure “Anal Lesbians from Beyond Mars” would fail a reverse Bechtel test. If it existed. ---
**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/72 "2013-12-28T03:44:17Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > **The Dreamlife of Angels** All the way to the 70th post and I thought this one wouldn’t be named. I may be remembering wrong but I think Brief Encounter qualifies. It would certainly be the most critically acclaimed movie to do so, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/73 "2014-04-03T11:33:06Z")
I just watched the film **Tiny Furniture** by Lena Dunham tonight and noticed that it failed the Reverse Bechdel test. There are only two named male characters in the movie, the chef and the youtube star and they never meet. There are two unnamed male party guests who talk to each other but their entire conversation revolves around Jemima Kirke’s character. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/74 "2014-04-03T12:39:46Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Definitely. I don’t think Juno’s Dad, Paulie Bleeker, or Jason Bateman (did his character even have a name?) ever even speak to each other. And if they do, it’s definitely about Juno. Paulie has a conversation with another track student named Vijay about growing a moustache. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/75 "2014-04-03T13:04:07Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Doesn’t Mickey talk with conductor Leopold Stokowski at one point? Is Mickey a man or a mouse? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/76 "2014-04-03T13:04:08Z")
I think _The Little Mermaid_ fails the test, but that is sort of a rom-com. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/77 "2014-04-03T13:10:15Z")
I saw this one last night, I think it fails the reverse B: [Ass Backwards](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1509788/?ref_=nv_sr_1) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/78 "2014-04-03T15:03:02Z")
I don’t think the female leads in _Working Girl_ and _My Best Friend’s Wedding_ are even off screen for more than 45 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/79 "2014-04-03T15:45:38Z")
_The Runaways_. Kim Fowley is the only male character I can remember, named or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630/80 "2014-04-03T16:07:17Z")
> [@](#): > > I think The Little Mermaid fails the test, but that is sort of a rom-com. Wasn’t there some verbal interaction between the chef and Sebastian and/or Flounder, about the cooking and eating of the latter? Le poisson, le poisson. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-movies-fail-a-reverse-bechdel-test/669630.md?page=5)