The Bechdel Test and Movies I Just Saw

The Big Short

Enjoyed the Big Short a great deal. Definitely did not pass the Bechdel Test. I don’t buy there were no two women in or near Wall Street that ever spoke to each other. If Hollywood needs someone to read scripts to determine if movies have two women and allow them to speak to each other I’m available.

Spotlight

Baaaaarely passes the Bechdel Test. Unfortunately there are almost no women in the city of Boston and almost none with a connection to Catholicism, so there’s not much the movie people could do. They can’t just make up conversations between women, in a movie.

Brooklyn

The movie Brooklyn passes the Bechdel Test so many times it was like it was showing off. It should lend a quarter of itself to all the poor Oscar nominees who couldn’t muster a single a conversation between 2 women. Sprinkle around its excess to background conversations and quiet murmurs in crowd screens so the other movies can hold themselves with a little extra dignity.