On September 19, 1985, cartoonist Alison Bechdel jokingly laid out a rule for picking movies: a film must include at least two named female characters who have at least one conversation with each other about something other than a man. It sounds simple, but a surprising number of films don’t clear the bar. And when they don’t, it often means women exist more as part of someone else’s story than their own.  This June, we’ll use the Bechdel Test as a jumping-off point to explore how films change when women get to exist as fully realized characters.

Most of us only need to hear two notes from this 1992 classic to know exactly what we’re watching. The Bodyguard is one of the most iconic films of the 1990s, powered by Whitney Houston at the height of her stardom as she delivers the best-selling movie soundtrack of all time. The film stars Houston as Rachel Marron – a global superstar targeted by a stalker – and Kevin Costner as the bodyguard assigned to protect her.  It’s glossy, romantic, suspenseful, and when Houston sings…it’s game over. Yet, despite being so defined by its female lead, The Bodyguard doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test. Which begs the question: whose story are we really watching?

***This film is being presented as part of the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library's Wednesday Movie Club, a weekly showcase of movies that matter for people who love movies.  Attendees will be invited to discuss the film immediately following the screening. Registration is not required.

Rating: R  (stronglanguage, moderate violence, and sexual content).
Runtime: 2h 9m 
Production Year: 1992
Cast: Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, Ralph Waite
Director: Mick Jackson