2017 so far has featured not only a slew of movies that present women in more prominent roles, but also in movies that better adhere to the female-friendly Bechdel test. If you’re not familiar with test that was first penned by cartoonist Alison Bechdel, here are the requirements:
1. The movie has to have at least two women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man
Here is AboutHer’s list of movies from this year so far that have passed the test of better showcasing women in cinema.
Atomic Blonde
Charlize Theron dominates this neon spy picture as the MI6 secret agent Lorraine Broughton, but additionally shares the picture with the equally secretive Sofia Boutella as French agent Delphine Lasalle. The only man in their lives is the deceptive ally of David Percival (James McAvoy), but the two leading ladies are far more interested in each other than they are McAvoy.
2 of 6
Annabelle: Creation
The prequel to 2014’s Annabelle featured a collective of little orphaned girls that flee from the terror of the titular dolls. And though they speak about boys with giggles and snorts, there’s none present at the rural home they reside in the middle of nowhere. Even if there were, there’s no time for boys when a creepy ghost is trying to kill you inside a haunted house of slamming doors and violent beasts.
3 of 6
Snatched
Celebrity blondes Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer star as mother and daughter in this raunchy road trip comedy. There’s no time for a man on this adventure; not when they’re escaping from kidnappers and trekking through the jungle of Columbia. They’re funny enough without a major love interest to slow them down.
4 of 6
Ghost in the Shell
In a scene of trying to comprehend her own humanity, Scarlett Johansson’s character of Motoko, a woman that has resided in a robot body since she was a little girl, has a moment with a female prostitute to focus on the sensation of touch she fears she is losing. More philosophical than sexual, it’s a rarely quiet moment of two women trying to understand each other through different eyes.
5 of 6
The Little Hours
For this comedic take on The Decameron, a host of young actresses as nuns become the funniest part of this ensemble comedy. Alison Brie is likable enough as the plucky and meekly odd Alessandra and I couldn’t stop laughing as Aubrey Plaza insults everyone as the bully of a convent. While they do obsess over a man (Dave Franco) at one point in the film, they spend most of their time drinking behind closed doors and dancing naked to witchcraft in the moonlight.
6 of 6
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Despite being an ensemble adventure, Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan have their own arc of sibling rivalry as the feuding sisters Gamora and Nebula. Their bout continues from the previous film, this time not even mentioning their destructive father of Thanos in this movie. Even with multiple plots being juggled in this sci-fi epic, Saldana and Gillan have an intense battle and real family drama that elevates past Peter Quill’s my-father-is-a-god plot, the Drax love interest or the Rocket Racoon/Yondu friendship.