Let's face it: The girlfriend role in most movies isn't usually a very interesting character. She tends to be either a one-dimensional object of desire or a wet blanket whose feminine cautiousness is holding everybody back from having a good time.

Still, there are plenty of exceptions. We've scoured film history for movie girlfriends who are actually cool and dynamic while, of course, displaying all the physical characteristics that appeal to the superficial male.

In other words, the opposite of that annoying chick with the Irish accent in "Caddyshack."

After the jump, some of our favorites. If you think we've missed any (and surely we have) let us know in the comments.

Coolest Movie Girlfriends

    Clementine from Eternal Sunshine

    Focus Features

    Cuthbert from Girl next Door

    20th Century Fox

    Holly Genero in Die Hard

    Everett Collection

    Ione Skye, Say Anything

    Everett Collection

    Milla Jovavich in Dazed and Confused

    Universal

    Miriam, Indiana Jones

    Everett Collection

    catherine keener 40 yr old virgin

    Princess Leia in Empire!

    LucasFilms / ZUMA Press

    Trinity, the matrix

    Warner Bros.

    Meg Ryan in Top Gun

    Everett Collection



Mia Sara as Sloane Peterson
Pro: Not only was Sloane an adroit participant in Ferris's most outrageous scams, but she talked him off the ledge when he got all crazy and suggested teenage marriage. All that and her hair was admirably de-poofed for the time period.
Con: The thing she had going on with Cameron would have surely been trouble if there was ever a "Ferris Bueller's Next Day Off."



Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
Pro: Far from the traditional damsel in distress, Marion Ravenwood packed her own punch. You could also make a living winning bar bets off her freakish drinking ability.
Con: Lots and lots of daddy issues going on there.



Rebecca De Mornay as Lana
Pro: A hot blonde who will have sex on light rail and gets you into Princeton is pretty much the dream of every 17-year-old in America.
Con: It was always murky where the call girl ended and the girlfriend began.



Cameron Diaz as Mary
Pro: The premise of "There's Something About Mary" was that Mary's physical appearance and sterling personality made her completely irresistible to any red-blooded male. And the movie worked to the tune of $370 million.
Con: It wouldn't be a whole lot of fun dealing with all the obsessed losers who follow Mary around.


Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker
Pro: Bonnie was always cool under pressure (unlike the other, permanently hysterical female member of the Barrow gang) and stayed loyal to Clyde despite his murderous ways and his pesky impotency.
Con: It's a true story, and it ended in a hail of gunfire and death.