12. Bethany Sloane (Dogma)
Linda Fiorentino's Bethany Sloane is one of my favorite characters in any Kevin Smith movie, and one of my favorite female characters in any movie. She is just as funny as she is investing, and her performance doesn't come across as staged, even though there are some moments of typical protagonist angst. Her role unfolds in so many great scenes that stem from her central conflict of faithher scene with Janeane Garofalo in the abortion clinic, her moments with Bartleby on the train, and her realizations at the end of the movie. Bethany goes through a great deal after the end of her marriage, and the resolution of her story puts her in a very unique place not often seen in movies. Throughout the movie, she has an incredibly subtle presence that makes Dogma very appealing to watch; in fact, her performance stands out even more because it comes across as very different for the style of a Kevin Smith movie, partly because I think Linda Fiorentino isn't a usual part of the Kevin Smith crowd, but also because the character is so great. It also makes me think about how the Men in Black franchise really dropped the ball by removing Fiorentino's similarly-positioned character.