40 of the best and worst TV and movie bangs

You know you've found somebody really special when you can just shut the f--- up for a moment and admire their flawless blunt black bangs.

Amélie was way ahead of the hipster curve when her baby bangs first hit art house cinemas back in 2001, but none of the more recent copycats have pulled them off nearly as well as the fanciful Parisienne with le fabuleux destin.

Oh Ann, you poetic, noble land-mermaid. It comes as no surprise whatsoever that your bangs are literally perfect.

Stringy, halfhearted side-bangs are for sad people who wear lumpy cerulean sweaters. Shiny, well-trimmed full bangs are for fashionistas who wear thigh-high Chanel boots.

Behold: real-life angel hair.

There's not actually room here for all the possible "bang"-related puns that are relevant to the discussion of the Fifty Shades movies, so just think of your favorite right now, as you admire Ana's hair.

If we could ever get a real-life tiny-banged haircut that made us feel like Audrey Hepburn, then we'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

Truly adorkable.

More like Hill-FRINGE Junior High, amirite?

How to save a dying fashion-doll empire? Shine bright, shine far, get some bangs like a star.

If Ted's totally Wyld hair gets a little windblown in time-transit, all the better.

As a very wise Wilderness Girl troop leader once said, "Just because you're out in the woods, it's no excuse not to look your best." Clearly, Phyllis Nefler practices what she preaches—and taught her daughter Hannah to do the same. Not even a traumatic surprise perm can ruin her perfect bang game.

Oscar winner, Harvard graduate, bangs icon. From her piecey-fringed big-screen debut in Léon the Professional to her bubblegum-tinted wig in Closer, Natalie Portman chooses her hairstyles just as carefully as she does her roles.

On most humans, these bangs would rank as the worst, but Spock's not most humans (technically, he's only half-human). It must be the eyebrows that make it work. Whatever the reason, this look has lived long and prospered in our pop cultural consciousness and we salute it.

Just look at those enchanting bangs! What witchcraft is this?!

In Friends' final season, Jennifer Aniston updated the most iconic TV hairstyle of all time with a chic set of bangs.

Admittedly, the Star Wars prequels aren't great, and Phantom Menace isn't even the best of those. But just look at that little Tatooinian cherub! His hair is so big because it's full of midi-chlorians.

We would not recommend anyone try to recreate this look (or any studio try to recreate this movie, which nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox in 1963). But this is Elizabeth Taylor we're talking about, and so, the iconic bangs are unquestionably best.

Olivia Pope got bangs in Scandal's second season, and wore them as only a gladiator could.

Ah, the young girl's timeless bow-and-bangs look. Also totally classic: telekinesis.

"Princess," "basket case," whatever. Each of them is an '80s-hair teen-style star. Does that answer your question?

It took seven seasons, but Rory Gilmore finally nailed her hair (goodbye, Chilton headbands) by the end of Gilmore Girls' original run.

Apparently, if the Sorting Hat senses an adorable set of bangs on an 11-year-old head, it just throws that kid in Gryffindor without giving it a second thought.

Joan, queen of the Sterling Cooper (Draper Pryce) offices—and probably of Madison Avenue in its entirety—experimented with a few different updo silhouettes for her brilliant red tresses over the course of Mad Men, but never fully abandoned her glamorous side-swept fringe. Meanwhile, Peggy…also had bangs.

Will it be yes or will it be sorry, you ask? It will be sorry. When it comes to these bangs, it is a resounding sorry.

Could someone please introduce Bill the Butcher and his slimy tresses to Bill the Barber?

Mary doesn't really have well-defined bangs until she puts some, uh, product in her hair and sculpts this unfortunate look.

You'd have thought Clare might have learned something from her fellow 90210 residents about how to wear bangs in Beverly Hills. Alas, no.

Yes, Elena is the ruthless leader of a drug cartel, but the most savage thing about her has to be that blunt cut.

Gale's bad-to-worse bangs evolution over the course of the Scream film series makes us want to…well, you know.

Not even the bell could save this disaster.

Dumb and dumber dudes. Bad and badder bangs.

Jeannie may be dreamy, sure, but her faker-than-Barbie-hair bangs are enough to give us nightmares of plasticky blonde strands sprouting out of our foreheads with one cross of the arms and nod of the head.

Cinematically speaking, Tim Burton is a master stylist. Bangs-wise, he is…not.

Brought down by the fringe fatale.

Let this be a lesson to you, kids. Do not, under any circumstances, cut your own bangs. Even if you punctured your eardrum with a Q-tip and shirtless Adam Driver is just a FaceTime away, it's not worth it. Not even then.

No, this vile-banged bowl cut wasn't a wig. It was Javier Bardem's actual hair. He earned that Oscar.

Yikes, Jareth. Maybe stick to owl form.

Everywhere you look, it's more and more egregious '80s hair. Have mercy.

How is it that Disney—which has created the sparkling gowns and fanciful kingdoms and, yes, beautiful flowing hairstyles of our wildest dreams—is so bad at bangs? Who wants this much volume right on their forehead? How does a tiara even manage to peek out from behind a mountain of hair? How are we ever supposed to believe in magic when fairy godmothers are out there styling nightmares like this?