Critics just want to have fun

You critics are always looking for art. I’m just looking for a good time.”

This is a common refrain from moviegoers, never more so than in summertime, when the emphasis is on escapism. One would imagine that it’s during the hot days that the gap between cinema aesthetes and just plain folk is at its widest.

But it isn’t necessarily so. Critics, too, want and appreciate a good time at the movies.

We just don’t like eating dog food and being told it’s steak.

The truth is that making a really entertaining, widely appealing popcorn movie isn’t easy. If it were there would be a lot more of them.

We’ve seen millions of Americans jamming theaters to catch “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Sex and the City: The Movie.” These ticket buyers are in search of good times.

Only problem is that “Crystal Skull” and “Sex” are mediocre movies. I gave each 2 1/2 stars, mostly for old times’ sake.

I mean, who doesn’t love Indiana Jones? And I’m proud to admit that I’ve seen every “Sex and the City” TV episode. Thought the show was addictive. (Attractive women who talk dirty and sometimes get naked … what’s not to like?)

But these two films are mere shadows of what had come before. Far from the classic escapism of the original “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the new “Indiana” is a lumbering beast with little of the grace, humor or childlike awe that infused the first one.

Yeah, it’s good to see Harrison Ford with the hat and whip. But ask yourself this: Were you enjoying this film because it was so good or because of all the good memories of what Indy once was?

Ditto for “Sex.” The movie was shapeless, mopey and self-serious in ways the TV show never was. Worse, there are about as many laughs in this 2 1/2 -hour feature as there were in one half-hour episode of the series.

Still, I love these ladies and the joy they’ve delivered over the years. That’s good for a half star any time.

A great movie doesn’t have to be deep, pretentious or solemn. “The Wizard of Oz,” “Aliens,” “Casablanca” and “The Black Stallion” are pure entertainment, but they are made with such intelligence and skill that I defy any movie lover to watch them and not come away marveling at the great pleasures they convey.

There’s an art to making fine escapist fare … an art that always has been rare. In Hollywood’s Golden Era, at least, the studio system nurtured and developed filmmakers who could zero in on that hard-to-find nexus of fun, fantasy and substance.

But Hollywood is no longer into nurturing. The business today isn’t so much making movies as marketing movies, and when mediocre fare reaps huge financial rewards, what’s the point of striving for excellence?