Sure They’re Villains, But They’re Fun

The summer movie season is filled with important life lessons:

People named Cyrus the Virus, Billy Bedlam and Swamp Thing are not the best airplane companions.

Don’t trust lawyers, and especially don’t trust journalists.

If a computer programmer starts sticking leeches on his chest, make sure you immediately change cruise lines.

For almost every colorful summer movie, there’s a colorful summer movie villain. Even the season’s romantic comedies are not scoundrel-free: Julia Roberts plays a scheming home-wrecker in “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” and Matthew Broderick a lovesick stalker in “Addicted to Love.”

But no matter where you find the bad guys, one thing is certain: The audience likes its villains just as it does its popcorn - fresh and salty.

“If it’s done right, the villain is the most fun part of the movie,” says Jeff Nathanson, co-screenwriter of “Speed 2: Cruise Control.”

The writers behind the summer films are laboring not to disappoint. At the same time, the screen authors must avoid the usual villains who offend any one of a booming number of advocacy groups. Make the rascal a left-handed pingpong player on Monday, and the Left-Handed Ping-Pong Players Association of America will have pickets surrounding theaters on Tuesday.

“It’s really hard to find bad guys these days,” says Andrew Marlowe, the screenwriter of “Air Force One,” set to open nationally on July 25. “The world is a complicated place and, with political correctness, you can’t make your villain ethnic because people will come out and protest.”

Not too long ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger battled Arab terrorists in “True Lies,” Susan Sarandon took on an Italian wise guy in “The Client” and Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes fought the Japanese in “Rising Sun.” In today’s climate, those kind of choices are increasingly rare.

One thing that hasn’t changed: Most of the baddies are still middle-aged men. When do they get out of their recliners and complain?

In their zeal to craft stories for the most dimwitted of moviegoers, the studios generally do everything except put a halo on the hero and give the villain a tail and horns. It may make for easy-to-digest drama, but the approach also guarantees uninteresting storytelling.

“The problem with most action movies is you have one really, really bad guy and one really, really good guy and everyone in between is an innocent lamb waiting to be slaughtered,” says Scott Rosenberg, the author of “Con Air.”