I asked a friend of mine what she thought of Hugh Jackman’s latest flick, and to no surprise, she told me, “It blew.” I wondered aloud, “The critics told you it was awful, why spend the $9.50 to see for yourself?” She responded, “I don’t know, I guess I had to.”

Excuse me? Had to? As in, no other choice?

Last time I checked, we still had free will in this country, and there was nobody forcing people to see awful moves, yet we go to them — all of them — by the millions. “Van Helsing,” “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman” and “Jersey Girl” all grossed millions upon millions of dollars despite the fact that everyone in the world knew they sucked — bad stories, poor acting, awful special effects and pathetic dialogue.

Yet somewhere along the line, each of us whip out our AMC Movie Watcher card and pay 20 bucks (including the $9 for popcorn and a small Diet Coke) to be poorly entertained. Are we propelled by the almighty cosmic powers of the universe to watch the Wayans brothers again and again? Not likely. Rather, the gods of pop culture and E! Hollywood television mandate our attendance and for some reason ( my apologies to fans of the “The Passion”) we must obey.

It isn’t like there aren’t other things to do on Friday nights. In this very city we have places to go and people to see that, seeing yet, at the very least, break the monotony of another terrible monster flick. If you know a movie is going to be bad, why not take a chance on an indie film that looks intriguing, check out an art exhibit, or catch a play? The Landmark Theatres provide great little-known movies from all over the place (award winners and small-budget films with stars like Kevin Spacey or the chick from “Amelie”). Various — dare I say it — museums and cultural centers play films and support film festivals every season with movies that are too interesting, risqué or unique to make it in Hollywood. The Sledgehammer Theatre downtown and the Diversionary Theatre in the Gaslamp Quarter put on amazing, funny, powerful plays for less than the price of your front-row “Van Helsing” ticket and that Diet Coke.

I know one thing that bad movies do that other forms of entertainment do not is pass the time. “I don’t want to think, I just want to be entertained,” people say, meaning, “Let me watch something blow up a lot or see a couple fall in love at first sight, fight the odds and be together!” Fine, but why waste your time and money on gold that has already been mined? Ben Stiller is a bad actor who makes millions and has another flick coming out which no doubt will suck royally. If you want some comedy, why see that rather than hitting Blockbuster to catch “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” anything Marx Brothers or anything with Peter Sellers? These are the golden movies of our time — why waste your precious hours with “Dodgeball”? You want to socialize? Fine, get a gang together and watch a marathon of the “Back to the Future” flicks, or the early Denzel Washington movies. You need to go out? Fine, smaller theaters replay the classics all the time — “Casablanca,” “The Godfather,” “On the Waterfront” — why not spend your time there? And fellas — show some originality. You can get away with the Hugh Grant nonsense once, but then show some frickin’ flair. Take her somewhere exciting, exotic — show her art and creation and a different point of view, and leave Jennifer Aniston behind (for your own sake if nothing else).

I loved “Unbreakable” with Bruce Willis; most folks hated it. I hated the “League of Extraordinary Gentleman,” while a ton of people liked it. We all have different views on what is good and bad; that really isn’t my point. What I am trying to say is that there are so many things to do — seeing sights, seeing shows, reading books, talking with old friends, babysitting grandparents, watching sunsets — that are romantic, evocative and fun that I see no reason to feed the beast and keep paying to see the Hollywood refuse. The more we pay to see those movies despite their bad press and poor peer reviews, the more those films will dominate the entertainment market. Hollywood producers make movies to make money, not to make good films or good art. If you don’t care, fine, that’s up to you. But if you want to see good work, you really need not look further than this very campus. Expositions, plays, dance recitals and lectures on all sorts of topics happen almost every weekend and those folks love their craft. I say make Hollywood meet our standards — our own high standards for what entertainment should be. Boycott “Dodgeball,” boycott cheesy sequels and ban Heather Graham from speaking parts. We are the consumer, we have the power — I say we flex and flex now.