Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)

Very disappointing...

Too much of everything

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

After seeing how high the overall rating is on this, I felt compelled to give my honest opinion. I'll be going off of considerable memory, because I saw it a few years ago and I don't want to bother watching it a second time. The line between clever and obnoxious is thin indeed. I certainly didn't feel that Dr. Horrible was so smart that it went over my head. I felt it was tailored for an audience easy to make laugh. Much like the lyrics to Wicked, the lyrics to these songs sound unnatural to human speech (for example, the usage of the word "dolt,") like the writings of a pubescent nerd itching to show you how sophisticated he thinks he is. I should know. I was that kind of kid once. As for the composing, the orchestration is flat and un-musicianlike, more suited to Dora the Explorer. Something about the sound mixing rubs me the wrong way as well; I like voices in musicals to echo. The story didn't make me worry for it, in the first place because I don't take the superhero-and- villain setup seriously (CAMP!!) and in the second place because I don't like Harris or Felicia Day as screen personalities. From my high school friends' affection for the movie, I expected I should feel a connection, but it wasn't there. Now that I think about it, I know why. Your mileage may vary, but I despise the cliché of the gawky, immature male protagonist pining after a woman much more attractive and on top of things than him. It appalls me that even women tolerate this trope, as I find it demeans us. I have read a few anthropological, sociological and scientific texts embracing the fact that women gravitate towards "alpha males." Captain Hammer, of course, is both an alpha male and a jerk. Dr. Horrible is, dare I say. . . such a Nice Guy. So it's not sad that he kills the woman he loves. Wait a minute, is this supposed to be like a Greek tragedy where we're supposed to recognize the protagonist's fatal flaws? It doesn't matter, because I didn't enjoy watching it.

I sort of expected more from this, but as it is, it's pretty entertaining, and most of the songs are instantly catchy and able to be sang out loud, not to mention pretty memorable. The three leads are great, especially Fillion though, who really marvels in his character's darkness and gleefulness, reminding us of his Firefly character but also giving that sort of role a different spin. He's a very underrated actor who I wish would get more work. Patrick Harris, though, is the best singer and probably has the best songs. Some of the turns in its final act are pretty surprising, and not at all what I'm sure many expect (well, maybe from Joss Whedon).

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is comprised of three acts, lasting around 14 minutes each. In the first act Dr. Horrible is trying to become a super villain and get recognized into the Evil League of Evil, which is led by Bad Horse. He is also in love with Penny, who he met in the Laundromat. And being as shy as he is, he hasn't gotten the courage up to talk to her yet. In order to be a part of the Evil League of Evil, Dr. Horrible has to pull off a major evil act or he will not be voted in. With his luck, as he is trying to steal the Wonderflonium that is needed for his Freeze Ray, he runs into Penny as she is trying to solicit people on the street to open a homeless people shelter. Just when Dr. Horrible thinks the robbery is completed, his nemesis, Captain Hammer, shows up and begins taking credit because he thought he stopped him in the van with his bare hands. Shortly after this, Hammer and Penny start singing to each other.In the next act, Dr. Horrible is watching them while they are on their dates. The scene goes back to Horrible and Penny talking in the Laundromat and she tells him she is going to go out with Hammer again. This is completely upsetting Horrible. So, Horrible is now back to his blog telling how he is now going to be a part of the Evil League of Evil because he has the Freeze Ray and Wonderflonium. Then he finds out that the LAPD and Hammer are watching his blog and knew ahead of time he was going to do evil and stopped him from succeeding. Now, Bad Horse calls Dr. Horrible and says the only way he can become a part of the Evil League of Evil is to assassinate someone. The story goes on to show Penny and Horrible talking again int he Laundromat when Hammer comes in and tells him his plans with Penny to make him mad and jealous.In the final act, Captain Hammer speaks at the opening of a homeless shelter where they are going to reveal the statue of him. He is bragging about himself and Penny tries slipping out from embarrassment. While he is still singing, Dr. Horrible blasts Hammer with his Freeze Ray and freezes him as the audience sits in shock. Horrible then taunts the audience and announces that they can't recognize that Hammer's cover is being blown and then he exposes a more deadly gun, the Death Ray. Horrible then aims it at Hammer, but the machine died and at that moment Hammer became unfroze and knocked Dr. Horrible to the ground. Hammer shoots Horrible with the Death Ray and it knocks him back and some of the shrapnel flies into Penny and she ends up dying. In essence, Dr. Horrible has committed the assassination needed to be voted into the Evil League of Evil. The story ends with Horrible wearing his new red coat and going into the room to sit with the other Evil league members, who he is now a part of.

Dr. Horrible Sing Along Blog was an innovative take of the traditional good vs. evil movies. This movie was written and produced by Joss Whedon. Dr. Horrible Sing Along Blog is a low budget film so the effects are not outstanding, but there are many other aspects that more than make up for anything that the movie may be lacking. My first take on the movie was that it was corny but as I watched I found myself hardly able to contain my laughter. There was a lot of subtle connotations in the movie which I enjoy interrupting. Neil Patrick Harris plays Billy also known as Dr. Horrible who is a wannabe villain that has a need to be esteemed by Penny and Bad Horse. Penny is played by Felicia Day; she has captured Billy's heart. Bad Horse is considered the "thoroughbred of sin" and is the leader of the evil league of evil. On the quest to enter in to the evil league of evil Dr. Horrible has to make choices between Penny or his evil plans. Through his evil plans we meet Captain Hammer who is considered Dr. Horrible's nemesis. Captain Hammer wins the affections of Penny; so there is an interesting love triangle that in tangles it's self in the movie. Dr. Horrible's evil plans don't always turn out the way he expects them to, but he desperately wants to be associated with the evil league of evil. The songs were meaningful and had comic flares to them. The movie is simply a terrific story that is unusual, but funny with the elements of love and passion. I disliked the ending at first but I did like what it stood for. You can interpret it in many different ways but I took it to mean every path has it's puddle, and what we want can come with a great price.