MEOW!
Ahahahahaha...hahaHAhaha...so yeah, that's coming along...
Nostalgic/Historical Insights: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog has a very interesting history regarding how it came to be. A trio of brothers and a woman wanted to create something that was inexpensive yet professionally made for an internet audience during the never-ending Writers Strike. So they said, "Ya know what? Let's make a musical. Oh, not just any musical; a musical with the legen...wait for it...DARY Neil Patrick Harris starring as super-villain Dr. Horrible." And wouldn't ya know? SUCCESS! Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog became an instant cult classic, with internet memes and Facebook profile pictures celebrating our favorite bad guy. Well, besides Wreck-It Ralph, but that's beside the point on Captain Hammer's Hammer. Or Fix-It Felix, Jr.'s hammer. Gosh, why do I bring that film up when I talk about movie musicals???
So, what do I think of it today?
Critical Insights: Well, what a 'horrible' film this is...
If you can't guess by now, I'm punny. I'm also seriously joking, as Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a creative and intelligent experiment of a movie musical, with a terrific three-lead ensemble led by Neil Patrick Harris, and an often brilliantly written score by the Whedon Brothers and a woman. It's also...*GASP*...an original idea? You bet your bottom dollar it is, unlike my so-called 'original' reference to Annie just now. It also runs for a brisk forty-five minutes; this film is proof that sometimes the term 'short and sweet' can be short and swevileet! I tried...
An original idea should come with an equally original execution, and no, we do not mean murderous crimes should be a part of the equation. And with a charming script created by Maurissa Tancharoen and the Whedon brothers, notably Joss Whedon of Toy Story and The Avengers, the execution is just as strong as its concept. While the script is not laugh-out-loud hilarious every minute, whenever it aims for the funny-bone in unexpected ways, it hits bulls-eye. There are some moments of dialogue that you could be quoting for months, such as "I've got a P.H.D. in Horribleness," or "Oh, gee, look at my wrist, time to go." There's also a scene when Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion) reveals what he's about to do to Penny (Felicia Day) in Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris)' eyelids, he ends off one of his sentences with "and these are not the hammer." That's already funny enough, and yet he comes back to add this line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7bdr6fjg-k Just the way he delivers that line is perfectly timed and creates an enormous laugh for ten-fifteen seconds. What I also found clever is that, in traditional superhero stories, the hero wears a light type of clothing while the villain always wears something dark, representing their own personalities and traits. Here, their personalities are the exact opposite of what Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer are wearing, and yet they work because the satire on the superhero genre is super-strong and super-smart! Turbo-Tastic!
Wait, WHAT? STOP IT TURBO!
The film also contains catchy tunes written ingeniously by Whedon & his Evil League of Evil. "My Freeze Ray" is a great opening number that sometimes takes an unconventional turn with the lyrics being written ("Love your hair." "What?" "Oh, I'm sorry, I just said..love..air...hehe...anyways."), "My Eyes" does a great job comparing and contrasting the point of view of both Dr. Horrible and Penny (Dr. Horrible working as a soup kitchen person in order to stalk is Penny is priceless. Pun intended), and "Everyone's a Hero" is a great song for Captain Hammer to openly admit that both him and Penny had intercourse ("Yes, we totally had sex."). These tunes have a wit that also plays well to the satire on the superhero story.
The film's major success come from the three major performers at work here. Neil Patrick Harris is a perfect fit for Dr. Horrible/Billy, displaying a shy personality as a common weakling while displaying a 'horrible' personality when creating his sing-along blogs...and freeze-rays. Then again, if Neil Patrick Harris can ride a horse made out of puppetry, then he's a perfect fit for anything. Nathan Fillion also makes for a perfect Captain Hammer, and has some of the funniest lines/lyrics in the script, particularly the link posted in the second paragraph of the critical insights! Felicia Day makes for a perfect one cent, and the perfect love interest for such a 'horribly horrible' man like Dr. Horrible. I will stop with the 'horrible' puns immediately following this 'horrible' paragraph.
I'm such a 'horrible' person.
D'OH!
So overall, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a charming little movie musical--oh pardon me, he's threatening me with his freeze ray. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a charming and *GINORMOUS* movie musical with terrific writing in both the dialogue and the lyrics, along with a fantastic three-lead ensemble led by the legen...wait for it...dairy king Neil Patrick Harris. Out of the five similar heads of horribleness, I give Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog...
Until next time,
DREAMGIRLS
and MEOW, of course!
Wait, WHAT? STOP IT TURBO!
The film also contains catchy tunes written ingeniously by Whedon & his Evil League of Evil. "My Freeze Ray" is a great opening number that sometimes takes an unconventional turn with the lyrics being written ("Love your hair." "What?" "Oh, I'm sorry, I just said..love..air...hehe...anyways."), "My Eyes" does a great job comparing and contrasting the point of view of both Dr. Horrible and Penny (Dr. Horrible working as a soup kitchen person in order to stalk is Penny is priceless. Pun intended), and "Everyone's a Hero" is a great song for Captain Hammer to openly admit that both him and Penny had intercourse ("Yes, we totally had sex."). These tunes have a wit that also plays well to the satire on the superhero story.
The film's major success come from the three major performers at work here. Neil Patrick Harris is a perfect fit for Dr. Horrible/Billy, displaying a shy personality as a common weakling while displaying a 'horrible' personality when creating his sing-along blogs...and freeze-rays. Then again, if Neil Patrick Harris can ride a horse made out of puppetry, then he's a perfect fit for anything. Nathan Fillion also makes for a perfect Captain Hammer, and has some of the funniest lines/lyrics in the script, particularly the link posted in the second paragraph of the critical insights! Felicia Day makes for a perfect one cent, and the perfect love interest for such a 'horribly horrible' man like Dr. Horrible. I will stop with the 'horrible' puns immediately following this 'horrible' paragraph.
I'm such a 'horrible' person.
D'OH!
So overall, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a charming little movie musical--oh pardon me, he's threatening me with his freeze ray. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a charming and *GINORMOUS* movie musical with terrific writing in both the dialogue and the lyrics, along with a fantastic three-lead ensemble led by the legen...wait for it...dairy king Neil Patrick Harris. Out of the five similar heads of horribleness, I give Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog...
Until next time,
DREAMGIRLS
and MEOW, of course!
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