Starring: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I felt, horrible (tee he) after the last review I had to write. It’s never fun writing bad ones so I decided to follow it up with this.
Do you have a slightly twisted sense of humor? Okay…a REALLY twisted sense of humor (I’m thinking of my brother here, I swear…I really am.) Are you a Joss Whedon addict and can’t get enough of shows like Firefly, Dollhouse, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Then have I got a show for you! Well, okay…it’s not really a show but it’s not quite a movie either….more like a made for the Internet mini-series, yeah…that’s it and it’s right up my, I mean my brother’s alley!
As the title suggests, yes…there is singing involved, most of which isn’t wonderful; although we all know Neil Patrick Harris is…(lets all sing it now)….AWWWEESOME!
This is a darkly tragic comedy with lots of camp and very low production value but who cares?! It’s funny! It was never meant to be a cinematic masterpiece; it was meant to be nothing more than simple entertainment put together and produced by the Whedon brothers with their fans in mind…just for fun.
In it we have a colorful cast of characters; Dr. Horrible played by Neil Patrick Harris has ambitions, he has big goals in life, one of which is to finally be noticed by Bad Horse (yes, you read the correctly, and yes…it’s a horse) and earn admittance into the Evil League of Evil…..mwa ha ha ha ha! Ooops…sorry, got carried away there.
Every villain must have a good guy thwarting his evil plans too and the egotistical Captain Hammer, played by the oh-so-loveable Nathan Fillian is our guy. He’s not quite your typical “good guy” though, he’s an idiot…I mean a real dolt; a muscular, conceited….yet gorgeous blockhead who nearly made me spew my drink a few times laughing at his facial expressions, but he’s always there to stop Dr. Horrible from carrying out his evil deeds…until one tragic day Captain Hammer is forced to seek therapy.
Then of course there’s the damsel Penny, played by Felicia Day who is won over by Captain Hammer and his ummm….hammer. She’s the poor clueless soul stuck in the middle of two guys in a power struggle; don’t you hate when that happens; I know I do.
So we have the main cast of characters, but what happens in this mini-series? I’m not going to tell you that! That would spoil everything! You have to watch it for yourself and find out….but I guarantee you will roll your eyes and laugh as well. A lot of fun is packed into forty-five minutes of cheesy action and witty one-liners.
Yes, some acts are a little slower than others and as I said the production value is minimal….but still, each has its highlights and keep your eyes open, you’ll see at least one or two other actors you will recognize as well….especially the aspiring side-kick, Moist.
I discovered this show after watching an interview with Nathan Fillion on some late night talk show that shall remain nameless, so I looked it up. Through his interview and my own research I learned this little production came about due to one of the Hollywood Writer’s strikes. Some writers, like the Whedon brothers had time on their hands, and strange things happen when creative people get bored.
The brothers had been mulling this idea around for some time and decided to call together some of their friends within the industry who just happened to be actors, writers, musicians, and production crew and voila! Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was born and produced in record time.
Once the first act had been completed (you will notice it is done in acts much like a play) they decided to throw it out on the Internet for everyone to enjoy….free of charge. How cool is that?! Now, of course you have to rent it or purchase it but at that time it was provided to the public at large completely free. You may even be able to find it on YouTube still but honestly, renting it on Amazon is so worth it because you get to experience the Commentary track too….and that is hysterical on its own!
Give it a shot, it’s only forty-five minutes out of your life, let me know what you think of it as well. Maybe you aren’t as deeply twisted and disturbed as I am….but I’m willing to bet you have that potential!
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