That is, until last night.
After reading a recent post where I listed The Guild among my favorite stuff at the moment, my friend and fellow blogger, Courtney, suggested I watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (henceforth to be referred to in this post as DHS-AB so I don't get carpal tunnel). I have no excuse as to why I hadn't watched it. It's been popping up on my Netflix recommendations for a while. It had a whole cast of my favorite actors and writers/directors. I had it in my queue... at number 258. I might have gotten to it. Eventually. Maybe
Courtney insisted I watch it and sent me home with her personal copy.
But until last night, the wonders of DHS-AB remained locked within its DVD case.
Premise: Mad scientist wannabe (less on the mad, more on the geek) Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) vlogs his attempts to gain enough notoriety to be asked to join the Evil League of Evil. Time and time again his nefarious plans have been thwarted by Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), local superhero and all-around megalomaniacal a-hole. Dr. Horrible finally reaches his breaking point when Captain Hammer puts the moves on his laundromat crush, the doe-eyed do-gooder, Penny (Felicia Day).
The metamorphosis of the superhero - or in this case, the supervillain - is fascinating subject matter. The movie Unbreakable (stop making the yuck face) isn't a popular favorite with the cinema-going public, but it ranks in my Top 10.
Oh, and be prepared. DHS-AB has singing. Lots of singing. Some people get scared when characters periodically break out into song. I, on the other hand, wish it happened more in real life.
I was confident in Whedon's ability to pull off a musical number. The musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Once More With Feeling", is still one of my all-time favorites episodes of the entire series. I knew Felicia Day could sing because of the music videos she'd done in The Guild. Neil Patrick Harris had starred in an episode of Glee and I'd seen bits and pieces of his other musical roles. The big surprise, for me, was Nathan Fillion. I wouldn't have thought him capable of carrying a tune in a bucket. I'm pleased to admit I was wrong.
Where that impression came from is anyone's guess. Maybe his square jaw and ruggedly handsome good looks threw me off.
As far as the quality of voices and the songs themselves, DHS-AB outshines BtVS. Sorry Buffy-Once-More-With-Feeling fans. I was one of you once.
My favorite number was "My Eyes".
As a whole, DHS-AB was brilliant. Mad-scientist brilliant. I laughed, I cried, and I ordered my own copy off Amazon. I am now more in love with Joss Whedon than before, if that's even possible.
Great post Holly!!! I love My Eyes, but I think my favorite is Brand New Day because it is so fast!
ReplyDeleteI do have the soundtrack so if you want me to burn you a copy I'd be more then happy to. And if you haven't had enough singing already, don't forget to check out the special features. There are two commentaries with the cast, one that is just like a normal cast commentary and the other is the cast members sing all new songs that are all about the filming of the movie, they are really funny.
I'm so glad you liked it though!