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

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and yes, I am aware of the ongoing strike happening against the major film studios, television networks, and streaming services. The strike, which is being done by the Writers Guild (WGA) and the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG-AFTRA) marks the first time that BOTH guilds have been in a unified strike since the '60s. And, as far as the reason for the strike? Proper compensation, specifically residuals, and protections against artificial intelligence-based plagiarism (both writing and likeness of actors). 

         As a film/television reviewer, I fall under the category of journalism, which is independent of either guild. So, I will only give credit to actors, writers, and directors of films I review during the duration of the strike and not mention any of the studios backing these movies. I will keep doing what I do, which is reviewing movies and shows for you, my readers. I fully support everyone and what they're striking for, but I still have reviews to do. With that said, let's take a look at the 2008 independent musical project Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. 

         Released in 2008, and produced amid the 2007-2008 Writer's Guild strike, this independent project was completely produced in-house by Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack and Jed Whedon, and Jed's wife Maurissa Tancharoen, and has a cast that is led by Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion, and Simon Helberg. Initially, it was released in three parts online, and completely for free. This meant no ads, no waiting for networks or studios to take a year to roll it out. No, Joss and his family posted the entire thing online in three parts absolutely free. Of course, now it's available on Blu-ray and DVD, and I highly recommend picking up a copy. 

       So, the story centers on Dr. Horrible, who is a supervillain with an internet blog, and he has two major desires. First, he seeks to be admitted into the Evil League of Evil, which is an ultra-elite supervillain league led by Bad Horse. Eventually, Bad Horse does agree to evaluate his application, but he must prove himself. Second, he hopes to gain the affection of Penny, a girl he sees all the time at his local laundromat. Penny is a very charitable individual, working to aid the homeless by volunteering, and making a petition to convert a local rundown building into a new homeless shelter. 

         One particular day, Dr. Horrible is preparing to hijack a van carrying a substance called "wonderflonium," which is vital for his Freeze Ray (a device that can stop time), when Penny runs into him. Dr. Horrible, calling himself Billy, chats with Penny for a bit, and then agrees to sign her petition. After Penny walks off, Dr. Horrible then gets down to hijacking the van, only for his control device to be damaged by a local hero called Captain Hammer. Captain Hammer shoves Penny, who is about to be hit by the out-of-control van, when Dr. Horrible is finally able to stop it. Penny starts to fall for Captain Hammer, while a beat up Dr. Horrible makes off with the wonderflonium. End of Part One. 

        So, Part Two starts off with one of the best songs in Dr. Horrible, which is a song called "My Eyes." After that, we see a cute moment with Billy and Penny in the laundromat, each enjoying a frozen yogurt. Later, Dr. Horrible reveals his plan to use the Freeze Ray on Captain Hammer during the dedication to the new Superhero Memorial Bridge. In a later blog post, Dr. Horrible reveals that the Freeze Ray takes time to warm up, and evidently both the LAPD and Captain Hammer watch his blog. Dr. Horrible gets a call in regards to Bad Horse's decision, and now Dr. Horrible must kill someone to gain admission into the Evil League of Evil. Dr. Horrible's buddy, Moist (so named because he's always sweating) makes a few recommendations, all of which make Dr. Horrible cringe. 

       Returning to the laundromat, Billy gets some encouragement from Penny, but runs into Captain Hammer as he attempts to leave. And it's here where Captain Hammer confirms that he convinced the Mayor to convert the run-down building Penny was petitioning about into a homeless shelter Captain Hammer also reveals he knows Billy is Dr. Horrible, and pours salt into the wound by mentioning his plans with Penny, all ending in one of the most laugh out loud quotes in Dr. Horrible : "The hammer is my penis." Finally seeing justification in ending a life, Dr. Horrible knows whom he is going to kill: Captain Hammer. End Part Two.

        Part Three starts off with a montage of news anchors celebrating Captain Hammer's contribution in helping solve the homeless crisis, Penny getting the new shelter ready, Dr. Horrible converting his Stun Ray into a Death Ray, and a trio of groupies fawning over Captain Hammer. At the dedication, Captain Hammer makes a complete ass of himself, only to be frozen in time by Dr. Horrible, who makes his attack. Unfortunate, he is unable to pull the trigger, and the Freeze Ray falters, unfreezing Captain Hammer, who punches Dr. Horrible. Captain Hammer picks up the Death Ray and attempts to kill Dr. Horrible with it. Unfortunately, it's overloaded and explodes upon Captain Hammer pulling the trigger, leaving Captain Hammer de-powered and in pain, while a massive piece of shrapnel hits Penny, and she dies. Dr. Horrible, realizing he lost the one person he most cared about, also sees that her death means admission into the Evil League of Evil. 

       So, Penny's dead, Captain Hammer is in therapy, the Captain Hammer groupies have switched allegiance and become Dr. Horrible's groupies, and Billy is now completely Dr. Horrible with a new red and black outfit, and is now a member of the Evil League of Evil, which includes guys like Professor Normal, Fake Thomas Jefferson, Dead Bowie, and Fury Leika. Oh, and Bad Horse is an actual horse, it turns out. And with that, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is over. 

       Okay, so the performances. All four major stars, Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion, and Simon Helberg are all fantastic. Nathan Fillion seriously hams it up to an umpteenth degree as Captain Hammer, who could have easily just been called Captain Ham for how hammy this guy was. Simon Helberg, while not on screen much, does a good enough job as Moist. Hell, I think I enjoyed more here than as Howard on The Big Bang Theory. And both Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day are absolutely fantastic as Dr. Horrible and Penny, respectively. You almost want to see them together by the end, only to be heartbroken when Penny dies. The rest of the cast include friends of Joss who have worked with him on past works like Buffy and Angel. 

        What makes Dr. Horrible so great is that it eschews typical superhero story archetypes. Dr. Horrible is not a moustache twirling villain. Penny isn't a damsel in distress. Captain Hammer isn't a selfless boy scout. If anything, Dr. Horrible did something that would later be seen in the series The Boys, where the ones who are supposed to be the heroes are really a bunch of assholes, the ones who are supposed to be villains aren't completely heartless and evil.

       The music, all written by Joss, Jed, and Maurissa, was absolutely fantastic. I already mentioned the song "My Eyes," which is the most popular song from Dr. Horrible. Other songs I enjoyed include "Slipping," "Brand New Day," and "Penny's Song." "A Man's Gotta Do" is also one that's a lot of fun. Oh, and did I mention that there's a musical commentary track on the Blu-ray and DVD? Called Commentary: The Musical, this featured an entire list of songs performed by the cast and filmmakers, and is makes watching Dr. Horrible a completely different viewing experience to say the least. 

        All in all, Joss Whedon set out with one goal in mind: create a self-financed independent project with friends and family, release it online for his fans, and show how independent projects like this can be successful in lieu of the traditional Hollywood release model. And for years, Joss' fans have asked about a sequel. Unfortunately, due to an unfortunate bout of controversy, it seems that Joss Whedon might not be working on a Dr. Horrible sequel, or any project, any time soon. 

        Anyway, I love Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and I highly recommend it. I'm giving it a rating of 5/5. Anyway, guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys tomorrow with my review of Avatar: The Last Airbender.