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Review: DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG - ALL ACTS - iFMagazine.com Send to a friend
© 2008 drhorrible.com Neil Patrick Harris in DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG

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Review: DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG - ALL ACTS

Joss Whedon's three-act musical is a compact, complete work

Grade: A-
Stars: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day
Writer(s): Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen
Director: Joss Whedon
Release Date: July 15th, 2008
Rating: unrated
Distributor: Mutant Enemy

By T.K. DEHN, Contributing Writer
Published 7/21/2008



 

DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG succeeds on every level it appears to tackle. It works artistically, comically, dramatically, musically and as proof that a production made straight for the Internet can succeed in a big way. (All three acts are currently at the top of iTunes, they will be available through July 29; the work is also available through midnight July 20 at the Web site www.drhorrible.com .)
 
Dr. Horrible is the nom de guerre of Billy (Neil Patrick Harris), a would-be evil genius who’s perhaps too nice for his own ambitions. The doc has an online blog where he talks about his efforts to join the Evil League of Evil. He also talks about his arch-nemesis, superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), who is cheerfully oblivious to his own shortcomings where Billy is acutely over-aware. Both come into the sphere of Penny (Felicia Day), a sweet-natured activist on behalf of the homeless. All of them, plus a variety of chorus members and cameos, burst into song to express their bigger emotions and deeper thoughts.

 
The project is publicly thought of as being the work of Joss Whedon, which is fair, as he not only directed but paid for it, though it is co-written with Zack Whedon and Jed Whedon (brothers of Joss) and Maurissa Tancharoen. There are a multitude of levels here, though to discuss them in much depth would be to start spreading spoilers. It can perhaps be said that the themes deal with how people’s personas evolve (vague, I know, but the best I can do). Dialogue is snappy and often laugh-out-loud, though some lines are wrenching in context, while the lyrics flow organically, often in impressive and informative counterpoint. Music and orchestrations will remind listeners not only of Whedon’s earlier musical, the BUFFY episode “Once More, With Feeling,” but also of the works of Stephen Sondheim and Howard Ashman’s score for LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Impressively, we feel at the end that we’ve been through the full gamut of a feature, even though the total running time is under 45 minutes.
 
The cast is smashing. Harris, who has a song-and-dance past on stage in addition to his now-Emmy-nominated role on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and that previous DOOGIE HOWSER fame (not to mention the show-stopping appearances in the HAROLD AND KUMAR comedies), has a gorgeous voice and a marvelously expressive face as the embodiment of every painfully smart guy with a plan, a case of nerves and a sense of incredulity at how well the good-looking self-confident doofuses do in the world. Fillion as said doofus is fearlessly silly and funny as a man of steel with a brain of wheat, while Day (who has her own Web series, THE GUILD) is effortlessly sweet and empathetic as the good-hearted Penny. Fans of Whedon’s previous work will note lots of erstwhile collaborators behind the scenes in the credits (with some old writing colleagues showing up in on-camera cameos).
 
This is independent production at its finest. DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG is, contrary to its title, really pretty wonderful.

Reader Comments

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Hello Guys And Gals! i've just joined here and wanted to say hi to all of you!I really hope to give something back to this board... Cheers
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I`m interested there`s a lot of articles on casino gambling. There are different methods, tactics, strategies, algorithms of counting, calculations and so on. But these items are only heap of ads and i don`t want to analyze them `cause i don`t have any basic knowledge. It`s ineffective. Estimation i think will be wrong. Is there anyone here who is attracted in such topic? I`d appreciate someone`s explaining to me is there any systems or strategies, what are they (what approaches or concepts lay in basis) and in which casinos could they be applied to? Thanx a lot.
1/16/2009 12:59:55 PM

Kristina from Carrollton,Ga sez....
NPH owned the feature, I can't picture anyone who could have done better! His character was sooo lovable and oh how I hope this is not the last time we see his character!
7/23/2008 4:34:23 PM

Adele from Adelaide sez....
I thought Doogie rocked the whole kit 'n' kaboddle. Fillion was solid in form and voice but I really didn't like Felicia Day all that much. Well done to cast and crew for an amazing production!
7/22/2008 7:35:18 PM

steve from jersey sez....
who knew doogie could sing so well? the other characters were good but he really "owned" the show.
7/22/2008 5:31:28 AM

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