Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (DVD)

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"It´s not about making money. It´s about taking money. Destroying the status quo because the status is not quo."

A supervillain musical entitled, "Dr. Horrible´s Sing-Along Blog," sounds like a tough sell, then again so was a project called, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Joss Whedon, the creator of both, still managed to take a failed feature-length film and turn it into a hugely successful television show which spun-off into action figures, video games, and comic books. Whedon did the opposite with his cancelled-too-soon sci-fi show, "Firefly," giving it a second life in the multiplexes as "Serenity." He must be a Hell of a salesman. Luckily, there´s an army of rabid fanboys willing to buy what he´s pitching.

"Dr. Horrible" was birthed during the writers´ strike with Whedon looking to circumvent the studio system. He fronted $200,000 out of his pocket and embraced the do-it-yourself filmmaking of today´s YouTube generation. More importantly, the production was a way to put to work all the crew out of jobs because of the strike with their paychecks coming out of the profits. "Dr. Horrible" debuted on the internet for free in three acts and was later available for a fee on iTunes. It was a huge success with Time Magazine listing it in their Top 10 TV Shows of 2008 even though it never aired on TV. Not bad for something that´s only 43 minutes.

Neil Patrick Harris plays the titular Dr. Horrible, a low-rent supervillain, with a "Ph.D in horribleness," who boasts of his criminal deeds through an online blog. Much like Charlie Brown, he pines for a beautiful redheaded girl. This one being, Penny (Felicia Day), who he meets at the Laundromat and just can´t find the courage to talk to her. Dr. Horrible hopes to step things up in his professional and personal lives when he´s given the chance to become a member of the Evil League of Evil led by the thoroughbred of sin, Bad Horse. The only thing standing in the way of world conquest and the love of his life is his arch-nemesis, Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), a smug, arrogant, and egotistical superhero.

The entire budget of "Dr. Horrible" probably wouldn´t even be able to cover the cost of catering for the typical summer blockbuster comic book movie. Yet, this modest production gives us something that can´t be bought with dump trucks full of money, characters we actually care about. It´s a hefty proposition to ask the audience to essentially root for the bad guy, but the former Doogie Howser makes it an easy task. Harris has had a career renaissance thanks to his roles in "Harold and Kumar" and "How I Met Your Mother." His turn as Dr. Horrible cements his status as an in-demand comedic actor. He´s perfect as the lovable loser in stark contrast to the equally brilliant Nathan Fillion who hams it up as the self-obsessed superhero. Fillion manages to elicit a ton of laughter through a simple facial expression. Their starlet, Felicia Day, personifies the sweet-natured, girl-next-door type and there´s no question why Dr. Horrible would fall for her.

"Dr. Horrible" is, first and foremost, a musical and as good as the acting, story, and dialogue are, the music is the foundation. Along with his brothers Zack and Jed (and Jed´s fiancée, Maurissa Tancharoen) wrote the script and the songs. The Brothers Whedon even provide the vocals for the Bad Horse Chorus of cowboys. The soundtrack was only offered on iTunes, but still managed to debut at #39 on the Billboard Top 200. The songs in "Dr. Horrible" aren´t show-stopping numbers, but they´re catchy and do a tremendous job in conveying the characters´ emotions while moving the story forward. There´s the opening piano-driven ditty, "My Freeze Ray," sung by Harris who also happens to have a strong career on Broadway. He also has a beautiful duet with Felicia Day in "My Eyes" while Fillion brings the awesome with "A Man´s Gotta Do" and "Everyone´s a Hero."