Hello & welcome back to Monstrous Musicals. Today, we are taking a look at a musical that first debuted online during the Writer's Strike back in 2007 & 2008. Joss Whedon put this together along with some great talent and uploaded it in three parts over three days online and the reaction was extremely positive. And it's not hard to see why as it is easily, one of the best musicals, I've ever seen. Now, I'll admit the first time, I saw I it, I didn't like it because I felt like the ending came out of nowhere but after repeat viewings and learning more about Whedon, it made perfect sense. Now, I'll admit, I went back and forth on whether or not to review this one but after seeing it listed on multiple sites that put together lists of fun musicals for Halloween, I decided to go ahead and review it. Now unlike the previous reviews, this one will be more in line with being a proper film review as I'll go over, The Plot, Characters, Music, Favorite Song/Least Favorite Song, & My Final Thoughts.
The Plot
We open on Doctor Horrible as he answers fan mail on his vlog. And we learn of his arch nemesis, Captain Hammer and her (Penny) We find out that he is trying to get into the Evil League of Evil. The first song is cut short but his friend/henchman, Moist. As Doctor Horrible mentions seeing her at the laundromat. In the next part, we hear Doctor Horrible talking about pulling off a heist and we watch control a van from his phone and this is when we were introduced to Penny as she is asking people to sign her petition to help shelter the homeless. Bill aka Doctor Horrible at first seems uninterested but he agrees to sign it. And then enter Captain Hammer, who destroys the remote receiver and pushes Penny out of the way into a pile of garbage. Penny and Hammer start to fall for each other or so, we think. The next day, we see Captain Hammer and Penny on many dates with Doctor Horrible following them. In a nice touch, we start to see Hammer is not the hero that the town thinks the people he is. A perfect moment that starts to reveal his true feelings are when Penny and Hammer are in the homeless shelter. You just get the feeling that he wants to take a shower and wash off the people touching them. The next day, Doctor Horrible reveals his freeze ray had been completed. He then later reveals that it isn't a good idea to do that as apparently, both Captain Hammer and the LAPD were followers of Doctor Horrible. He gets a second letter from Bad Horse now is the only way to commit an assassination. Pay attention to this because it'll come into play later. We then later see Billy and Penny talking about Billy's interview at the laundromat and reassures him that things happen Later, Captain Hammer comes to pick up Penny and remember what I was saying. Well, Captain Hammer knew that Billy and Doctor Horrible are one and the same. And revealed that he was only with Penny is because he knew Horrible wanted to be with her and that led into the iconic song, Brand New Day, where Billy starts to die and Doctor Horrible starts to take over. The next day, we see people singing the praises of Captain Hammer ,save for of course Doctor Horrible and Penny, who is starting to wonder if she is in a good place with her relationship. We then see them at the opening of the shelter for the homeless that Hammer got by blackmailing the mayor. There Captain Hammer gets up and starts to make fun of everyone in the audience and belittle them. Penny finally wakes up to the jerk that Hammer is and quietly leaves because she is too embarrassed. Then Doctor Horrible shows up with his death ray, his former freeze ray and uses it on Hammer. Hammer is stunned and for a while, there Horrible is on top taunting the crowd and actually doing a good job at being a villain. But then Hammer unfreezes and takes the death ray in his hands and causing him for the first time ever to feel pain. He runs out as he leaves others wounded, including Penny, who had a piece of the weapon launched into her and it killed her. And thus Doctor Horrible won but at the ultimate price and ends with just going through routine as that is the new status quo. Y'know, there are really three deaths in this film. The obvious is the death of Penny, which is the death of innocence. The death of Billy, which lead to the birth of Doctor Horrible and the death of his good side. And finally, the death of Captain Hammer. Sure, just like Doctor Horrible, he's still alive but without his powers, he's nothing. As I mentioned up top, the first time I watched this, I didn't like it but upon repeat viewings, it has become one of my favorite musicals. It's interesting to note that after my third or fourth viewing, I started seeing this not as a comedy but rather a tragedy. Sure, it starts out as a comedy but there are those tragic moments throughout and that all comes together with the death of Penny and more specifically, Everything You Ever.
Characters
Now, this'll be broken down into Main, Supporting, & Antagonist. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Main Character
Doctor Horrible/Billy played by Neil Patrick Harris
It's interesting but in the beginning, there really isn't much of a distinction between Horrible and Billy. They feel to be the same person and at the start, it appears as though Horrible is the disguise while Billy is the true identity but as the story progresses, Billy starts to die and Doctor Horrible becomes the real identity. This first starts with Brand New Day but by the end of the musical particularly, Everything You Ever, Horrible is here to stay and Billy is no more. The fake identity had become the true identity. See many people can look at this as a comedy, which it is but it's also a tragedy as stated up top with the three deaths. Here's an interesting thought but Billy/Dr. Horrible is a lot like Elphaba from Wicked. I imagine a lot of you are scratching your heads at this one. Well as I mentioned in my review of Wicked, Elphaba was forced by Oz into the role of The Wicked Witch. Now yes, Billy was already Doctor Horrible, when the film started but Captain Hammer pushed him over the edge and caused Doctor Horrible to become the true identity.
Supporting Characters
Penny played by Felicia Day
Penny is the only truly good character in Doctor Horrible and she is the one thing that kept Billy from going full on evil. She kept him grounded but once she died, Doctor Horrible took over as there was no more need for Billy. Because he no longer had the thing that kept him grounded in reality. As I stated above, her death symbolizes the death of innocence. However, besides that, I feel that it is also the death of hope for Billy. With Penny dead, there is no hope left for him
Moist played by Simon Helberg
To be perfectly honest, the character of Moist doesn't add much in the way of story. He's more or less just there to be a friend for Doctor Horrible.
Music
Horrible Theme
I love the theme music for Doctor Horrible. It has this quirky yet sinister vibe to it. That just really makes it work.
My Freeze Ray
What a great song! In this one, we hear about Doctor Horrible has that girl that he wants but doesn't know how to talk to her. Who hasn't been there. It's just so cute and real.
Bad Horse Chorus
Okay, I don't like the Bad Horse Chorus. They serve a purpose to the plot, yes but they just take me out of the story. I normally don't mind 4th wall stuff but this doesn't work for me.
Caring Hands
I honestly kinda wish this song was longer but it's a good tease for what to expect with Penny and we get the feeling that she is a good person with just this short number. I really like this one. It isn't one of the more memorable numbers from the movie but it's still really good.
A Man's Gotta Do
This number is awesome. I love how Horrible starts off but Captain Hammer barges in and takes over. And here, we see the start of Penny falling for Hammer. And I love how in the background, Horrible is pointing out what really happened but Penny is too blinded by love to notice.
My Eyes
This song is the perfect contrast between how Horrible and Penny view the world around them. Horrible sees nothing but evil and a place filled with filth and lies. He thinks the world is getting worse by the moment whereas Penny is more optimistic and chooses to see the good in the world. That's probably why I relate to her so much.
Penny's Song
Aw, here we go. This is more like it. I love this song as it gives insight to Penny's views and it's just a nice pick me up song. This song can get me teary eyed because it is a message that I feel everyone should take to heart. It's just a simple song of always try look on the bright side.
Brand New Day
And here we witness the start of the death of Billy. Captain Hammer caused Billy to break and snap with what he said about only be with Penny, so that Billy/Horrible couldn't have her. Hammer viewed as nothing more then a prize. This number pretty much start the descent of Doctor Horrible taking over and becoming the true identity. He is now out for revenge and he'll do whatever it takes to get it.
So They Say
I love this number. For the most part, it's upbeat, peppy and happy save for two characters, Penny and Doctor Horrible. Penny is starting to question her relationship with Hammer and just listen to Horrible say "Not for me anyways" after both he and Penny sing about there never being any happy endings. That in a way is kinda foreshadowing. Also, I just love the way the one moving guy says "About time" in this song, I don't why but I do.
Everyone's A Hero
This song pretty much shows how blind people are to Hammer. Here he is, mocking taunting and making fun of his "fans" and they don't even notice. They just look at this moron as a hero but Penny wakes up to this and realizes that Captain Hammer is an idiot. Which makes her saying that Captain Hammer will save her as she's dying kinda insulting to her character.
Slipping
This song is the first real taste, we get of Doctor Horrible now being the true identity. There is still some Billy left as he worries about Penny but Horrible is starting to come off as legit threat here. He's feel like someone that you don't want to mess with because he could truly mess you up.
Everything You Ever
And now we come full circle, Billy is dead. Doctor Horrible is real. The death of Penny killed Billy but it also got Horrible into the Evil League of Evil but at the ultimate price. The death of the only person, he truly cared for. This song is the big reason, Doctor Horrible should be considered a tragedy. Horrible wins but it's almost as though, he wished he hadn't
Horrible Credits
What's interesting with the credits, is that they start out with Penny's Song but as it progresses, the tune changes to the main theme. Almost signifying that good is dead and this further reinstated by it ending with Slipping.
Antagonist
Captain Hammer played by Nathan Fillion
Hammer is an egoistical self-centered a-hole. In other words. he's Gaston from Beauty and The Beast. Seriously, there is so much he has in common with Gaston. They both think that they are better then everyone else and the town loves them even though, they are grade A jerks. Lest we forget that there is only one person that could see them for the beings that they truly are. Now, I mentioned that there were three deaths and one of them was Captain Hammer's. There's really not too much left to say on that one but notice how weak and fragile he is, when he feels pain for the first time. The facade of him being this great hero is gone.
Favorite Song/Least Favorite Song
I had such a hard time choosing a favorite song. It came down to three choices, Penny's Song, So They Say, & Everything You Ever. So They Say is great for the upbeat nature of it and Everything You Ever is really good at showing the pain and despair that Doctor Horrible is feeling, now that Penny is dead but I have to go with Penny's Song. The big thing that makes this song work for me is the optimistic nature of the song and a ray of sunshine in this otherwise tragic story. As for Least Favorite, I have to go with Bad Horse Chorus. It's not bad and it makes sense in terms of the plot but it just takes me out of the action.
My Final Thoughts
This is one of my all time favorite musicals. Everything about it just comes together so well to tell a great story with very good characters. This is one that comes highly recommended from me. Join me next time as I take a look at..
Phantom of The Paradise
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