WARNING: this awesomeness not for everyone

The first part of Joss Whedon’s web mini series, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog, is up. It is A: awesome, and B: not for everyone. It is, after all, a musical starring Doogie Howser. I know that some people won’t be able to get beyond these apparent negatives, but Doogie Howser (who is actually named Neil Patrick Harris) is really very funny and deserves his return to fame, and the musical part is, well, great. But if you’re one of those folks who just can’t get over all the singing, then you should probably just stay away.

The fact is, musical film is in a slump and it has been since the 1970s. The distinct nadir of the genre had to be the short-lived 1990 Steven Bochco offence to all that’s decent, Cop Rock. No one could see that show and not swear off the musical as a filmic form forever.

More recently, the filmed musical has begun to make a very slow, tentative return. But nobody is attempting sincere remakes of classic Broadway fare like Guys and Dolls or West Side Story. No, in order to be accepted, the musical has had to come back… dark. It was dead for too long and now that’s it’s back, the undead walking corpse of the musical has become twisted and evil. Consider the successful musical films from the last ten years or so…

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Tim Burton makes a kids movie for Halloween/Christmas and simultaneously gives the goth kids of the 1990s personality-forming fodder, providing the same service that Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal had a decade earlier.

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut: Trey Parker and Matt Stone return to the musical form after their even more twisted, Canibal the Musical. The show stopping opening number? “Shut Your Fucking Face, Uncle Fucker.” Annie, this ain’t.

Buffy the Musical: Joss Whedon made his already unlikely success, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even more successful in an even unliklier way. The Scooby gang get put under the spell of a demon who makes them all break into song on cue. It’s evil. Pure evil.

The Producers/Hairspray: the only really successful big modern Broadway film adaptations (anyone actually see the Rent movie? Me neither) depict a happy stage show about Hitler and turn a John Waters film into a musical comedy, respectively.

Sweeney Todd: The musical theater genius Stephen Sondheim foresaw this musical turn to the dark side decades ago and his masterpiece, Sweeney Todd, was a perfect fit for Tim Burton’s dark Victorian sensibilities. Now I’m just waiting for someone to adapt Sondheim’s Assassins.

So Dr. Horrible is just another blood-stained cobblestone on the road to the triumphant, twisted return of musical filmmaking. I know there are some people who will never be able to accept song and dance numbers in movies, even when they’re sung by undead zombies with mouths full of brains, but for some of us, the future looks bright.

7 Comments

Subscribe to the Comments

On July 16, 2008, Mom said:

I saw Neil Patrick Harris in a production of Sweeney Todd a few years ago, wherein he played, I think, the boy that Mrs. Levitt takes in. It was the first time I ever heard him sing, and I was amazed. (It was still really hard to get Doogie Howser out of my head, though.)
On July 16, 2008, flameape/Gregory Giordano said:

WWNPHD?
On July 16, 2008, MarkS said:

WWNPHD?

Get choked by Captain Hammer. Is that an apostrophe on Capt. Hammer’s shirt?
On July 17, 2008, BenMac said:

To this day, the mere mention of Cop Rock makes my skin crawl.

Strangely enough, if I bring it up in conversation, many people refuse to believe such a thing existed in the first place.
On July 19, 2008, Neil C said:

Just watched all three acts (4 am. Thanks, extreme-heat-induced insomnia!) and this is awesome. The music is amazing and reminded me of Fountains of Wayne. When are THOSE guys gonna write a musical? A real one, not just songs that appear in movies (That Thing You Do, Music & Lyrics). Or TMBG? Those guys could kill it.

I am one of those who had to be told about Cop Rock by my Canadian downstairs neighbor and I still don’t believe it. Music by Randy Newman? I definitely have to see it.

PS the different-characters-singing-interlocking-melody-bits thing (I’m sure there’s a smartypants word for it) a la Tonight, Tonight from West Side Story is mad dope.

PPS they’re showing it for free on the website OR you can download it on iTunes for $1.99? I’d be curious to see how that’s working out for them financial-wise. And, actually truly curious in a non-snarky sense too.
On July 20, 2008, Lia said:

One of the dudes from Big Bang Theory is in it! I’m watching right now. For a chick that can’t stand musicals, this is amusing. (But then again, I think Doogie is cute.)
On July 20, 2008, Lia said:

Whoa. Auto-morphing smilies?!!