So, I finally saw Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. My reaction:
(1) Neil Patrick Harris is a fantastic singer! I really had no idea he was so good. After watching the movie, I went on to imdb to make sure he has been on Broadway. (Don't want that talent to go to waste!) He has.
Nathan Fillion can sing? The things one learns by having a library card!
(2) It's a pity we don't live in an age of musicals. Sure, we are coming out of the age of Webber, and huge productions like The Lion King and Wicked are NYC tourist traps, but I'm thinking of the age of Rodgers and Hammerstein when musicals were common not only to the stage but to film. I think Yentl was the last musical I actually saw on film. I'm not counting Disney (and Menken and Ashman ended with Ashman's death). Joss has a real gift; it's a pity there isn't a wider arena for him to practice it in.
(3) The movie has a weak script.
Ouch, stop throwing things!!!
I know, I know, Joss is The King, etc. etc. etc. But that doesn't change the fact that the movie has a weak script. It's funny. It's engaging and moves rapidly. It's well-filmed. It's good. But it could have been better, and it isn't.
I don't say this because (SPOILER ALERT) Joss kills off a main character; as Nathan Fillion says, "You're surprised? This guy LOVES killing people off." It's that he kills off a main character in such a non-pay-off kind of way. You can do that sort of thing once or twice because you want to point out the randomness of life or whatever; after awhile, it's just lazy writing.
And I wonder if this onset of weak writing (Dollhouse is apparently no great shakes) is a casualty of fame. When Whedon was still struggling to sell Buffy and even Firefly, he had to write, well, the kind of stuff that sells. Like it or not, being forced to satisfy an audience is not a bad way to discipline a writer. That's one reason I feel no guilt at making my students learn and practice certain forms. Writing well isn't about expressing yourself; writing well is about communicating. If you want to express yourself, start a blog! If you want to communicate, be disciplined and try to get published.
But Joss is an icon now, and, honestly, how does a person cope with that? Do you pretend you aren't an icon and make like everything you do is still authentic like Michael Moore? Do you create a musical and put it on the Internet for free to prove you are authentic? (Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I borrowed the DVD from my local library.) Do you start trying to shock your followers?
How does an icon keep going creatively rather than trying to live down or up to an image? How does that icon reinvent him/herself, so he/she is still producing strong art while maintaining his/her personality or touch?
Even Madonna, who did a fantastic job at reinvention through the 80's and 90's, has kind of given up. Michael Jackson reinvented himself completely, poor man, and look what happened to him. Shakespeare managed, but then Shakespeare was a businessman until the day he died; he never stopped trying to bring in the moola, mostly because he never stopped worrying about being poor (same with Dickens). Picasso reveled in being an icon, but he was also completely egotistical (maybe that's the solution!). Beatrix Potter reinvented herself out of being a writer and didn't much care (her fans did). There just doesn't seem to be a perfect solution.
In any case, Dr. Horrible is worth seeing, but I recommend seeing it for the fun of the thing and because it's a little bit of Joss, not in the expectation of being introduced to a long-term classic (although I do think the music will last).
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