The Mindy Project Is Exactly That…A Project
by Josh Hudson
This new FOX comedy originally aired its pilot episode on September 25, 2012. More high hopes on a show that’s not bringing it.
The Mindy Project isn’t what I’d call funny. And it’s a sitcom. Does anyone else see the issue with that?
It focuses on a 30-something doctor named, you guessed it, Mindy. She’s obsessed with romantic comedies and thinks that her life is exactly that. She wants to find romance and be swept off her feet in ways we only see in movies. Turns out, that doesn’t exist in real life, so she finds herself juggling two co-workers in an attempt to fulfill her primal urges.
I admire the gusto of Mindy Kaling. This is her show from top to bottom. Creator, writer, producer, and actor. Kudos to her. I’m writing reviews of shows instead of having my own show, so I’m not hating. What I’m hating on is the simple fact that this comedy is not funny. Much like the shows it shares FOX’s Tuesday lineup with, it relies too much on the awkward relationships between Mindy and her two featured co-workers, Danny and Jeremy. I would simply call this bad chemistry.
My biggest issue with this show is that romantic comedies should never be condensed into a serialized sitcom. It’s bad enough we put up with them for 90 minutes three times a summer. We don’t need them for a half hour every Tuesday night twenty-two times a year. That’s what this show is; a poorly told rom-com.
I hope this series comes around. I really do. I’m a fan of female leads in comedy, especially ones that break the norm of what society might deem “attractive.” But this show would work better if it weren’t on network television. All it needs is more girl balls to push the boundaries.
And jokes. Definitely more jokes.