The Mindy Project
Season 2, Episode 1: All My
Problems Solved Forever...
By: Carlos Uribe
The Mindy
Project is about an OB/GYN named Mindy. I will not be covering this
show weekly.
Spoilers
Ahoy?
The second
season of The Mindy Project is here and it hasn't figured out what it
wants to be about. The premiere is a great example of this: it's
focused around the romantic comedy, the workplace, and a hangout
comedy. It's all over the place with very little focus to help ground
it. Add a special guest star to the mix and you get a premiere that
is all over the place. The weak script can't create a cohesive whole
nor is it particularly funny. There were some jokes that worked but
it largely fell flat. The Mindy Project hasn't solved any of it's
problems because it hasn't taken the steps to do so. It's never too
late to fix this ship because it has the talented writers and cast to
do so but it's disappointing that they can't agree on what the focus
of the show is. A great example beyond this premiere is what we see
and what happens behind-the-scenes. A huge portion of this show is
spent on Mindy's dating life. I would argue that this romantic comedy
element of the show is possibly what the actual writing thinks it's
about. It's a big part of the show so it makes sense that the writers
would realize that this is where they keep going. If they did, they
would drop a huge portion of the workplace because it isn't
necessary. What do they do? They just announced that Adam Pally would
be joining the cast as one of Mindy's co-workers. Considering how
large the ensemble is at the doctor's office, it's a sign that the
producers and writers still think the workplace is a relevant part of
the show. The Mindy Project is nowhere closer to sticking with a
premise and it's quality continues to suffer because of this. The
season premiere was a weak disappointment.
The Romantic Comedy: The
actual plot of the episode revolved around Mindy's romantic life. She
starts the episode out in Haiti where she's trying to be happy with
Casey. Casey proposes to her, Mindy accepts, but then she needs
emergency surgery. The surgery is basically the plot device to get
Mindy back to New York City. The two of them almost get hitched so
that they could be husband and wife before they get to Haiti. Casey
stops the wedding when he realizes that it's not really want Mindy
wants or even deserves. He's not only willing to hold off the wedding
so that they could do it right but he goes back to Haiti by himself.
It's a huge move that shows how stable that relationship is but it's
probably what will doom it. There's no way Mindy is actually going to
marry Casey because then the show removes a central plot engine to
the show: Mindy's dating life. She can't settle down until way later
in the series run. At the same time, the series refuses to commit to
concentrating on making this show a romantic comedy. I'd argue it
already technically is but it refuses to commit to it. The show not
only brings Mindy back to the workplace, it brings in a guest star,
and it keeps her engaged to Casey. The first and second aren't that
surprising but the third is holding off the inevitable. I'm sure
there's a reason but it just feels like dragging it out so they could
concentrate on other things for a while. Which is just making my
point.
The Workplace Comedy: The
premiere brings Mindy from Haiti back to her practice in New York
City. Only she's been replaced by James Franco. The use of famous
guest stars is pretty iffy because they have the potential to steal
the show. The writers take the advantage of writing for them to the
point where everything else fades into the background. The Mindy
Project is one of the few shows that is actually able to bring in as
many guest stars as it wants without compromising itself. James
Franco doesn't really steal the spotlight from Mindy. At the same
time, he doesn't really add anything to the proceedings. He's
charming and talented but he's not given a lot of material to work
with. His character is so forgettable that the only reason fans will
remember him is because he's played by James Franco. The show can fix
this in the next episode because he's going to stick around at least
until then but he still feels like a redundant element to an already
stuffed premiere. What's worse about his forgettable character is how
he doesn't really factor into any of the plots. Like most of the
time, the workplace is simply just there because the producers keep
including it. Take out any of James Franco's scenes and you would
lose nothing. Likewise, take out the workplace comedy and the Mindy
Project would be just fine. Actually: it would be stronger and more
cohesive.
Hangout Comedy: The
funny thing about the Mindy Project is the disconnect between it's
name and the size of the cast. This is a show about Mindy. There is
no question about that. What is odd is that this show thinks it's an
ensemble comedy. Now most of the cast members are justified because
of the workplace but most of the time they're really just friends.
That's right: the workplace comedy justifies the hangout comedy part
of the show. What's wrong with just having Danny be a next door
neighbor? I only say Danny because he's the only member of the
ensemble that actually adds something to the Mindy Project. His
banter is not only entertaining but their relationship dynamic helps
influence Mindy's behavior. The rest of the characters might be
Mindy's friends but they don't have strong enough relationships that
they really contribute to her development. Seriously, what does
Jeremy, Beth, Betsy, and Morgan add to this show? What's crazy is
that the cast keeps growing They're adding Adam Pally. Just, why? Why
does this show feel the need to have so many characters when so few
of them are really adding anything? It's because the producers think
this is an ensemble comedy but anybody is really just watching for
Mindy.
The Mindy
Project's second season premiere is a combination of three different
shows that are fighting for focus: workplace, hangout, and romantic
comedy. Obviously, I think this show would be best served by dropping
the workplace and the hangout parts because they don't really matter.
That's not going to happen. The premiere is hurt because it's also
not funny enough to really have me excuse it's major structure
problems. The Mindy Project starts of it's second season by proving
it hasn't learned from it's mistakes from the first.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be respectful of people's opinions. Remember these reviews are MY opinion and you may disagree with them. These are just TV shows.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.