Review of the series "The Mindy Project"
Mindy Kaling, known for her role as Kelly Kapoor in "The Office," was and still is not only an actress-comedian, but also a screenwriter. She worked in the script team of The Office, was responsible for several episodes, and even wrote her own book of memoirs at such a young age. Mindy's ambitions led her to her own series — at first it was called "Its'a Mess" (which translates to "A Complete mess" or something like that), but then, by decision of Fox TV, which agreed to show the first season, it was renamed the "Mindy Project".The central character of the series is Mindy Lahiri, a girl with three important characteristics: she is 1) young and single, 2) ethnically Indian, and 3) an obstetrician-gynecologist. These three characteristics of the main character determine the entire direction of the series. First, he talks about the search for the perfect man, whose image is shaped by Nora Ephron's films and glossy magazines. It's close to many, everyone has such a friend, it's funny and sometimes cute. Secondly, Mindy recalls her Indian origin in an inappropriate way, manipulating people who are afraid to look racist, and justifying for herself some extravagant antics of Indian culture. Something similar happens with Raj in "The Big Bang Theory" and Cece in "The New Girl." Thirdly, Mindy's profession is the real anchor of the series. When the viewer starts to think that this girl is just a romantic fool, the authors show us her in action. And, I must say, she's an excellent doctor. And can't such a wonderful specialist, who serves American society and helps bring cute children into the world, afford small weaknesses? Of course it can. In the same "New Girl," the characters often seem like infantile stooges who are not worth attention. Mindy and Sheldon Cooper are fine with that. They are experts who are useful to society, which means they are allowed to be a bit geeky.
Glenn Garvin of the Miami Herald, an outspoken opponent of the series, describes it as "Grey's Anatomy with ugly people." Actually, this is what the "Mindy Project" is all about. All his characters are as close to real people as possible. Yes, the comedy genre dictates the rules, and often the actions of the characters of the series are too saturated for real life with mutual jokes, ridiculous expressions and idiotic actions. You wouldn't be able to work from incessant laughter if your colleagues were like that. But their inner world, their strange phobias and cute addictions make them very touching and similar to you and me. It seems to have started with the "Office" — this method of humor, this gallery of types, this format of situations. The camera here is static, but its relationship to The Office and other similar projects is obvious.
Interestingly, this humorous series about the love experiences of a gynecologist is an illustration of the situation of minorities in the United States, in particular, the Asian minority. Strangely enough, it is the Asians (Chinese, Indians, Koreans, Japanese, Filipinos) who are the leading community in the country in terms of education and average income per person. The whites are in second place. In addition, Asian-Americans are much more rational than the white population — most of them are atheists and there are no religious fundamentalists at all. They usually own their own business, work in the field of high technology, science and medicine. The latter is especially true for Indians. Mindy Kaling herself (nee Vera Mindy Chokalingam), being a true American, was born in Massachusetts into a Tamil-Bengali immigrant family. Her father, Avu— is an architect, and her mother, Swati, is an obstetrician—gynecologist. The same situation applies to another comedian of Indian origin, Aziz Ansari from Parks and Recreation. He was born in South Carolina, his mother was a non—medical hospital employee, and his father was a gastroenterologist. Obviously, this phenomenon — educated, intelligent, highly skilled immigrants and their children — had to find its niche in the serial space. Raj wasn't enough (Kunal Nayyar, who plays him, was born in London, by the way).
As for the series itself, its plot, its stories, characters and actions, it is no different from other modern American sitcoms — it has a main line (Mindy's love quest), several major lines (Dani and his ex-wife, rivalry with the Deslauriers brothers, a trip to Haiti) and a separate story or two for each episode. The heroes have a problem, they make up a plan of action, they try to implement it throughout the series, nothing happens, and they act according to the insight they have come to them in the style of good old world wisdom. After the touching end of each episode, there is a strong sympathy for all the characters and the series in general, and you look forward to the next episode with a blissful smile.
The humor here is harsh in places, but most often it is built on relationships — fortunately, the main character likes to speculate about the nature of love and most often says some kind of stereotypical nonsense, which amuses and irritates others. Each character has their own characteristic trait or trademark silly habit, and all episodes are filled with the encounter of these strange characters with new challenges. Most of the time, humor is based on the confrontation between the rational man Danny and the romantic chatterbox Mindy. Jeremy's "Britishness" or Betsy's naivety is also sometimes mocked. The role of a clinical but devoted idiot is played by Morgan. This, by the way, completely kills any sexual tension between him and all the women in the world. In turn, the sexual tension between Mindy and Jeremy, and especially between Mindy and Danny, is a very, very important element of the series, which lasts from the first to the last episode, although it is given only a couple of minutes a week. But the peak of humor, satire and touching was Reverend Casey, with whom Mindy had an affair for the last third of the season. This priest of some very progressive Protestant sect turned out to be an extremely sweet and kind guy. Of course, his religiosity is ridiculed in every episode, but his overt sexuality combined with his pompous style and references to the Lord make him a pretty funny guy. Their dialogues with Mindy are very funny. For example:
—Oh my God, Casey!
"What is it?"
"You just knocked off my glasses with your penis!"
"Well, I'm sorry. We're in a cramped tent after all.
The last episode was just a great end to the season. There was very little humor in it, but there were a lot of touching scenes and important decisions. The final minutes in the hospital waiting room were very tense and long-awaited. I can't say how it ended there, but if you saw it, you'll agree that it ended very correctly. Join 1xBet today, and as a special gesture, we’ll furnish you with our exclusive 1xbet promo code unlocking even more benefits for your betting experience. Seize the opportunity and enhance your rewards with 1xBet’s exciting promo code offers. 1xBet provides its members with a plethora of captivating bonuses and promotions. Whether you’re drawn to cashback on esports bets, daily jackpots, Lucky Day rewards, or VIP perks, the platform offers a diverse range of opportunities.
