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'The Mindy Project': Seth Rogen As The One That Got Away

Reid Nakamura |
February 26, 2013 | 10:14 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

Seth Rogen stops by "The Mindy Project" (Fox)
Seth Rogen stops by "The Mindy Project" (Fox)

This week’s episode of “The Mindy Project” features Seth Rogen as the latest in a long, long line of famous guest stars to play love interests for Dr. Mindy Lahiri. Ed Helms, B.J. Novak, and Seth Meyers are just three of several big names to stop by for an episode or two to play a chapter in Mindy’s long and busy love story. Fox announced Rogen was to guest star on the show all the way back in January, so fans have had over a month to anticipate his appearance.

So how did he do? Pretty well, actually. Rogen wisely skipped the loud and obnoxious attitude, for which his characters are typically known, to play Sam, Mindy’s childhood crush from a summer at a Jewish sleepaway camp. He was charming and funny and seemed to have a good rapport with Kaling, giving their characters easy chemistry.

Although as a whole, this week’s episode really wasn’t as great as some others the show has done. Plot-wise, it seems strange that a man just back from a tour in Afghanistan would choose to spend his last few days with a girl he hasn’t seen in decades. His imminent return to Afghanistan is the main driving force of the story, so I’ll just ignore all the questions I have about other people who may have wanted to see him before he shipped out.

ALSO SEE: Five Reasons To Fall In Love With "The Mindy Project"

“The Mindy Project” is only half an hour long, so the story between Sam and Mindy takes up a large portion of the episode. Many of the other characters are left with nothing to do, but Danny gets stuck with a really baffling story about becoming a sperm donor for one of his patients. Not only does this seem incredibly unprofessional, but we’re never really given a reason for Danny to agree. Being compared to Robert Duvall isn’t (or at least shouldn’t be) motivation enough for a man to impregnate a woman. Maybe if the story hadn’t been compressed into three short scenes, it would’ve all started to make some sense. Then again, it sure was fun to watch Mindy get him out of it in mere seconds with a list of his faults that started with "crazily sweaty" and ended with "selfish lover."

Because the episode was co-written by Jeremy Bronson and Mindy Kaling, a lot of the dialogue captured the unique sense of humor that makes “The Mindy Project” so different (a welcome relief after last week’s goofier episode, penned by Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen). Everything, from the outrage at the “scam” of self-checkout to an excellent use of the word “defenestrated,” seemed to reflect the one-of-a-kind voice that earned Kaling her own show in the first place.

Ultimately, “The Mindy Project” is still a new show waiting to hit its stride. Sixteen episodes in to the series, many of the characters remain underdeveloped and the show continues to struggle with the balance between romantic comedy and workplace comedy. It’s a shame because the humor is spot on and with a great writer like Kaling at the helm, the show should be fantastic. But then again, every new comedy struggles in its first season (see: “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” and even “30 Rock”), so hopefully “The Mindy Project” finds its magic soon.

Reach Staff Reporter Reid Nakamura here.



 

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