I suppose I’ll be the first person to say this, but: “The Mindy Project” is better than “New Girl.” It has been since about January, and Tuesday’s season finale was yet another indication that Mindy and the boys have surpassed Jess and the boys in the laugh category.
Maybe it’s just a matter of the particular styles of comedy, but anecdotally, I can say I inadvertently laugh or snort out loud a few times during every episode of “Mindy” and rarely during “New Girl.”
I’ll admit to a small bias: I do like Mindy Kaling quite a lot. (Then again, I wouldn’t kick Zooey Deschanel out of bed for eating crackers, either.) Actually, that bias might not work in the show’s favor, because my expectations were so high for “Mindy” out of the gate. And, certainly, those early episodes were not great, which is why the question of “‘Mindy’ or ‘New Girl?’ ” can only be fairly answered if you’ve seen every episode of each series. Obviously, the weakest “Mindys” fall short of the best “New Girls.”
The comedy style of “Mindy” is often unexpected. In Tuesday’s Season 1 finale, Mindy is trying to have Skype sex with her boyfriend when — in the process of removing her shirt — she accidentally calls Morgan. That right there is worth a snort because there’s just something naturally funny about the beefy, socially unique Morgan, played to perfection by Ike Barinholtz. Then the joke just builds as Morgan immediately starts stripping and Mindy calmly explains that it was a misdial.
Kaling — and most of the cast, for that matter — is so good at casual, frank deliveries like that. Another example comes later in the episode when Mindy is camping with her boyfriend at he gets up from his sleeping bag to pee: “Oh my god, you knocked my glasses off with your penis!” It’s a typical story of a relationship being challenged by close living quarters, but the “Mindy” writers find the most out-of-the-box gags to plug into these universal stories.
Plus, it has sheer randomness that’s not part of a story per se, like when Mindy lists anecdotes from her bad day: “… someone called me ‘sir’ …”
All of this is not to say that “New Girl” is bad, just that I disagree with it getting more love than “Mindy” (for example, an 8.0 rating on tv.com compared to “Mindy’s” 7.5).
The handling of the Jess-Nick pairing, telegraphed from the show’s beginning but naturally worked into the flow of Season 2, had been superb up until the last couple episodes. Winston has found a spot in the narratives lately, although perhaps at the expense of Schmidt, whose breakup with Cece made no sense — and his hookup with his chubby ex, whose name I can’t recall, is even more out of character. (And does she even like Schmidt? Is she really getting Schmidt to return to his true self, or is she manipulating him away from the more honest man he has become?). “New Girl” has a weird flaw of only being able to service three of the four roomies at a time; Schmidt is currently on the outs.
It does deliver some snort-worthy moments, mostly courtesy of Jake Johnson’s wonderfully — almost lazily — understated Nick, such as when he desperately searches for a fake girlfriend name to give to Jess’ dad: “Yolanda …” He looks over at Winston. “… Winston.” A later callback to that name wrings another chuckle out of the joke. (Throw in Julius Pepperwood, and “New Girl” has the best fake names since “Seinfeld,” with its Pennypackers and Art Vandelays.)
But in Tuesday’s Season 2 finale, there was never any doubt where that badger-in-the-air-ducts business was headed. It was inevitable that Jess and Nick would fall through the ceiling onto the awning above the altar. Certainly, there were still good laughs amidst that plot, such as Nick’s random obsession with “Cotton Eye Joe.” (Enhancing the joke are Nick’s homemade duck-tape-and-Sharpie CD label and the “Family Guy”-style flashback to Nick pumping his fist to the song as Jess asks “What did you need me for?”).
“Mindy” never finds itself stuck in a telegraphed plot. It has built up a versatile stable of characters and it’s starting to find their strengths. I still argue that Betsy needs more screen time, and Mark Duplass’ rival naturalistic doctor could stand to disappear; but generally, “Mindy” — like Mindy — has a sense of confidence amidst all the chaos.
“New Girl” is struggling a bit right now. For example: Is Jess really interested in Nick? Whereas Johnson’s pseudo-lazy acting still allows us a window into his soul, Deschanel — although obviously very watchable — is a little harder to read. That might be my natural tendency to understand the male character more. But at the end of Season 2, I sensed the writers were on unsure footing with Jess-and-Nick.
A similar challenge will await “Mindy” when the writers more seriously address Mindy-and-Danny. But with so many other things working for the show, it doesn’t have put all the pressure on that one relationship.
Now it’s your turn to state your case. What show is better at the moment — “New Girl” or “The Mindy Project?”