The Mindy Project Review: The Importance of Mindy Being Her Own Money Guy

Cristin Milioti returns as a changed Whitney in the new Mindy Project. Whitney and Mindy forge a new friendship out of their reciprocal needs from each other, namely financial advice for Mindy and a distraction to break Whitney’s drug addiction. Sounds like heavy stuff for a typical sitcom but The Mindy Project handled both subjects seriously while keeping humor in play.

Out of finances and addiction, obviously Mindy’s ignorance about her money is easier to poke fun at. It’s not hard to believe she’s relied on men to handle her finances all her life: first her dad then Danny. The irony then that Jody’s the one to push her to get her disarray in order isn’t lost on me. He’s crushing on her so bad, even treating a plan to go shopping for a grandfather clock like an unofficial date. When he’s stood up and lied to about who Mindy’s ditching him for, I felt bad for the guy. Jody started as a very unlikable playboy disguised as a Southern gentleman but his feelings for Mindy bring out a softer side. Right now she isn’t yet aware of the extent of his feelings but she soon will be when she gets the letter he too hastily sent in the mail!

On paper, Mindy and Whitney don’t make sense as friends but such is life. This is the beginning of a beautiful and much-needed lady friendship on the show. Mindy hasn’t had other close friends outside of her co-workers ever since Gwen (Anna Camp) disappeared/presumably got too busy for her. Whitney has her act together for the most part, pretending to be a cokehead for the sake of her own coworkers in the hedge fund group she opened on the floor about Schulman and Associates. In reality she’s seeking help with a sponsor now instead of relying on Mindy to act as her anti drug.

All this was going on with a Jeremy storyline for the first time in forever. He’s parading a new older woman around the office and hospital as his new girlfriend, almost too suspiciously though. Tamra catches onto him and I almost expected her to fall for his trap too. By passing the woman off as his girlfriend, he was deliberately making all the nurses so jealous they’d see him in a new light and have no apprehension about cheating with him. What’s that old saying? A tiger can’t change his stripes. Jeremy is still sad and desperate for love.

With the focus on Whitney and Jody vying for Mindy’s time and attention, there wasn’t much Morgan in the episode. Not to mention another Danny-less chapter. Building up the confidence of newly single mom Mindy is currently the most important aspect of the show, and one it should be applauded for. Becoming her own “money guy” in the end is a huge accomplishment for Mindy. On a related note, her telling Jody to not care so much about her life if it stresses him out that much was also a proud moment to watch.