Sad puppy.
I am a huge Mindy Kaling fan. Let this be said.
But, her book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, was a huge disappointment. She was trying too hard. I would call it a wannabe version of Tina Fey’s Bossypants. I don’t want to dwell on the negative, so with that being said I will move onto the positive.
One cool aspect of this book was learning about Kaling’s origins. Especially a two person play she and her best friend, Brenda, wrote titled Matt & Ben, Friendship Isn’t Always About Good Will. It was a play about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s friendship, a completely fictional work. This was Kaling’s big break into comedy. They ran two shows a night off Broadway, and in 2002 won best play (out of 500 submissions) from the Fringe Festival.
The play was invited to the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. It was also to be filmed for an HBO special. Matt & Ben did not work well on a larger, less intimate stage. After a failed attempt at turning Matt & Ben into a sitcom, Kaling was invited to a general meeting with Greg Daniels. A general meeting is very vague. It says I’m curious about you, but I am not ready to commit or offer you any type of job. The result: Kaling was hired as a staff writer for six episodes of The Office mid-season. The rest is history.
Mindy’s book encouraged me to watch all eight seasons of The Office from beginning to end. I am OBSESSED with The Office now. It makes me so happy. I am half way through the eighth season. Yes, it is not the same with Michael gone. I actually cried during the episode where he’s saying goodbye to everyone. The office doesn’t know he’s leaving that night instead of tomorrow. Jim is the only one who figures it out. Sigh.
I also liked her chapter titled Men and Boys. She gets into the main differences and touches on growing up.
“I’m thirty-two and I fully feel like an adult. Sure, sometimes I miss wearing Hello Kitty jewelry or ironic T-shirts from Urban Outfitters on occasion. Who doesn’t? I don’t, because I think it would seem kind of pitiful.”
Thank you Mindy. Dear everyone, please dress like an adult if you are one. This has been one of my small missions this year.
Let’s Recap: The Office, awesome. The Mindy Project, awesome. Her personal Instagram account is constantly updated, awesome. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, not awesome.
Rating: 2 Teeth