Gen Y malaise
The effortlessly realistic “Funny Ha Ha” depicts post-college angst – hangovers, hookups, too much free (unemployed) time – with a light enough touch to make Gen Xers sort of nostalgic.
Remedial reading
It may not be part of the vaunted “… for Dummies” series, but the brand-new “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Reading Critically” is so absurdly meta that it at least deserves an honorable mention.
Puppet masters
The campiest movie villain of the past year was, inarguably, Kim Jong Il – the North Korean dictator rendered as a petulant puppet in the insanely crude, smart, hilarious “Team America: World Police,” available on DVD Tuesday.
Cartoon Gorillaz
A heady mix of 3-D and hand-drawn animation, the new video for the Gorillaz’ “Feel Good Inc.” does justice to the fizzy, infectious single.
More Chanel!
Published in seven languages, the high-fashion Stiletto magazine has just published an all-Chanel edition, filled with such arcana as how chemists come up with shades of house lipstick.
Goth stars
Drawing raves from such disparate quarters as rock-snob bloggers and Danny DeVito, ’80s-era goth rockers Bauhaus stole last weekend’s massive Coachella festival from headliners Coldplay, who offered a polite, stultifying set.
Mommie dearest
Now 75, Francine du Plessix Gray proves that some never get over childhood trauma with “Them: A Memoir of Parents,” in which she tries to explain, understand and exact revenge on her narcissistic mother and remote stepfather, Conde Nast legend Alex Liberman.
‘Lost’ plot
Now that the increasingly lazy writers of “Lost” have exhausted the usual stunts (sudden death, trick endings, etc.), they’ve decided to introduce the dynamic Michelle Rodriguez as a meek castaway who’s gone totally unnoticed for the past nine months. We eagerly await the cameo by the kitchen sink.
Irving’s pen
John Irving – America’s most popular popular novelist – makes a rare public appearance Monday evening at the 92nd St. Y, where he will answer questions and read from his forthcoming behemoth of a novel, “Until I Find You.”
Card gamesSo simple it’s genius (and vice versa), Mattel introduces the long-beloved kids’ card game Uno in a special waterproof set, protected for poolside play or cocktail hour booziness.
