Chick Flick Road Kill: A Behind the Scenes Odyssey Into Movie-Made America

In 2001, 26-year-old Oakland, Calif., waitress Rebensdorf was ""tired of my every image being the refuse from some since-forgotten flick."" Hoping to defuse the creeping Hollywood romanticism within and inject some ""oomph"" into her life, Rebensdorf takes her Suzuki Sidekick (""the Tonka Toy of the automobile industry"") across the country to visit the places where her favorite movies and television shows were set and/or filmed. Despite the title, Rebensdorf is almost entirely unconcerned with ""chick flicks"": her first stop is Brownsville, Ore., where director Rob Reiner shot Stand by Me; after that, she drives north to Washington, where iconic 1990s TV series ""Twin Peaks"" and ""Northern Exposure"" were filmed; later, she ventures to Devils Tower in Deadwood, S.Dak., site of the alien landing in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Alternately delighted and disappointed (the Snoqualmie Falls from Twin Peaks' opening credits ""just make me miss the soundtrack""), Rebensdorf is always entertaining. Her strongest work takes place in New York City just weeks after Sept. 11, where she writes on the difference between what she saw on motel room TVs and the situation she encounters on the streets. Grounded in Rebesndorf's sharp voice, finely balanced between sincerity and cynicism, the 9/11 chapter provides the melancholy heart of this funny, smart and swift travelogue.