Photo by Rachel Levitin

The first-ever portrayal of a Washington Nationals player on the silver screen opens in theaters this Friday (December 17) in the form of the latest James L. Brooks film “How Do You Know” starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson (who plays a relief pitcher), and Jack Nicholson. As a fun, holiday “thank you” to season ticket, premium ticket, and re-newed ticket holders in 2011, the Nationals Dream Foundation — led by Marla Lerner Tanenbaum — hosted a unique holiday season film screening at E Street Cinema Wednesday night.

Nats pitcher Craig Stammen and team manager Jim Riggleman were in attendance and able to catch up for a minute on the red carpet E Street rolled out for the occasion. Fans mingled while cocktails were delivered by an event staff decked-out in the team’s new uniforms. And — most importantly — Batolin creator and player Glenn Donnellon was there to provide a wide-range of musical entertainment featuring hits by The Beatles, Lady Gaga, and more.

Tannenbaum first conceived the unique cocktail hour-screening event with a couple of thoughts in mind. She wanted the foundation to find a way to demonstrate how thankful the team is for the continued support of their fans in and around the District while also reminding those same individuals that the Nationals Dream Foundation is a cause worth giving back to.

Donations for the foundation were accepted all evening.

The foundation also issued over 100 invitations to USO members to view the film and attend the pre-film cocktail reception. Needless to say, the night was all about giving back in some regard with the reward of seeing a film’s debut in this city with a few of those cute, little cocktail hour appetizers thrown into the mix.

For the record, there’s no spoiler here but “How Do You Know” is a definite chick-flick. Reese Witherspoon is witty with a sense of charm, Paul Rudd is an adorable leading man led by love (it’s a chick-flick, don’t forget), and Owen Wilson’s portrayal of a Nats bullpen pitcher is reminiscent of his portrayal of John Beckwith in “Wedding Crashers” combined with Thomas Jane’s portrayal of Mickey Mantle in Billy Cristal’s “61*“. He plays an athlete stereotype who loves the game, loves to unwind off the field, and loves to love the ladies.

Rachel Levitin

Rachel moved to DC in the fall of 2005 to study Journalism and Music at American University. When she’s not keeping up with the latest Major League Baseball news, she works on making music as an accomplished singer-songwriter and was even a featured performer/speaker at TEDxDupont Circle in 2012. Rachel has also contributed to The Washington Examiner and MASN Sports’ Nationals Buzz as a guest blogger. See why she loves DC. E-Mail: rachel@welovedc.com.