REVIEW POTPOURRI – Movie: Something’s Gotta Give; Journalist: Christine Sadler

by Peter Cates

Something’s Gotta Give

Frances McDormand

Something’s Gotta Give was a mildly pleasant 2003 comedy via which Diane Keaton, Frances McDormand, and Amanda Peet stole the show from the obnoxiously overrated Jack Nicholson and the pallid Keanu Reeves.

Amanda Peet

Credit is also due for the fine acting of Paul Michael Glaser as Keaton’s ex-husband and Rachel Ticotin, who made a most vivid presence as Doctor Martinez.

Accessible on You­Tube, the soundtrack has a charm­ingly eclectic array of performances that include Django Reinhardt’s Brazil, Satchmo’s La Vie en Rose and Eartha Kitt’s vibrant C’Est Si Bon.

Finally, the best cinematic moments were those of Paris in the evening at the hotel and bistro and on the bridge overlooking the Seine.

Christine Sadler

A Washington Post journalist, Christine Sadler (1902-1983), was the first woman ever allowed to cover a Presidential convention; in 1963, she published an original paperback, America’s First Ladies, which ends at Jackie Kennedy.

Christine Sadler

Our very first First Lady, Martha Custis Washington (1731-1802), was a 28-year-old, very wealthy widow when she married George in 1759 at what was called the White House Plantation, in tidewater Virginia.

Sadler described Mrs. Washington as follows: “Martha loved to dance, was passable at cards, embroidered expertly, handled servants with finesse, played the harpsichord, knew about weaving, preserving, feeding guests,… was vain about her excellent teeth, pretty hands and tiny feet.”

Courtesy of a philandering father, Martha had two illegitimate half siblings including an African-American sister, in addition to her seven younger brothers and sisters, all of whom she outlived.

Her husband’s own splendid career as General and “Father of our Country” has been amply documented elsewhere.