YouTube What, did you think a little thing like a pandemic could stop the Newport Beach Film Festival from honoring writer, actor, and all-around good guy Eugene Levy? Not a chance. The Schitt’s Creek and Best In Show star was going to receive his lifetime achievement award by any means necessary, and a measly little pandemic wasn’t about to stop a pack of friends, family, and co-stars from paying tribute to the best pair of eyebrows in the business.
“First, let me say what an honor it is for me to not be there tonight,” Steve Martin says near the top of the video, adding, “To be able to tribute you and not really have to do much or go anywhere, just stay home, is such a thrill.” There are more jokes—these are funny people, after all—but the real draw of this video is the overwhelming niceness.
They’re so nice! They’re so nice and have such nice things to say that they drive this poor man, who just wanted to watch a video of people he likes in peace from the comfort of his home, to a face-mopping level of teariness. Just look:
See that shininess? That’s from tears. It’s hard to tell whose kind words kick off the weeping—maybe it was right at the top?—but it’s a safe bet that by the time Emily Hampshire calls him “everyone’s dad—sweetest, kindest, longest-talking dad,” the waterworks have well and truly started. And once Dustin Milligan starts in with a truly insane story about Levy trying to put an ice cube into a warm can of soda, all bets are off.
“There’s no one funnier, there’s no one more prolific as a writer, there’s no one smarter, and there’s no one kinder,” Martin Short says, and hoo boy, our allergies are sure acting up. Anyway, Eugene Levy is also, as evidenced by this video, very good at softly crying tears of joy. Not us, though. We’re very stoic. It’s just really dusty in here. We can’t wait to see how much he cries during the Emmys, whatever the hell the Emmys are going to be.
In closing, here’s what Jennifer Coolidge wears for her segment:
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