Eugene Levy stands out as one of those actors that can be deadly serious, but you’re always waiting for him to turn on the funny and become one of the craziest and most off kilter guys that’s ever been in the business. He embraces his comedy so much that at times you kind of have to wonder if he knows how humorous he is or if he’s just so into that it’s coming out naturally and he can’t really gauge what he’s doing. Throughout his long and successful career he’s been one of the great actors and comedians that’s managed to make people laugh quite often and without really trying sometimes since he’s just that kind of funny guy that can make a certain face and have people rolling in the aisles.
Here are a few of his best performances.
5. Goon
It’s not often that you get to see him as a completely serious character but in Goon he got to be the disapproving father that had barely any tolerance for his gay son’s sexuality and his other son’s choice of career. When Doug decided to become a hockey player his father took it to mean that he’d traded a job as a guy that was basically a glorified thug working for a bar to a guy that was just another glorified thug on a hockey team. It’s probably one of the least funny roles he’s ever taken on and yet he performs it so well that you can’t help but be impressed since he wears the mantle of disapproving father in a way that makes you want to apologize even if you’re not his son.
4. Armed and Dangerous
A lot of people should be able to admit that if they were threatened by the same person they were trying to defend that they might be just a bit nervous and lose all interest in trying to give that person the best defense possible. Of course a switch from this to an armed security guard isn’t exactly a lessening of responsibility since instead of a briefcase and a few legal documents he had to handle a gun and possibly deal with even more dangerous people in a line of work that was supposed to be less stress and carry less responsibility. Eugene Levy is that kind of comedian that tends to take on characters that go from bad situations to worse sometimes and it’s just hilarious to watch.
3. Splash
All you can think about his character in this movie, aside from the fact that he initially comes off as a jerk, is “poor guy”. Every time he attempts to make the discovery that mermaids are real he gets roughed up somehow and throughout the film he just gets pummeled by fate, karma, whatever you want to call it. His physical sense of comedy is such that everything he does isn’t necessarily funny but it’s a buildup to the funny moments that he perpetrates and becomes a plot device for him to work with. Near the end of the movie he thankfully turns from a heel into a helper and kind of redeems himself.
2. Cheaper by the Dozen 2
As he’s gotten older Eugene has just gotten better and has kept the physical comedy along with everything else. This movie was pretty funny since it focuses so much on the intense rivalry between the two families and what the patriarchs will do to stay ahead of each other. Of course by the time they both realize that they’re being completely ridiculous and that their families actually enjoy each other they’ve taken things to a level that could easily rip them apart. Thankfully though cooler heads prevail, meaning that their families eventually show them that the rivalry should be more friendly and less competitive.
1. American Pie
Throughout all of the American Pie movies he plays the dad that doesn’t seem to have a clue that his son is a horndog that’s already found out just what sex is, even if he hasn’t really experienced the pleasure of it yet. His talks with Jim are so comical that you can imagine that Jason Biggs was actually cringing when he wasn’t laughing hard enough to form tears like the rest of the audience. The talks about sex, the awkward moments when Jim and his dad just sit in stunned silence, and of course the pie moment are all comedy gold since they’re the type of funny that at least two or three generations found absolutely on point when it came to the kind of humor we enjoyed. Sure it was kind of sick sometimes, but it was awesome to watch, and Jim’s dad was simply too much to be believed since his brand of comedy was just what this film needed.
Eugene Levy is still one of the best.
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