Matt Damon may have been honored last night with the American Cinematheque Award, but the tribute was more of a roast than anything else.
Charlize Theron got into the blame game, faulting Damon for one of Will Smith's few failures…
"In 2000 Matt and I starred in The Legend of Bagger Vance along with Will Smith, the only Will Smith movie that didn't make like a gagillion, million dollars," Theron said. "I reunited with Will in Hancock, which did great. So I guess it's you, Matt."
And she didn't stop there.
"That's not the only thing Matt and I have in common," Theron continued. "We're both Academy Award winners. Of course, I won mine in a real category and Matt's was just for typing up [Ben] Affleck's thoughts."
Affleck cracked that Damon recently called his father to tell him he finally snagged the role he's been waiting to do since he was a kid...
Damon will play Liberace's boyfriend opposite Michael Douglas. Papa Damon's response, Affleck said, "'Terrific, Matt. I can't wait to see you up there blowing Michael Douglas under a piano while he's playing 'Stardust.'"
Jennifer Garner thanked Damon for his wife, Lucy, "for keeping us sane," while their husbands talk endlessly about their beloved Red Sox. Garner also described Damon and Affleck's relationship as "one of the greatest love stories ever told." Damon would later call his best friend, "my hetero life-mate." (P.S. Garner was looking better than ever in a teeny black dress and killer heels!)
Casey Affleck showed a photo from a vacation he and Damon took together. What did the pic show? Damon and Affleck sitting naked on a couch with a small black bar covering Damon's manhood but a much larger one over Affleck's.
Of course, Damon was praised for his wide range of work and the effort he puts into each of his characters. "Matt has the ability to transform himself into any character," Jimmy Kimmel said. "He lost 40 pounds in a hundred days to play an opium addict in Courage Under Fire. He gained 30 pounds for his role in the Informant, and the metamorphosis he underwent to play Precious...I didn't even know she was him."
The oddest moment of the night had to be a video message from George Clooney, which he delivered while undergoing a mock proctology exam. A perplexed Damon said, "That was particularly enjoyable—and strange!"
President Bill Clinton also sent in a video to praise Damon for his humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors. Others at the gala, which took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, included Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams, Olivia Wilde, Don Cheadle, Greg Kinnear, director Paul Greengrass and Ocean's franchise producer Jerry Weintraub.
No word if Kimmel and his statuesque date ran into his ex, Sarah Silverman, who was seated a couple of tables away from them with her date. "I was surprised Jimmy came, to tell you the truth, given everything that's gone down," Damon told me.
And then he smiled, "But I'm sure he just wanted to support Ben."
The tribute will air next month on ABC.
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It's more than just a bromance for Matt and Ben—they're also related.