Conan O’Brien Cant Stop

 

Story:

Following his unplanned and highly publicized departure from NBC, exiled talk show host Conan O'Brien decides to take his show on the road. This documentary captures that uproarious tour as well as O'Brien's dramatic break with his ex-employers. (NetFlix)

Review:

Conan O’Brien Cant Stop chronicles the newly-dubbed Coco on his journey to stay active during the six months that he has been legally prohibited from appearing on television after ending his contract with NBC.  Instead of taking a six month vacation (which he can probably afford to do), Conan decides to take his monstrous posse and go on tour.  

“Tour” of course means something along the lines of “Conan’s late night show LIVE,” requiring weeks of writing and rehearsal, a full back up band, a pair of long-legged back up dancers, and a long roster of one-time celebrity guests.

This documentary film is much like every iteration of Conan’s show in the last three years: it’s entertaining to the core and through the humor, it reveals a little something about the celebrity in question.  The only difference is that this time, the honored guest is Conan himself.  The director succeeds in making the viewer feel like a true fly on the wall in a room full of funny people.  In fact, the number of times that director Rodman Flender catches Conan in the act of throwing punches at one of his writers leads you to wonder if he even realizes that the camera is rolling.  But then there are the moments of emotional purity, in which a completely exhausted Conan confesses to the room and the camera that he’s not sure how much more he can take.  Whether or not he deserves your sympathy is entirely up to you.

As knee-slappingly fun as these 89 minutes are, they fail to tell a film-worthy story.  Conan is just as much of a questionably likable character at the end as he is at the beginning, the only difference being that his six month mandated break from television is almost over and he’s a little more tired than he was before.  It is unclear if he has learned anything from his tour (although the shots of him on stage are the most enjoyable of the film) and he certainly exhibits no change.  Flender does a stand-up job of inciting audience affection for Conan’s young assistant Sona, but not even she changes over the course of these six months.

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop appears to be entertainment for the sake of entertainment. An enjoyable story that probably wasn’t screaming to be told. 

Reviewed by Emily Comisar for Documentary Film Online on January 17, 2012

In Conclusion: