Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011) Reviews

• A roller-coaster ride

  mette_christoffersen2011-06-24

  What seems to be a simple documentary following Conan O'Brien on his live tour, is also an exhausting roller-coaster ride of hilarity, melancholy, anger, arrogance, farce and gratefulness. Hilarity in the constant ways Conan tries (and succeeds) to entertain everyone around him. Melancholy and anger in seeing Conan fight with his emotions of having to cope with a broken dream of hosting The Tonight Show, with both morose moments and slapstick jabs to the people that let him down. Arrogance in his "Mean Conan"-persona to the people closest to him, and in trying to cope with the many demands of fans. Farce, in the moments where things boil over and Conan truly can't stop talking, singing, being courteous to everyone around him. Gratefulness, in the fact that he keeps on keeping on, because he knows that people care and want to live up to their expectations. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop is truly the perfect title to this documentary, but you only really understand that after watching it.

• My favorite film of the year so far

  jmclaughlin902011-06-26

  Ever since middle school, I have been a huge fan of Conan O'Brien. I would only watch his show on Fridays or over school breaks because if I got caught being up so late, I'd get in trouble. But when he started on The Tonight Show, I stayed up late and watched it anyways no matter the day. So I was watching every night as the battle for The Tonight Show unfolded and, like many, I gave all of my support to him. So after leaving the Tonight Show, he planned a 32-city live tour, which is what the film focuses on. The tour moments are fun, especially the backstage bits. During the Radio City Music Hall show, we see Conan, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert backstage preparing their skit a mere 9 minutes before they go on stage and perform it. We really see the creativity that went into this tour and they pulled it off nicely. There are moments after the shows where he complains about not wanting to meet fans, but he does it anyways. He definitely shows much appreciation for them and all of their support. We get to see a darker side of Conan in the film. At one point, he teases Jack McBrayer, calling him a hick and even making up a song on the spot that's very dark, yet I found myself laughing. Who wouldn't be able to go into a darker place after losing one of the biggest television shows of all time? Honestly the film made me love Conan even more. Even though he does act somewhat mean at times, his amazing team still sticks with him. He has such a wonderful group of people supporting him. There are some really nice moments of him with long time friend and sidekick, Andy Richter. You can really tell that they will always be there for each other. Also I have to give credit to Sona Movsesian, Conan's assistant, who handles him well at some pretty rough times. I think documentaries about entertainers are always great to see. You get to see much more of them than you do on TV or on stage. This is one of the best I've ever seen and I'm not just saying this because I'm a Conan fanatic, but this film is very well made. We get to see moments of Conan that we normally don't get to and it's fascinating to watch. The film gets dark at times, but for the most part, it's hilarious. The film is a must see for Conan fans and it's the year's absolute best film. I don't think there will be a more honest, funny and entertaining film this year. Go Team Coco.

• Conan please don't stop

  lmelnick-999-2604242011-03-31

  I am not a big Conan O'Brien fan, but I love behind-the-scenes type documentaries. This one is excellent. It showcases Conan during a very difficult time in his life when he tries to come to terms with losing the Tonight Show and what to do with his anger. It shows a side of Conan that most people never see, and is hilarious throughout. I have so much more respect for him as a performer after seeing the film even though he comes across as a fairly arrogant jerk during most of the film. He is still very funny, even when you wish he were nicer. The director had over 140 hrs of footage and cut this down perfectly. Great audio and editing which was a huge task. Overall, it is a truly enjoyable movie.

• Cathartic documentary.

  fallenaspirinita2011-06-26

  This documentary explores the life of Conan O'Brien behind the scenes. His creative mind and how his comedy comes to life. It was refreshing to see a different side of him and seeing him get sometimes bitter and deal with the disappointment of not being able to perform. The tour was cathartic and you can see throughout the movie how we copes with his loss and how he finds clarity and reassurance.It is important to notice that the director focuses solely in Conan's life and most of the other members of the crew are just there to complete the film. You can see a more human sometimes bitter and angry Conan, impatient at some times but always trying to get something funny and meaningful out of the situation.The people he surrounded with provide him with support and play a major role in this cathartic and life changing experience.

• A hard workingman keep working, no great mystery here

  MalcolmJTaylor2011-07-13

  I found this film useful viewing for one reason only: it captures the energy necessary to perform and the momentum that's required to sustain that energy. Had Conan not mounted a stage show, perhaps his need to perform may have itself atrophied. Watching this energy propel Conan is in itself contagious and inspiring. Beyond this achievement, however, there is a lack of any greater investigation into the nature of performance or putting it into a greater context. It exists more or less as a loving video postcard, whose brief tension has been sapped out by the fact that Conan now has his own show back on TBS. This film suffers from a lack of a strong antagonist. It also suffers from not providing any detracting views or opinions on Conan himself. We never get the sense that there will be any real failure here: a high level, well-oiled, show business machine, with a large staff, sells out some 40 odd huge A-level theatres in major markets in a matter of days and then proceeds to play them by flying to and fro in a private Leer jet plane. Not exactly the same tension created by an artist battling for public acclaim in his salad days. Riding a gravy train is not as exciting as walking along the edge of a cliff. As a loving video postcard, it is at times frustrating in it's selection of events. The film chooses to show a lengthy clip of Eddie Veder covering "The Who", yet deprives us of Jim Carrey's impromptu performance with Conan. As a fan of comedy, I would much rather have seen the Jim Carry act than watch Eddie Veder, as awesome as he is, who seems to have nothing to do with Conan. And yet musically, I would have liked to see more of Jack White, since Conan was instrumental in launching his career and genuinely loves his music. There is also not much here on tracing Conan's history. He's not put under the microscope as much as I was led to expect from the promotional campaign. He's basically just doing his thing, being charming and entertaining. As a documentary subject he lacks having a darker side and/or strong opposition. The tour was cathartic for Conan. But the film for the audience lacks surprise and tension. There is no great question explored here, such as "Did Conan hit the road to fill some great void within himself?" Please, that is some serious marketing BS. He's simply a hard workingman who loves his job, his staff, his family and kids and wants to keep working, because he knows not working leads to the death of the performance muscle. An endurance runner wouldn't take six months off if someone told them they couldn't run a prestigious race. They'd keep running in the back woods if they were passionate about running. Mystery solved. Conan is passionate about performing. He needs to keep entertaining audiences if he's going to stay in peak shape. Can't go on TV, well hey then, lets do theatre! The problem with this film is it provides neither tragedy nor comedy. As funny as Conan is, he's not hilarious. He's simply a very sweet funny guy that everyone wishes was his best friend. After all, he's the straight man to every one of his guests, so that they can shine and be funny. So herein lies a film about an entertaining straight man, an MC if you will. Which is fine. It's just irksome that it's pretending to be more than what it really is. You don't go to the show to see the MC, you go to see the featured acts. Conan becomes his own featured act by filling time with his music performances. Something no one would pay money to see under normal circumstances. Now that those "abnormal" circumstances have passed, the exercise of documenting it seems pointless except as a record for those involved, which is exactly what this film is.