Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (R)

Grade: B-

• Directed by: Rodman Flender
• Starring: Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Jimmy Vivino, Scott Healy, Mike Merritt, James Wormworth, Jerry Vivino, Mark Pender, Richie Rosenberg
• Studio: Pariah
• Released: June 24, 2011
• Running Time: 89 minutes/1 hour and 29 minutes
• Language: English

Very rarely will I ever review a film that I haven't fully seen all the way through, but in the case of "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop", where I missed about 10 minutes of the film, I couldn't pass up the chance to review it after finishing it.  Why, you ask?  The reason why I had to review it is because I was fascinated with Conan O'Brien like many people were when the fiasco at NBC happened, and he got kicked from The Tonight Show by Jay Leno.  I only knew what I knew about the situation from information online and on TV, but now through this film, I was able to get an inside look on how Conan felt about everything.

The film, which is really a documentary, follows Conan after getting axed from The Tonight Show.  It shows his thought process dealing with what happened, then shows what he plans do with his life now that the network he has called home for years betrayed him.  Knowing about his education and background at The Simpsons, I knew Conan was an intelligent man, but what I was amazed by was how quickly he improvised and thought of ideas for his tour, which a majority of the documentary follows.  It was interesting to see the master at work, but at the same time, it was a bit sad because on the surface, he seemed cheerful, but behind closed doors, you could see the frustration and anger he had at NBC for what they did to him.  He lashed his feelings at friends and coworkers, which was surprising, but completely understandable considering the situation.  Even though Conan was depressed, we see glimpses of happiness, like when he's with his family, which to me was the highlight of the documentary, besides the ending, which ends when Conan starts his new gig on TBS.

So why did I give this documentary only a B-?  Some of my reasoning is because I missed some of the film, but my other reasoning is because I found parts of the film boring.  Don't get me wrong, everything with Conan glued me to the screen, but the documentary focused too much on the people he worked with.  And while it's nice to see all the people behind the scenes who don't get the credit they usually deserve, when I see something with Conan O'Brien, I want to see more Conan O'Brien.  Also, I think Rodman Flender, the director, tried too much to integrate humor into the film.  There were instances when I thought the humor was necessary, but other times when it wasn't.  It's good to see Conan O'Brien can't stop working and making people laugh, but I honestly wished their was more time when he was alone and venting because that showed a side of Conan that we as viewers rarely see.  I may be in the minority on that, but it's what I wanted.

"Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" isn't a bad film or a bad documentary, but if you're not into his work, then I don't think you'll be interested in the film or like it.  If you are, then enjoy another piece of work involving Conan.  It's not the best thing I've ever seen with him, but this is the closest I'll ever get to seeing the real Conan, which is honestly what makes this worth seeing.