Review: As true and as honest as a documentary can hope to be, Conan O’ Brien Can’t Stop, captured not only what Conan himself was going through during his first ever tour, but it really showed what all entertainers go through. Rather it is selling out arenas, or playing the dive bar down the street, the life can get to you, and you have to ask your self, why keep going, why not just stop, and the answer is, you can't. At times the best feeling in the world, other times the worst, being an entertainer means you put it all on the line, and hoping, against all odds, for the best, by giving your best.
This documentary shows all sides of Conan and crew during this time in their lives, the good, the bad, the unsure, which there are plenty of, and sometimes even the ugly. Over the years Conan, along with sidekick Andy, and the Basic Cable Band, as they are now called, have become something of house hold faces, especially for the younger generation, who’ve grown up watching the Late Night show that brought them to popularity. This film allows us a behind the scenes look, letting us see what this group is like when they aren’t entertaining, and let their guard down.
Some of the better parts of the documentary are when things seems to be unsure, like the day of the first concert, they arrive in Portland, Organ, and it seems there is virtually no one around. Conan walks the streets cracking nervous jokes and you can see the obvious nervousness in his face, like a total fear has ran through him that the tour will be a flop, and no one will be at any of the shows. Of course the show is packed out, and the entire tour goes on to be an immense success, but then that turns into a new worry, will Conan hold out and make for it for the entire tour without collapsing under the pressure of having to be “on” all the time. Conan, even though he is in constant fear of loosing his voice, and wearing him self out, seems to be his own worst enemy, by never turning down any situation to meet with people, always talking with fans, friends, friends of friends, friends of the crew, journalists, executives, anyone who wants to, the man can just not stop him self from always giving his all, all the time.
After three viewings, once on Netflix, once on DVD, and once on DVD w/ the highly entertaining audio commentary, Conan O’ Brien Can’t Stop has without a doubt earned its way onto both my “top documentaries”, and “top films of 2011” lists. I urge any fan of Conan’s or just of well made documentaries in general to see this movie, and see it soon. One of the last good guys around, I’m hoping to see COCO become the Johnny Carson of our generation, and staying around for a long, long time to come.
Picture: 5/5 Audio:5/5 Special Features: 4/5 Movie: 5/5
- Foz Rotten
Director: Rodman Flender
Genre: Documentary
DVD Release Year: 2011
Theatrical Release Year: 2011
Time Length: 89 minutes
Company: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Website: http://conanobriencantstop.com/
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