CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP (USA 2011) **
Directed by Rodman Flender

CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP is a documentary about the said late night talk show host set during his cross country tour just after he had been axed off the air by NBC.  Flender’s film, edited from over 140 hours of footage is sleek enough, but is sill a bit trying if Conan O’Brien does not mean much to you.

That said, I have to state that as a film critic watching almost every film released and unreleased and working another job to supplement his low paying passion for film, I have no time at all left to watch television less, watching talk show hosts O’Brien, Jay Leno or even Johnny Carson in his heyday.  When O’Brien was let go and given a financial package on condition that he does not appear on TV for 6 months, I thought that was his choice, so why quip about it.  But I guess everyone loves to complain about their job or boss as it is the human thing to do.  So that said, all is forgiven and I am on Coco’s side.

Still Coco comes across as arrogant but at least not annoying or irritating as say, Jack Black, who surprisingly has a cameo in this documentary.  Flender displays Coco as a human being, faults and all – and that includes his arrogance, though his arrogant joke the film start is really quite funny.  No doubt Conan O’Brien is a very funny and talented man (he sings and dances as well), and no one, less the talented people of the world should be mistreated at work.

The behind the scenes segments are the most moving where the audience gets to see the man at work or at his most vulnerable.  The film’s most fun comes when the man is performing on stage.

Still a documentary could have been made about the behind the scenes of any performer on the road.  Though enjoyable, this documentary does not stand out for any insight, research or lessons learnt.