Monday Movie Madness, where I review a movie that I recently saw for the first time. Yeah, I meant this to be a weekly feature months ago but got distracted. This week's offering is Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011).
Like many I felt Conan got a raw deal when he was canned from the Tonight Show and have been curious about his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television tour. I assumed that this documentary would either be a recording of one gig on that tour or a blow-blow account of his departure from the Tonight Show and the subsequent tour. It is somewhat of the latter, but not in any detailed way. It's more of a stream of consciousness telling of those events, you see bits and pieces over time, but never in any detail. You get a little bit of a look at Conan as a person, but not too much. His family life and backstory a lightly touched on at random points. He can be a dick to his staff, by his own admission, although many times it is in a sarcastic way not meant to be taken seriously (have to be from Boston to get the sarcasm). One thing that is noticeable at the beginning is how he struggles with being intensely angry with being screwed over while at the same time telling the world and himself that he is a fortunate person who really has nothing to complain about. How often do we see this from celebs, rich people, athletes and politicians?
Overall, it's not a deep insightful doc, it's just there. Nevertheless it's entertaining and it reveals O'Brien to be a very talented performer. Worth watching.
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