The documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” seems to be intended for people who have never heard of Conan O’Brien and would like to learn why he’s such a likeable person.
The problem is, everyone knows who Conan is. Everyone certainly knows who Conan is after the entire NBC Late Night fiasco dubbed “Lenogate.” He came out of that mess a kicked down champion, and the world loves Conan the man, even if not everyone adores his show.
So why do I need to watch a documentary without drama or insight only to affirm that Conan is in fact one of the nicest people in show business?
“Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” documents his live tour in between leaving “The Tonight Show” and starting “Conan” on TBS, and it plays more like a 90 minute, behind the scenes featurette on a live performance DVD.
What we can glean from the film as well as its title is that Conan is always on. He will bend over backwards for anyone so he can sign an autograph or take a photo, he is constantly funny and congenial with friends, celebrities and fans, and he constantly gives 110 percent on stage.
So in many ways, the off-stage Conan is just slightly scaled back from the person we see on stage touring the country, and I found he’s more insightful and personable during his show than during interviews with the documentarian.
Much of that to me smacks of not asking the right questions, and although the behind the scene moments are funny and enjoyable (How can they not be? It’s Conan) it can’t even think of a proper way to tell a story about this tour. The climactic moment of the film comes when Conan decides to perform a few secret shows on his days off. He’s so overwhelmed, it asks, “what if he can only be at 100 percent rather than 110?” Gasp!
From the onset, “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” wastes a great opportunity to give some meaty and fun details on the Lenogate scandal with a bookish and dorky introduction that only sums up the main points.
Beyond that, it can’t focus on any one memorable set piece or line in Conan’s daily routine, picking up instead on grin worthy random encounters with fans or spur of the moment jokes with Andy Richter. It’s cool when Jack White, Eddie Vedder, Jack McBrayer, Stephen Colbert and Jim Carrey show up briefly, but they don’t add anything to the overall story arc.
Some of the juiciest bits are from his live shows, which lack the vigor or cinematography actually making a concert video would contain. And the background footage is all stapled together with jump cuts and meaningless back and forth exchanges between Conan and the team.
This film does right by making him into a hero, but it doesn’t do much else. Whereas Conan can’t stop, this documentary doesn’t know where to start.
2 ½ stars