Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

66 votes and 16 Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes® Score
81% 68%

Release Date: July 7, 2011 (limited)

On DVD/VOD: September 20, 2011

1h 29m | Documentary

After a much-publicized departure from hosting NBC's Tonight Show, host Conan O'Brien hit the road on a 32-city tour with a music and comedy show, ending his 22-year relationship with the network. The "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television" tour was O'Brien's answer to a contractual stipulation that banned his appearance on television, radio and the Internet for six months following his last show.

Filmmaker Rodman Flender's resulting documentary is an intimate portrait of an artist trained in improvization. It offers a window into the private writers room and rehearsal halls as O'Brien's show is assembled and mounted to an adoring fan base.

At times angry but mostly hilarious, O'Brien works out his feelings about the very-public separation. Throughout the documentary, O'Brien uses comedy and rockabilly music, engaging in bits with on-stage guests such as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Jim Carrey. He also performs a duet with Jack White and sweats out manic Elvis Presley covers with his band and back-up singers. The audience will see a comic who does not stop performing, singing, pushing his staff and himself.