• Summary: After a much-publicized departure from hosting NBC's Tonight Show - and the severing of a 22-year relationship with the network - O'Brien hit the road with a 32-city music-and-comedy show to exercise his performing chops and exorcise a few demons. 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, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, is an intimate portrait of an artist trained in improvisation, captured at the most improvisational time of his career. It offers a window into the private writers room and rehearsal halls as O'Brien's "half-assed show" (his words) is almost instantly assembled and mounted to an adoring fan base. (Abramorama) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 25
  2. Negative: 2 out of 25
  1. Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Jun 22, 2011
    91
    An 
unexpectedly revealing, disconcerting documentary that benefits from the filmmaker's unmediated approach, his home-movie-
quality visual style, and his controlled use of on-the-fly moments.
  2. Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    Jun 23, 2011
    60
    If Conan O'Brien Can't Stop is consistently watchable, it isn't especially funny, nor does it give any deeper insight into its star than you might get from seeing his late-night shows.
  3. Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    Jun 23, 2011
    38
    Maybe this review is more about me than about Conan O'Brien, but I really couldn't get past the odor of self-congratulation emanating from nearly every scene in Conan O'Brien Can't Stop.

See all 25 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. 10
    STANDING OVATION at The South by Southwest Film Fest where I first saw this fab doc! The energy is amazing. Coco is on fire! Fueled by what must have been his ire at being summarily dismissed by execs at NBC (all of whom have since been fired) after only 7 months at The Tonight Show, he tears it up both onstage and off. But there is no pity. You see what he's like when he's "on" as well as when he's grumpy. And it ain't all roses. Conan has a wacky relationships with his ever-present assistant and Jeff, his long-time friend and producer. He even punches a writer! This documentary provides an unflinching view of what it is like to be a very gifted albeit tortured soul. Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. This movie is really, really funny. You get to see what Conan is like -- warts and all. His relationship with his assistant is priceless. I laughed all the way through this movie. I highly recommend it. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. I am a pretty big fan of Conan, but I found this documentary pretty bland. Conan is constantly complaining about the life on the road and I'm not sure to believe this as genuine or mockumentary. Not much is learned in the behind the scenes interviews of Conan and his live shows segments are mishmashed together making them hard to follow and seem to miss vital comedy routine setup to make these segments funny. This might have been more interesting if it was aired before Conan started his new late night show, but knowing how everything turns out for him upsets the the mood this documentary tries to set.. Which is probably why I found it so unfulfilling. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 5 User Reviews