During one point in the half concert film half documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop,” the interviewer asks Conan if it’s possible for him to have fun without an audience. And if you watch the movie you’ll see why he looks on in response baffled and without speech. Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop has never been such a literal title as it describes the essence of Conan O’Brien who is a man that is desperate to perform. It’s an all consuming urge within Conan to perform and be on the stage so much to where he puts his family life at jeopardy.
Throughout the run time of the film, his children are kept as scenery as Conan obsesses about his late night show and his 44 city concert tour where he demands perfection from himself and from his personal assistant whom he demeans and belittles, but relies on for encouragement while he wiles away the hours thinking of new skits and ultimately pushing his personal life in to the back burner. “There’s going to be a point where this all has to stop,” Conan says after dozen performances for his fans within a week and we’re given a personal look in to the man’s world where he simply can’t stop. Why does he feel the need to perform for everyone no matter where he is?
Where does this compulsion lie where he must be on for everyone and play the clown for every single person? Conan is a man who commands respect from his staff but he’s never above putting on a show for every single person to keep their love showered on him and at one segment the camera simply stops as we watch Conan performing for onlookers before a big show that threatens to blow his voice out, and greet over a dozen fans before heading to a hotel. Why does he need to perform? Clearly this is not a man struggling with relevance as his has never been stronger, but at the time of filming this was a man struggling to keep his fans and keep the world’s eyes on him.
Even if it meant pushing away his loving wife and two children who command his attention even during rehearsals. Even Conan himself wonders why he’s incapable of merely calming down and living his life of a hiatus with a big payday with his family. He’s wiry, he’s loose, he’s restless, and he’s mostly at home whenever he’s performing on stage for a crowd of strangers who profess their love for him. He even stops his tour bus to get off and greet fans at a gas station, incapable of staying still and remaining docile for his personal assistant and loyal friends like Andy Richter and Jeff Ross. “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” will be a landmark film not only for comedy buffs, but for supporters of Coco who want some insight in to their folk hero who is one part egomaniac, one part eager to please clown, and one part average Joe looking for the American dream.