7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
After a much-publicized departure from hosting NBC's Tonight Show, O'Brien hit the road with a 32-city music-and-comedy show to exercise his performing chops and exorcise a few demons. Filmmaker Rodman Flender's 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 "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" is almost instantly assembled and mounted to an adoring fan base. At times angry, mostly hilarious, we see a comic who does not stop -- performing, singing, pushing his staff and himself. Did Conan O'Brien hit the road to give something back to his loyal fans, or did he travel across the continent, stopping at cities large and remote to fill a void within himself?
Starring: Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Eddie Vedder, Jack McBrayer, Jim CarreyDocumentary | 100% |
Music | 77% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
On June 1, 2009, former Late Night chatterbox Conan O’Brien—the 6’4” Irish-American with skin like Ivory soap and a pompadour the color of a fox pelt—replaced Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show. But just seven months later, after a very public dispute with NBC execs—who wanted to push the show back to 12:05 in order to give an unwilling-to-retire Leno another place in the prime-time spotlight—Conan was basically paid to leave the network, with a departure deal worth 45 million big ones. I’ll concede that it’s hard to feel too sorry for Conan after such a severance pay windfall, but setting the money aside, he really did get the raw end of an ugly-all-over deal. The chin-wagging Leno took over the show once again as if nothing had happened, and Conan was set adrift in the show-biz doldrums, with contractual stipulations barring him from appearing on TV or the radio for six months. Unwilling to sit still for half a year, and partially to help him get over his lingering resentment, Conan came up with the “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour,” with plans to do 42 live comedy shows in 30 cities over three months, bringing along his sidekick Andy Richter and most of his Tonight Show backing band. He also allowed director Rodman Flender to document the entire experience, and the result is Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, a funny and—suprisingly—not-always-flattering portrait of a driven comedian who can hardly slow down, let alone stop.
I'll be honest; Conan O'Brien Can't Stop won't be among the best-looking Blu-rays you'll see this year, simply by its very nature. The documentary was shot with what I'm assuming, from the quality of the footage, to be lightweight, consumer-grade high definition digital video cameras. The image is sometimes exceptionally noisy—blue-tinted chroma noise is especially apparent in many scenes—and this obviously takes a hit on clarity. High definition detail is definitely visible in the image—that is, it inherently looks better than standard def—but the picture is often both soft and chunky. Color reproduction is also what you'd expect from this low-budget medium—mostly realistic, but with a limited dynamic range. Highlights are frequently blown out, especially under the bright stage lights, and depending on the situation, hues can either look wishy-washy or overly saturated. Along with the rampant noise, you'll notice a few occasional compression/encode issues, like mild color banding and aliasing. The thing is, it is what it is, so there's really no use complaining about it. The best I can say is that I was never overtly distracted by any of the 1080p/AVC encode's shortcomings. If you can accept the limitations of the source material, you'll be fine.
The film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is similarly limited by its source, but the producers of this disc have nonetheless managed to take the on-location audio and mix it into a fairly lively presentation. The clips from the tour performances stand out for having the music spread throughout all channels, with a decent degree of clarity and punch. Otherwise, the rear speakers don't get much action; after all, we're mostly dealing with behind-the- scenes conversations, and the dialogue stays rooted firmly up front. Voices are generally clear and acceptably clean, but on the few instances when it's difficult to make out what's being said, automatic subtitles pop up to assist. The disc also includes optional English SDH and Spanish subs.
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop is a fascinating portrait of a man who deals with his disappointment by driving himself—and those around him—even harder. It's also a rare glimpse behind the iron show-biz curtain, letting us see what one of TV's most recognizable figures is like in "real" life. Or, as real as it gets for Conan, anyway. Team Coco fans will definitely want to give this one a go, but don't be surprised if it slightly alters your opinion of the "Ginga Ninja." The film looks a bit rough—by nature—on Blu-ray, but this is probably still the best way to watch it. Recommended!
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