We all know that Conan O’Brien has already made his official return to the world of late night when he debuted his new show, CONAN. For those of you who don’t know about it, it airs weekday nights at 11 p.m. on TBS. He’s back to his usual and expected silly comedy and great celebrity guests. One episode that I caught which featured Will Ferrell and “Beard-Gate” showcased Ferrell shaving Conan’s facial hair. To put it modestly, it was damn hilarious. The late night host managed to film a documentary in-between his controversial removal from NBC and his arrival on TBS. It showcases his comedy tour and takes us into his life and the initial effect the NBC debacle had on it.
Here’s the synopsis for the film:
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. At times angry, mostly hilarious, O’Brien works out his feelings about the very-public separation with comedy and rockabilly music, engaging in bits with on-stage guests such as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Jim Carrey, duetting with Jack White and sweating out manic Elvis Presley covers with his band and back-up singers. 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 (New York, Las Vegas) and remote (Enoch, Alberta) to fill a void within himself?
The film debuted on May 20th 2011 with a limited release. Check out the trailer below and tell us what you think.
Source: Apple Trailers
