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Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop’ … being who he is

I’ve never been a big fan of Conan O’Brien . I find him occasionally funny, especially when he’s takes the time to film his skits. Then he can be hilarious.

But as a stand-up comic, he’s as uneven as a frat-boy pledge master who’s consumed one too many Bud Lites. An aging frat boy at that.

Which is why I wasn’t all that excited about seeing the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, ” Rodman Flender’s look at the concert tour that O’Brien did following his dismissal from his short-lived “Tonight” show gig. Actually, though, I found the film fairly entertaining.

Yes, it has all the earmarks of an “official” documentary. Meaning that more often than in many straight docs, I had the feeling that people were playing to the camera. Here’s Conan bouncing jokes and ideas off his writing team. Here’s Conan meeting his fans. Here’s Conan on the tour bus. Here’s Conan rough-housing with his children (children? I didn’t even know the guy was married!). And always, the camera feels less like something perched on the wall than a slobbering golden retriever that everyone wants to pet.

But the film does show the carrot-topped comic in work mode. It does show him, after the fact, complaining about having to pose for so many fan photos. It shows him, ultimately, taking his modest talents and pulling off what must have been a decent live show ( he played Spokane on March 11, 2010). And it shows him trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to wind down when the spotlights have dimmed.

In the end, I found myself liking O’Brien more than I had. Certainly more than I do the twin late-night dinosaurs David Letterman and Jay Leno. So I guess watching “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” is worth a watch.

Then again, I never joined a college fraternith. I might have enjoyed that experience, too.

Below : Conan O’Brien makes fun of “the Zags” and lampoons Canadian politeness.

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Spokane 7." Read all stories from this blog