Conan Can’t Be Stopped – Horrible Bosses – Company Men

Conan O’Brien Can’t Be Stopped

The doc is really picks up the days after he settled with NBC and was deciding what he wanted to do next. After a quick recap about how the whole tonight show squabble came about (Leno came back to the Tonight Show leaving Conan with out a job) Conan decided to go on a variety show tour to 40 some odd cities with a musical comedy act that would help him tell his story. You see, part of the deal for Conan settling with NBC was that he could not appear on TV for 6 months and so this tour takes place during those 6 months across North America.

The doc does 3 things really well. 1) the fly on the wall format really helps the viewer understand what Conan was struggling with and how the tour was a form of therapy. 2) The movie shows how difficult it was to stay motivated and creative at what seemed to be the lowest point in his career and 3) which was the most surprising is it shows a side of Conan that is can be short, rude and a tad bit abusive. Important to point out that the film is made by his manager, and you can;t really tell that by the way he comes across in some parts of the film.

There were times when I felt the darker stuff was Conan playing to the camera which takes away from the film. I remember a well known actor telling me in an interview once that ‘a good actor always knows when a camera is on’ describing that idea that its almost second nature to play to any camera regardless of the context.
But for the most part I stayed very interested to see how he continued to develop his show and try to balance his emotions. I think the doc has a lot of great moments that people will enjoy, just be careful not to get too sucked in as I think Conan and his manager/producer of this film created this project as a calculated and entertaining documentary.

Horrible Bosses
Premise is simple enough, bunch of dudes who think they will be better off if they can kill their bosses. The movie stars Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Seth Gordon, Charlie Day and a few other surprises.

I think the director played it safe with Jason and Charlie as they play the same type of characters they always play
He takes some risks with both Jenn Aniston and Colin Ferrell who are both excellent in the film with many of the most memorable lines and a cameo by Jamie Fox is memorable as well.
You can see that he capatalizes on the enigma that is Kevin Spacey (the prick) and the comedy it boy who is Jason Sedikus.
The cast carries this film and creates a charm amidst a crime caper that has a lot of laughs packed into it.

Is there a growing trend in these comedies now to take an absurd thought and making a movie out of it?
I think what we are seeing with movies like Hall Pass and Horrible bosses and even The Dilemma is that if you can take a nugget of an idea that people can relate to you’ve got them hooked and the idea from there is attempt to take the film into a direction that is familiar, funny and shocking all at the same time. It’s not an easy formula but eventually stories will have to beyond the struggles of Bridesmaids and the No Strings Attached scenerio’s to once again re-jig the comedy genre.

DVD Pick of the Week
The Company Men – With an all star cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck and Kevin Costner its the type of film that exemplifies the struggles many people are facing in these economic times. The movie is an easy watch and is a great popcorn flick.