It’s been a while since Sacha Baron Cohen took his breakout character Ali G out for a spin — specifically since the end of Da Ali G Show, the HBO series famous for prank interviews that made the likes of Buzz Aldrin and Boutros Boutros-Ghali very uncomfortable. Twenty-two years later, Ali G: Who Iz I? finds Ali G attempting to reclaim his past fame, even as other Baron Cohen creations attempt to bring him down. The movie is 89 minutes long. It feels much longer.
Baron Cohen’s directorial debut begins by catching the viewer up on Ali G’s life since the end of the HBO show in 2004. This doesn’t take too long, since he’s mostly spent that time getting high. The only notable changes to his lifestyle are that his grandmother has passed away in a freak jacuzzi-related accident, and his longtime girlfriend Me Julie (Morgana Robinson) is now pregnant. It’s the pregnancy that leads to Ali approaching HBO about the possibility of relaunching his old show. When that doesn’t work out, he decides to explore online options like TikTok, building up some success there — but also drawing fire from those who find him offensive.
Unsuccessful Blend of Genres
This isn’t Ali G’s first big screen adventure, but 2002’s Ali G Indahouse (a movie whose cast members bizarrely include Michael Gambon and Charles Dance) was a strictly scripted affair. Since then, though, all of Baron Cohen’s movies have been mockumentary in style, so it’s not a shock that he decided to adopt a hybrid approach here.
Unfortunately, Who Iz I? wants desperately to play in multiple realities: One where it’s telling an actual story about Ali G’s efforts to regain his past glory, and one where Baron Cohen’s outrageous characters prank unaware civilians. Neither are successful on their own, especially because the breaking of the fourth wall required to set up the pranks destroys the effort to construct a real narrative.
This comes out in the muddled mess of filming styles, switching from cinematically constructed shots to on-the-fly footage with a real lack of reason. It really makes you appreciate how well Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, directed by Jason Woliner, holds together by comparison. There’s an art to this kind of blending of genres, and Baron Cohen doesn’t have the directorial experience to master it.
Lack of Spark in Civilian Interactions
The saddest bit is that many of the civilian interactions don’t have much spark to them, at least while Baron Cohen is in Ali G mode. It does seem like enough time has passed since Ali G’s heyday to prevent people from recognizing him on sight, but in general most people just seem vaguely bemused by the tall silly man’s antics. (One of the more amusing bits featuring the character involves him and Me Julie using a hapless realtor as an intermediary for a fight they’re having, mostly because the realtor is doing his earnest best to help.)
Dr. Nira Cain-N’Degeocello, a parody of extreme liberalism who originated in the Showtime series Who Is America? (also played by Baron Cohen), draws out more extreme reactions. However, he does this by visiting a Black community group to talk about how he understands African-American culture better than they do, and proposing that an Orange County parents’ group consider a mandatory gender-swapping program for their kids. Shockingly, none of these folks appreciate Dr. Nira’s ideas.
Troubling and Unfunny Moments
Dr. Nira serves as the movie’s antagonist, who’s determined to bring down Ali G for his crimes of cultural appropriation. His strategy involves enlisting Erran Morad (another Baron Cohen character from Who Is America?) to recruit a squad of men for the explicit purpose of causing Ali G harm. These recruits, established as extreme MAGA sympathizers with a collection of pro-Trump T-shirts, are told that Ali G is actually a Mexican immigrant. And this makes them more than willing to commit acts that would be felonies if they were real — including kidnapping and multiple instances of attempted murder.
Supposedly the comedy of this comes from these not-that-bright men being duped, even when being trained to use a ridiculous “gun” that’s worn like a diaper and shoots bullets out the butt. (The firing mechanism, of course, is the dildo attached to the front of the device.) The joke is lost, though, as it shows how little encouragement bad men need to do evil things, which is pretty hard to find amusing these days.
This miscalculation extends into other segments of the movie. Like, what feels more likely: That erstwhile publicity whore/fraud George Santos has never heard of Ali G/Baron Cohen, or that George Santos has heard of Ali G/Baron Cohen, but is too desperate for attention to actually care? Either way, watching him participate in a Holocaust-themed talk show game with that vapid hateful grin is just a tremendous bummer.
The movie does directly address the cultural appropriation core to the persona — at one point, Ali G discusses the topic with an expert, who allegedly isn’t aware that she’s talking to a fictional character but has a clear-eyed view on the ways Ali G invokes Black culture in inappropriate ways. This segment literally ends with Ali G acknowledging that it would require a lot of work for him to not continue crossing those lines… and he’s too lazy to do it. And thus, the film moves on.
So much of the above would be less troubling if the movie itself worked as a comedy, but very little actually inspired any real mirth. Frankly, it feels like a bad thing if the two-minute appearance by Rihanna is the funniest part of your feature film. Especially when it only comes at the very end.
To be honest, I laughed really hard at Rihanna’s two lines of dialogue. I was so grateful to feel anything resembling amusement.
Ali G: Who Iz I? receives a one-weekend-only theatrical release beginning October 23rd.
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