Shadows on the Wall | Ali G: Who Iz I?

Ali G: Who Iz I?

dir-prd Sacha Baron Cohen
scr Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Swimer, Dan Mazer, Keisha Zollar
with Sacha Baron Cohen, Morgana Robinson, Alpha Miknas, Clive Russell, George Santos, Newt Gingrich, Gar Lester, Ariel Hsu, Ken Campbell, Dick Visser, Karl Condello, Scott Hommel, Rachel Dolezal, A$ap Rocky, Rihanna
release US/UK 23.Oct.26
26/UK MGM 1h29

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Nearly 25 years later, Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G is back on the big screen with a romp in the style of old cohorts Borat and Bruno, pulling pranks on people to expose their racism and hypocrisy. This is wrapped up in a rather contrived plot that's far too corny to pull us in. But there are hilarious zingers scattered amongst the awkward gags and shockingly important points.

Down on his luck, Ali (Baron Cohen) is selling old junk when he discovers a fax from HBO about making a third series of his show. So he and heavily pregnant Julie (Robinson) head to Los Angeles to cash in. But yurt-living liberal Dr Nira (Baron Cohen again) attacks Ali online for appropriating Black culture. Cancelled, Ali turns to an extreme right wing TV channel for work. And Nira hires Mossad commando Erran Morad (also Baron Cohen) to train a group of activists for a mission to prevent Julie from giving birth on US soil.

As usual, the sharp humour comes from how Baron Cohen coaxes unsuspecting people to reveal their vile thoughts. So Nira recruits wide-eyed liberal young men for an absurdly profane heist to collect Ali's DNA, proving he isn't African. Erran convinces Maga loyalists to use an obscene Israeli weapon while putting an infant in mortal jeopardy. These scenes are frankly jaw-dropping, revealing how easy it is to convince someone to abandon moral principles that are only skin deep.

A silly narrative strains to hold all of this together, but it's so clumsy that it brings the movie to an abrupt stop whenever it kicks in. Dialog desperately tries to create a throughline that isn't remotely necessary. This gives the four actors something to do as we wait for more hapless victims to turn up. As always, Baron Cohen adeptly vanishes in the skin of these three nutcases. And both Robinson and Miknas (as Nira's intern) have some great moments.

Along the way, it's hardly surprising that a room packed with religious leaders is incensed by a ridiculous AI video in which Black icons tell Ali that they forgive him. And the same thing happens with a group of teachers watching Nira's proposal for a compulsory gender swap for young schoolchildren. These things add to the film's generally belaboured tone. But Baron Cohen also reminds us how frighteningly easy it is to cajole someone into giving a Nazi salute or discounting the value of a human life.

themes, language, violence 19.Oct.26

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