Ali G indahouse

Why do British comedians do this to themselves? Why do they promote their amusing half-hour TV performances onto the big screen where they are so obviously unable to compete? We never see Friends: The Movie or The Simpsons: The Movie. American sitcoms realise their limitations. It's about time their British counterparts did the same.

Ali G (Sasha Baron Cohen) has got more than a cult following in the British isles. He's contributed a dozen words to the language. "Aieee", "Westside", "Booyakasha", etc. His TV show consisted of him interviewing unsuspecting higher-ups who he would quickly bring down to size. Politicians, Feminists, Unionists, anyone extreme would be perfect bait for Ali G. They would agree to the interview believing him to be a youth television presenter and his polished ignorance would create a ludicrously entertaining conversation. It was satirical brilliance. He took the snobs down to size while teasing the ignorant youths of Britain.

However, most of these ignorant young people didn't get the joke. They saw Ali G as one of their own and aspired to be as stupid as him. His favourite catchphrases were copied. His clothes, sexism and gross humour were greeted with awe when they should have been laughed at. Ali G, the exploiter of fashion and trends, had become the trend itself.

So he decided to make a movie. And boy howdy, what a movie. Ali G indahouse is one of the worst feature lengths I've ever seen. It has no business clogging up the cinemas. Ow! It hurts me to even remind myself of some of the lame jokes that were pushed on the audience. Most of the audience escaped the theatre, relieved that it was over. The only ones who seemed to enjoy it were a bunch of 8 year old kids who were in front of me. How they got into a movie when it was restricted to over 18s, I'll never know. But their admiration for Ali G just highlights its juvenility. It's all racist, sexist, homophobic jokes with big penis mentions as an aside. It's like a horrible Jay and Silent Bob. And I thought that was fairly awful.

It's disappointing to see that Sasha Baron Cohen has joined this brigade. I hope he's just cashing in on this cash cow. I hope he's just exploiting the stupid fans who didn't get the joke. I'd be disappointed if he took this movie seriously and had started to believe in his character's popularity. The man is talented but there is absolutely none of that talent on show in this movie.

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I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.

Actually, a movie based on The Simpsons is in the works...and I think it's a wonderful idea. However, I agree; maybe it's just me, but British comedy is just so very...blah, in general. Anyway, nice review.

Didn't John Cleese say something about british comedy being blah?

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"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

Just a question, BigValbowski.

Are you from the UK? Its just that most, if not all people i know, could see that Ali G was a satirical play at the "White kids who think they are black" and the mass market adoption of black culture. Its not the first time its been done granted, see Seth Green in Cant Hardly Wait, but id say 75% of people saw the joke and those that didnt complained and gave Sacha Baron Cohen exactly what he wanted, Publicity.

The fact that you called it racist and sexist means that you just didnt get it. I mean is it any worse than Rap music with its "Bitches and Hos?" This argument has been brought up many times here in the UK and every time has shown it not to be. He has said himself that character is at its end of its shelf life and wants to concentrate on Borat.

That said the movie was sh*te. Some funny bits, although i did think his mate Ricky was the best thing about the movie.

Oh, and John Cleese hasnt been funny for years Spudracer so what does he know. You dont seem to get the good stuff on your side of the Atlantic, just rubbish like One Foot In The Grave and AB Fab. There are some great UK comedy shows at the moment (Coupling, The Office, League Of Gentlemen etc) so i do think he is talking rubbish.

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Lex Luthor: "I'd question your integrity, but you're a journalist."

We got The League of Gentleman over here for awhile. Awful stuff, IMO.

I suppose its down to personal choice really. LOG is quite large over here but i know quite a few people who either dont get it or dont like it.

The problem is you have to watch them all to get some of the jokes.

Its also got to do with Stateside/UK humour. Theyre not the same whatever people say. Some things are universal, Friends, Simpsons, Monty Python, Red Dwarf etc but other things just dont travel. Dont get me started on Dharma and Greg, can that really be big in the states? We get the dodgy stuff as well i think.

BTW I was sticking up for Ali G the character not the film. It was sh*te as I said

The problem with most american humour (Kevin Smith, Soutpark and Futurama aside) is it has to appeal to everybody, and most people like pop humour, Chandlers crap jokes are a good example. British humour is mostly a bit more real and raw and deals with real life League of Gentlemen is so funny because;

a) it takes the piss out of village life, where everyone crazy and hates outsiders

b) it's just stupid like bottom, and Time Gentlemen Please or The office.

British humour as Matt and Trey of southpark said is the best humour hence, southpark witch is just stupid montey python like jokes and humour (until forth grade).

So the sad thing is if you don't live in the UK and see Rude Boys walking the streets then you wont ever get Ali-G not ever, but admitedly the movie was ****e.

I'm not knocking Sacha Baron Cohen or the Ali G character. I thought his TV series was great, but I found the movie tasteless and degrading.

Jokes like Ricky C and Dave having sex were frighteningly unfunny and very homophobic. It's alright for the Ali G character to make fun of gays, feminists, extremists because we know how stupid he is supposed to be. But it was the movie and not the man that was making fun of these groups this time. It just seemed more graphic and offensive on the big screen.

The TV series was satirical but the movie was a gross-out comedy. Risque jokes don't work so well in the latter.

Good to hear that he's going to give up Ali G (what an unfitting conclusion) and concentrate on Borat who was always funnier anyway.

Speaking from personal opinion, if you went in after you smoked a few joints it would have made you laugh, if not you'll just think what a daft c***

The 11 o'clock show wasn't that good, but Ali G really made it excel, people would watch the crap safe only in the knowledge that you'd get Ali. Some of the sketches with the environmentalists, the countryside and Tony Benn are genuine laugh out loud moments, then he went downhill a bit more with his series (he couldn't keep you hooked as much) and now this is a bit more of a pisstake. I admit it was a load of arse but I couldn't help but laugh at some of the most accurate representations of some of the British youth.

bigval - it does strike me in your first review that you've never come across the type of character Ali G is mocking, it's all the middle class suburban white kids who listen to rap so much and take it so seriously that they start adopting the lingo and imagine they're living their lifestyle, such as 2pac vs Biggie's Eastside vs Westside, just look at "So Solid Crew" ffs!

But here Sacha Baron Cohen has stooped to a new low, he's not mocking other people anymore, he's mocking himself, and although true social depictions make you snigger, some of it is so juvenille you have to be doped up to enjoy it

on another note, a lot of british humour is kind of like a big "in" joke, i can't see Ali G translating to the states well at all but the show had a huge fanbase, actually you can check out some of the earlier interviews here...

http://www.boyakasha.co.uk/mp3.html

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Another high quality post by Fez Wizardo

I love English comedy for the most part.
I know my argument into this pretty late, but I'll argue with anyone regarding Python or Dad's Army or Yes, Minister or Keeping Up Appearances or any of those older shows. And many of the new ones too.

It won't help my case when I say that what I've seen of Saturday Night Live in the past, in my opinion, has been perfectly mediocre.

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www.esotericrabbit.com

The movie wasn't nearly as good as the series, but I thought it had it's moments (like when he suggests the British army should hire the A-Team). I probably wont see it again, but I don't regret seeing it, that's about it.

On the series: I thought that the first series was much better than the second/third. At first NOBODY was prepared for this guy, and he could really get some people to think he was serious. In the second series, all his guests was kind-of prepared for him, and it wasn't as funny at all, with two exeprions: Borat and Ali G's interwievs abroad(again, people wasn't prepared for it, and actually took him serious). Now, everybody in UK knows who he and Borat is, so unless he's thinking of inventing a new character, he probably won't be as funny anymore (unless he starts traveling much more (do people in the states know about him? Could he surprise them that he is actually serious?))

Anyways, just my .02

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Ride Johnny ride

Yeah... didn't you see him interview the F. B. Aiiiiiiiiiggggggghht !



mmm he could do Louis Theroux style adventures... that might work

yeah im bumping up this thread from like two years ago. i never saw Ali G indahouse but i think Da ali g show is one of the funniest show on tv today. Sacha Baron cohen plays Ali G, Borat and Bruno so good and its hilarious. im not a big fan of british humor but i love this show. i dont have Hbo so i cant watch it but i do have the first season on DVD and even though its only 6 episodes long i dont regret buying it. does anyone else watch it?

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"A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theater admission and the babysitter were worth it."
- Alfred Hitchcock

It's a British tradition to make feature length versions of their best-loved (and sometimes their worst) comedies. They're usually terrible and pale against the series - Dad's Army being a case in point.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

I live in the UK, so of course I watch it. If you want to see Ali G at his best, get Ali G's very first series, the one he made in Britain. Or even his 2nd and 3rd series. They're all a lot better than the US show.

do these series have Borat and Bruno also or does Sacha Baron Cohen only play Ali G. and do you know if i can get these series in the US

I like it gave me a good chuckle now and again, also the words hes [sarcasm]supposed to have contributed has long been in the books of slag or street Jargon.[/sarcasm]

Maybe you need to lighten up and just enjoy a film and stop being overly critical, just look at the film there were lame gags but it’s a comedy not a drama. If you haven’t noticed he’s meant to be overly stupid.

Thankfully there's no Bruno. But Borat is in "Aiiii" and "Bling Bling". Don't know if he's in "In it" though. Haven't seen that in ages.

No idea were you can buy them from, you'll have to search for an online shop that delivers R2 discs to the US. Try Play.com. It's a UK site but you might be able to change the currency to dollars.

thanks. yeah i dont like Bruno either hes pretty dumb. but Borat is hilarious

bigvalbowski, 'the ignorant youth of Britain' are trying to copy Ali G? Yeah right! The closest people to actually doing that are known as chavs...


(ignore the fellas on the left, they are just crap footballers.)

In England and America, there are white people 'acting black' through all different influences. In England infact, there are a few chavs who think they are black but you'd only come across them on a council estate or outside corner shops drinking white lightening (upper class chavs!). But on my visits to the US, i've seen so many white people trying to be black it's unbeleiveable; New York, Las Vegas and Florida.

As for the film, yes it's a complete shower, but the program was good.

On the topic of humour on side of the ocean, I don't see what's so funny about many US sitcoms. Friends!? "Could I beee anymore of a house!?" - ...wow... The Simpsons is fantastic of course... but they are on there way to going on the big screen, something you slagged Ali G off for doing.