Take 4: Da Ali G Reviews

The Ali G Show: Seasons One and Two (2000, 2003)

What's Going On Here?: Ali G, a wannabe gangster (sorry..."gangsta") from Staines, England, interviews various political and cultural figures, usually leaving them a bit more confused than when the interview began. Also featured in this comedy series from HBO: Borat, a Kazakhstani immigrant who makes home movies to show what American culture is like to his friends and family back home; and Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion and cultural expert.

Leading the Line-Up: Sacha Baron Cohen, a Brit, plays all three characters. And the guy's pretty damn funny.

Things to Look Out For: Well-known interviewees, including Sam Donaldson, Daryl Gates and Boutros Boutros Ghali (or as Ali G calls him, Boutros Boutros Boutros Ghali). From listening to the commentary track of the very first episode, Sacha reveals that the people Ali G, Borat and Bruno talk to go into the interview thinking that the entire thing is legitimate. You can't help but sit there, stunned and amazed at 1) the questions these interviewees are being asked and 2) the responses they manage to come up with. There are some interesting bonus features, including Morat and Bruno footage not found in the shows, Ali G's speech at Harvard's "Class Day," and primers on British slang.

Random Trivia: It took 6 weeks for Cohen to grow facial hair and eyebrows to play Borat.

And I Quote (from each character): Ali G: "Sex can lead to nasty things like herpes, gonorrhea, and something called relationships."; Borat: "Yakshemash! In US of A, if you want to marry a girl, you cannot just go to her father and swap her for 15 gallons of pesticide. Here you have to do something called dating. I find out more. Chenkuye."; Bruno: "What's up? Being gay is the new coolest thing, which is why I came to gayest part of America? Alabama!"

What Did We Learn Today, Class?: 1) Pat Buchanan can't rap, but I'll be damned if he didn't try. 2) Sam Donaldson didn't like Waterworld...which, apparently is different from Watergate. 3) Bomb-sniffing dogs can't sniff out drugs, "thank goodness."

Curt's Take: "Worth Considering" - I need to elaborate here. I would give any single episode a "Must See" rating...I really think you should check at least one of these out, and they're only half an hour each. As to the whole series? Well, you kind of get the idea after a few episodes, but that doesn't make it any less clever. You just may need to spread them out over time. You'll be sitting there through most of it surprised at the things that Cohen's trio of characters get away with saying and asking to political and cultural icons. And while Ali G basically annoyed me at first...he ended up kind of growing on me. Good times.

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Ali G Indahouse (2002)

What's Going On Here?: Ali G learns that the Staines youth center where he teaches a class on "Keepin' it Real" is about to be demolished, and turns to the British political system to try and put a stop to the destruction. Along the way, he becomes a member of Parliament and right-hand-gangsta to the Prime Minister.

Leading the Line-Up: Once again, Sacha Baron Cohen plays Ali G, but without Bruno and only a brief cameo by Borat. However, there actually is a supporting cast, that includes...The Office, The Practice

Things to Look Out For: Lame sight gags and predictable humor, unfortunately. The first third of the movie was actually enjoyable for me, but then it just kept going and going and going. As far as special features, the deleted scenes were actually interesting to see, so if you sit through the entire film, you may want to salvage something and check those out. There's a brief featurette on British gangsta slang, as well Cohen's video diary, that I didn't think I could handle watching.

Random Trivia: For a time it was a rule for Cohen that he only appears on talk shows in character, although he has since repeatedly broke this role and appeared as his real self. However, around the time of a new film or TV show, he will still normally appear on talk shows while in character.

And I Quote: Ali G: "He is a criminal! And not even da good type, what deals drugs and does drive-bys."

What Did We Learn Today, Class?: 1) I can no longer say "I like British humor." I'll have to qualify it with "I like MOST British humor." 2) You can blow open a safe by connecting it to a series of car batteries via a chain of street punks holding hands. 3) Ali G should stick to doing interviews.

Curt's Take: "Don't Bother" - This was borderline "Run in Fear," but I did laugh at parts of it, so can't give it the worst possible rating on here. I really enjoyed the Ali G HBO series, so had high hopes for this, but I think where it really fell short was in point number three listed above: the Ali G thing works best when he's interviewing real people in his laughably ignorant way, but when it comes to placing him in a storyline as the protagonist of a film, it just doesn't click. And this is only after having watched three episodes of the HBO series, not the entire two seasons, so it doesn't come from him being ingrained in my mind in a certain way. I do think that Cohen remained true to his Ali G character within the movie...I just honestly don't feel that Ali G simply is cut out for theatrical release. Bring on more seasons of the HBO series!

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Next Time on Take 4: Several weeks ago we had a contest to guess the theme of the Mystery Review. In my next review, we take a look at the DVD recommendations of the three winners.