Sacha Baron Cohen, long before the “Borat” film, the British comedian was likely best known to the world for his ignorant street-wise character Ali G, who was featured in the HBO satirical chat series “Da Ali G Show,” and the scripted 2002 feature film “Ali G Indahouse” (featuring actors such as Martin Freeman, Rhona Mitra, Charles Dance, Michael Gambon, and Tony Way).
We’ve known for a while, going back to August 2023 when he was going to do a stand-up tour and chatter that he would be reviving his popular but insensitive character (via scooper Daniel Richtman) for another feature, but it has taken three years for things to lead to the post-production stage. Variety is now confirming earlier reporting from The InSneider that the project has indeed wrapped.
READ MORE: July’s 12 Must-Watch Movies, From ‘The Odyssey’ To ‘Her Private Hell’ & ‘I Want Your Sex’
Most fans will know that “Ali G Indahouse” (from Universal Pictures and Working Title) was considerably closer in tone to an “Austin Powers” installment, “The Dictator,” or his tasteless spy spoof “Grimsby,” than Cohen’s other reality-based films using unsuspecting subjects that we saw in his other theatrical outings, including the “Borat” sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” that co-starred actress Maria Bakalova as his faux daughter (leading to her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination in 2021).
Some of the other more recent projects that Cohen has appeared in in the 2020s include Aaron Sorkin‘s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Pixar‘s “Luca,” “Balls Up,” and the Netflix streaming film “Ladies First.”
Cohen got huge backlash, even for the time, as a white British man appropriating black British/Jamaican culture and speaking habitually in an urban patois, often using slang, seen by many as more of a clown portrayal rather than simply honoring or mimicking street/hip-hop culture. Over the years, the comedian had revived Ali G for various TV and other appearances, so Cohen returning to that material wasn’t terribly surprising.
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
