Swapping endlessly through his gallery of eccentrics and comedic personalities, actor Sacha Baron Cohen has nonetheless been nudged toward a conventional film career, as his exploitative, shock-based humor lacks the anonymity needed for the roles to thrive. However, before that transition is made final, Cohen was given an award for his contributions to comedy, and in doing so he brought back the character that gave him his start.
Yesterday night in London, Sir Ben Kingsley presented Cohen with the British Comedy Academy Outstanding Achievement Award, and receiving the prize instead was Ali G, decked out in goggles and gold track jacket. With a brief reminder of the ten plus years since the character's first appearance in 1996 (and thankfully little on “Ali G Indahouse”), he then went on to deliver a string of jokes on Jimmy Savile, the iPhone, and Kate Middleton.
It's all quite a fun view, and since Cohen retired the character in 2007, a rare reminder also of where the comedian came from before his roles in “Les Miserables” and the Freddie Mercury biopic came to be. Check the clip out below. [Deadline]