Ali G is back, and he did not stay in cinemas for long. Ali G: Who Iz I?, the new comedy starring and directed by Sacha Baron Cohen, starts streaming on Prime Video on Wednesday, October 28, less than a week after it opened for a short theatrical run on October 23.
A dad-to-be heads to America
This is a standalone story, not a direct sequel to 2002’s Ali G Indahouse. According to the official synopsis, Ali G has spent two decades “chillin'” and avoiding responsibility when he discovers that his long-term girlfriend Julie is eight months pregnant. Faced with a new mouth to feed, he finally gets moving and travels to America to win back his old glory, only to run into adversaries who end up threatening him and his unborn child.
Morgana Robinson plays Julie, taking over the role from Kellie Bright, who played her in the first film. The runtime is a brisk 89 minutes.
Cohen’s first time in the director’s chair
Although Baron Cohen has shaped every one of his character projects, Who Iz I? is his first credited feature as director. He co-wrote the script with Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Swimer, Dan Mazer and Keisha Zollar. The film is an Amazon MGM Studios presentation of a Four By Two Films production, made in association with Working Title Films.
Reports suggest it returns to the style that made Borat and Brüno famous: a fictional character dropped into real situations, with unsuspecting people becoming part of the joke and part of the satire. That approach has always been risky, and it is a big reason why Ali G remains one of the most recognisable comedy characters to come out of British television in the early 2000s.
Why so fast to streaming?
Amazon MGM had originally planned a broader cinema release. Trade reports say the studio scaled that back after online backlash, including a campaign to keep the film out of some European cinemas, and chose a short “see it first on the big screen” weekend instead. It is a familiar move for Baron Cohen projects at Amazon: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm went straight to Prime Video in 2020 and went on to earn two Academy Award nominations.
The character announced the streaming date himself in a clip posted on social media, in full costume, joking that viewers could watch the 89-minute film well over a hundred times a day.
How to watch
Ali G: Who Iz I? is included with a Prime Video subscription from October 28 in the markets where it is being released, including the UK and Australia. Expect crude humour and adult content, since it is rated MA15+ in Australia. If you grew up quoting Ali G at school, this is your midweek plan. If you never did, it’s a short and very silly introduction to one of comedy’s strangest characters.