Starring: Sasha Baron Cohen, Michael Gambon, Charles Dance
Director: Mark Mylod
Buy it on Amazon.com

A few weeks ago, I raved about the Ali G HBO series, calling it one of the greatest things ever on television. Using various characters——the wigger-Brit Ali G, the tongue-tied Kazakhstani reporter Borat and Austrian fashion maven Bruno——he infiltrates various cultural events (causing much trouble, or course) and interviews politicians, asking them questions that, 90% of the time, cause them to walk out of the room. And it’’s incredibly hilarious.

And while I still believe that, after seeing the Ali G feature film ALI G IN DA HOUSE (not released theatrically in America), I feel like the character loses a bit of it’s brilliantly satirical edge by placing it in a really stupid comedy that relies more of ***censored*** and dick jokes than the keen eye for the irony of the character that made the series so funny.

Basically, it’’s your standard wacky comedy plot: an evil member of Parliament, in a scheme to get elected Prime Minister somehow gets Ali G elected a seat in the house and supposed hilarity ensues.

Mistaken identities, fish out of water gags, multiple overdone ***censored*** jokes and the like are had and it’s all extremely disappointing. On top of that, when the character of Ali G is just there without any back-story——like on the TV show——it works because you’’re placing this obviously outlandish caricature into a real life setting and letting him go free. In the movie world setting, everyone is wacky and has their little peccadilloes, making the whole character of Ali G quite cookie cutter.

Don’’t get me wrong——there are a few laughs to be had (dogs giving grown-men blow jobs are always funny), but you might as well watch DUDE, WHERE’S MY CAR? for the umpteenth time, because it’s basically the same film.

No booyakasha here, my friend.

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Louis Fowler is a frequent contributor to Cinema Eye and Hitch Magazine. He is the host of DAMAGED Hearing, Fridays at midnight on KRFC-FM and film critic for the Rocky Mountain Bullhorn. Oh yeah, he also has a blog!