Every Ali G Movie in Release Order and How Sacha Baron Cohen’s Character Reached the Big Screen

The list of Ali G movies is short, yet it covers more than two decades of Sacha Baron Cohen’s career. The character was first played by Cohen on the Channel 4 series ‘The 11 O’Clock Show’ and ‘Da Ali G Show’ before moving into film. A second feature arrived 24 years after the character’s big screen debut.

This guide walks through both films in release order and separates a scripted studio comedy from a mockumentary built around unsuspecting people. That second approach, in which Ali G meets people who often do not know they are part of a film, defines the newest entry. Each film has a very different story behind it.

‘Ali G Indahouse’

‘Ali G Indahouse’ is a 2002 British comedy directed by Mark Mylod and starring Ali G, who is written and performed by Cohen. Cohen wrote the film with Dan Mazer. Michael Gambon played the Prime Minister, Charles Dance played Deputy Prime Minister David Carlton, and Martin Freeman appeared as Richard “Ricky C” Cunningham.

Ali G leads Da West Staines Massiv, a fictional gang of wannabe gangsters from Staines, and the story begins after a hunger strike draws the attention of the Deputy Prime Minister. Carlton then tries to use Ali as a tool to destroy the Prime Minister. The plan backfires because the nation embraces Ali as a voice of the youth, which makes the government more popular than ever.

The film is unusual within the wider Cohen catalog. It consists solely of a fictional narrative with no mockumentary element. The cast list also credits Cohen as Borat Sagdiyev, an early sign of the character that would later headline his own films.

The film premiered in the United Kingdom on 22 March 2002 and reached other countries through the rest of 2002 and into 2003. According to Chortle, it topped the UK box office in its opening weekend after playing in 396 cinemas and grossing £3.2 million. The production carried a budget of £5 million and finished with a box office total of £17.2 million. In the United States it received only a limited release on a few screens in Austin, Texas in September 2003.

‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’

The second film was kept under wraps for much of its production. NME reported in July that Cohen had filmed a new Ali G movie in secret, 24 years after the character’s big screen debut. Cohen and Amazon MGM Studios later unveiled the title and an October 23 theatrical date, and the film marks his feature directorial debut. Cohen announced it himself in an Instagram video, staying in character the entire time.

Amazon MGM Studios released a trailer and poster, and Morgana Robinson joined Cohen in the cast. The trailer showed Ali G heading to America as he prepares for fatherhood and tries to reclaim his former glory. In the story, he is shocked to discover that his long term girlfriend, Julie, is eight months pregnant.

The project reunites Cohen with Amazon MGM Studios after ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,’ which received two Academy Award nominations. The new film played in theaters for one weekend only. It arrived on Amazon Prime Video on October 28, just five days after opening.

Amazon did not reveal box office numbers, and critics largely panned the film, which holds a 48 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes. In the UK it took £1.3 million to land at number three on the weekend chart. Cohen also gave numerous interviews as himself rather than in character during the run. With ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ now sitting on Prime Video next to the scripted charm of ‘Ali G Indahouse’, which of the two Ali G movies do you think best captures what made the character work?