By Jon Donnis
Sacha Baron Cohen brings back one of his most recognisable comedy characters in Ali G: Who Iz I?, a 2026 British mockumentary that attempts to revive the former glory of Da Ali G Show. Unfortunately, what was once cutting-edge satire now feels like an increasingly desperate attempt to squeeze a little more life out of a character who has long since passed his sell-by date.
Twenty plus years after his television success, Ali G is back in Staines, broke, unemployed and seemingly happy to spend his days doing very little. His comfortable lifestyle is interrupted when he discovers that his long-term girlfriend, Julie, is eight months pregnant. Faced with the prospect of becoming a father and having another mouth to feed, Ali decides it is time to reclaim his former celebrity status.
An old fax from HBO offering him $3.2 million for another series of Da Ali G Show provides the perfect opportunity. There is just one problem. The offer is 22 years out of date. Undeterred, Ali heads to America with Julie, determined to make his comeback through social media and TikTok.
His new online ventures include interviews, ASMR sessions, mukbangs and various other attempts to attract attention. However, his return also catches the attention of lecturer Nira Cain-N'Degeocello, who considers Ali a cultural appropriator and sets out to expose him. What follows is an increasingly ridiculous battle involving ancestry tests, political correctness, cancel culture and a collection of characters who seem to have wandered in from several different comedy films.
There are still occasional glimpses of what made Ali G entertaining in the first place. Some of the pranks and encounters involving real people retain that uncomfortable, cringe-inducing quality that makes it difficult to look away. Watching unsuspecting participants trying to make sense of Ali's ridiculous behaviour remains one of the few genuinely entertaining aspects of the character. The film is also well filmed and professionally put together, so there is little to complain about from a production standpoint.
Unfortunately, that is where most of the positives end.
The biggest problem is that Ali G simply feels outdated. When the character first appeared, Sacha Baron Cohen was a young comedy performer making a name for himself, taking the mickey out of politicians, celebrities, academics and anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves in an interview with him. There was an element of surprise, and the comedy felt fresh because nobody quite knew what to expect.
Fast forward to 2026, and the circumstances are rather different. Baron Cohen is now a multi-millionaire Hollywood star, an outspoken political activist and very much part of the celebrity establishment. In many respects, he has become the very sort of wealthy, self-important public figure that Ali G was originally designed to ridicule. Watching him return to this character feels less like a daring comedy comeback and more like a wealthy celebrity revisiting an old routine because he has run out of better ideas.
There is also the uncomfortable question of whether the character would be received in quite the same way today. Ali G is a white Jewish man pretending to be a black British Jamaican, complete with an exaggerated gangster persona and deliberately ridiculous views. When the character first appeared, the intention was to make fun of wannabe gangsters, "wiggers, and the people who took the stereotype seriously. But times have changed, and I am genuinely surprised that anyone thought bringing him back in 2026 was a particularly good idea. If Baron Cohen did not have his established reputation as a left-wing activist, I suspect the reaction to this film could have been considerably more hostile.
The film attempts to make its cultural and political arguments central to the story, but there is very little clever satire underneath the noise. Instead, it throws together references to social justice warriors, immigration, free speech and cancel culture, seemingly hoping that controversial subjects will generate laughs on their own. They don't.
The plot is equally disappointing. What begins as a relatively straightforward story about Ali attempting to revive his career quickly descends into an absurd collection of increasingly desperate scenarios. The ancestry storyline, the political conspiracies and the ridiculous attempts to turn Ali into a symbol of free speech never come together in a particularly entertaining way. Even the more outrageous moments struggle to raise a laugh.
Perhaps most frustratingly, the film cannot decide what it wants Ali G to represent. It wants him to be an unapologetically offensive character, but also gives him an opportunity to deliver an earnest speech about creating a better world and protecting future generations. It feels forced, and the comedy suffers as a result.
Ultimately, Ali G: Who Iz I? is neither particularly funny nor particularly clever. The occasional uncomfortable encounter provides a reminder of what once made the character successful, but there simply isn't enough here to justify bringing him back. The jokes feel recycled, the storyline is weak and the overall execution is disappointing.
Ali G started out as a character designed to make fun of wannabe gangsters, celebrities and people who took themselves far too seriously. He was once cutting-edge satire. Now, he is a 55-year-old Jewish man desperately trying to squeeze a few more pennies out of a tired and boring character that has long since lost its appeal.
Some comedy characters are best remembered for what they were, rather than dragged back years later for an unnecessary comeback. Ali G is a perfect example.
I score Ali G: Who Iz I? A disappointing 4 out of 10.
Out Now on Prime Video
