ALI G INDAHOUSE Directed by Mark Mylod. Starring Sacha Baron-Cohen, Michael Gambon, Charles Dance, Kellie Bright, Martin Freeman, Rhona Mitra. Channel Four have been responsible for many a fine, intelligent and provocative tv programme. But Ali G wasn't one of them. Funny for a couple of minutes in the old 11 'O Clock Show days, the joke was already stretched too far by the end of that series, and Da Ali G Show's six week run destroyed any credibility the character may have had. Whilst once Ali G was purely satirical, he's now become what he once parodied, and it's simply just no longer as funny as it used to be.

But ignoring the past for the time being, is the film any good, I hear you ask? Well, of course it's never that simple. A real mixture of gross out humour and cheap knob gags, it certainly has its moments, but it's just not that great, and structurally the film's a real mess. The opening thirty minutes speeds along at a fine rate, but then the midsection crawls along despairingly slowly, before the final ten minutes (not counting the tacked on second ending which was presumably desperately needed to fill out an already short running time) redeems things, but only partially. There's a feeling of a distinct lack of effort that's been put in to the film, as a fair few jokes from the series or the 11 'O Clock Show get wheeled out once again, and if there's a chance to make a tit/arse/homophobic joke, well, it's never missed. Unfortunately. It's a real missed opportunity too - placing Ali in to politics could have led to some great satirical moments, but it seems no one really cared about the plot (Ali becomes an MP, Ali becomes hugely popular, Ali is forced to resign against his will, Ali wins the day at the end of the film) and it's utterly, utterly predictable throughout. A couple of times during the film the action stops, and via a split screen Ali comments on the action taking place. Which is a great idea, but sadly underused, and this is a problem with much of the film. Whenever a scene or certain material is enjoyable, it's almost always jettisoned in favour of more gross out humour. Charles Dance continues his career revival, and gets a fair few decent lines and moments, but Michael Gambon's inept Prime Minister is a disappointment, and god knows why such an accomplished actor as Gambon is doing in a mixed effort like this. The same goes for The Office's Martin Freeman, whose efforts at being young are utterly embarrassing - but not in the way that it was intended to be. AGIDH is Mark Mylod's cinematic directorial debut, after having worked on such supposed classic tv shows as Cold Feet and The Royal Family. And it shows that he's unused to making films, as it's a real mess, more a collection of sketches than a coherent whole. AGIDH has been compared to Tom Green's shockfest Freddy Got Fingerered, which is almost always viciously criticised, but Green's film is the better piece of cinema, far braver than Ali's effort, and always prepared to show disgustingly foul (but hilarious) material, rather than just allude to it. After all, If you're going to be offensive, you should always do it in style. Don't get me wrong, Ali G In Da House will make you laugh a fair amount. But it will also make you wince, cringe, and sigh longingly for something a little smarter, akin to the work Sacha Baron Cohen did during his time at the 11 'O Clock Show, and it's not really worth a trip to the cinema - wait for it to come out on video, where under the influence of alcohol it'll probably seem much better than it really is. Alex Finch. Agree / Disagree with this review? Then tell us on the discussion forums.

GC(uk) Index         Site Map         Links         Discussion Forums         About Us         Link To Us       Adverts        Add a Link           GC(uk) Email          Advanced Site Search

Let Spyonit.com notify you when this page changes!

Search this site! Just type in what you want to find and click the search button.