Jmunney's Blog

Who iz they anyway?! (CREDIT: Amazon MGM Studios)

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Morgana Robinson

Director: Sacha Baron Cohen

Running Time: 89 Minutes

Rating: R for Satirical Nudity, Language, and Drug Use

Release Date: October 23, 2026 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: After falling victim to evolving cultural sensitivities, Ali G is back! But he hasn’t exactly been financially solvent since the end of his eponymous HBO show, which is a problem since his very pregnant girlfriend Julie (Morgana Robinson) wants him to actually get serious and provide for their growing family. So he flies over to America in search of conquering our current media landscape. After all, creator-fueled social media platforms might just be the perfect platform for spreading his brand of clueless hip-hop culture appropriation. But a couple of other satirical characters also played by Sacha Baron Cohen – self-hating cis white professor Nira Cain-N’Degeocello and hypermasculine ex-Mossad operative Erran Morad – are intent on putting an end to his resurrection. And of course, a whole bunch of unsuspecting civilians also get corralled into the operation.

What Made an Impression?: Somewhat Nice: A few minutes into Ali G: Who Iz I?, I couldn’t help but realize, “Alistair Graham is pretty funny, but he’s no Borat.” That’s okay, though! Few satirical characters are as unforgettable as that kooky Kazakh newsman, but it’s hard not to make unfavorable comparisons when they were created by the same clown. There’s something that feels a little provincial about Ali G, so that even when he’s at his funniest, I can’t help but assume that Brits are laughing more than I am. By contrast, Borat – while ostensibly a citizen of an actual real-world country – can more accurately be considered a wholly fantastical creature. So Who Iz I? is perfectly pleasant, and that’s fine, but we do have to make peace with the fact that it’s not going to reach transcendence.
Feels Like Nowhere: Baron Cohen’s forte is coaxing telling reactions out of non-actors, and when Who Iz I? strays from that, we drift off into the uncanny. That is to say, when it’s just Ali G or Dr. Nira or Erran on their own, there’s an unmistakable sheen of fakeness. To be fair, those scenes are kind of necessary to establish context, but it’s hard not to wish for a less disconcerting way to pull that off.
Where Does the Responsibility Lie?: For those folks who still aren’t familiar with Baron Cohen’s antics, it’s as stunning as ever what he is capable of convincing them to do. I’m less interested currently about the prejudices he’s exposing (because so many of his current targets wear their prejudices on their sleeves nowadays) and more about how they’ll react to seeing themselves on screen. I don’t imagine that many (if any) of them will change their political inclinations, but maybe some of them will re-evaluate just a bit how far they’re willing to go to defend what they believe in.
Just Be Silly: Who Iz I? has a decent amount of value as a social experiment, but I enjoyed it most during the lower-stakes interactions, like interviews that turn into nonsensical ASMR sessions or the plentiful malapropisms. There’s also an encounter in a convenience store where the cashier is surprisingly thoughtful in the midst of the lunacy. And then there are a series of surprise celebrity cameos that manage to be playful instead of overindulgent. Ali G isn’t about to retake the world by storm, but he is learning to find a place that everyone can be okay with.

Ali Go: Who Iz I? is Recommended If You Like: Reflective Reboots, WTF Reaction Shots, Explanations of How They Did That

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Puffy Jackets