Ali G Indahouse is a 2002 British comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and starring the fictional character Ali G, who is written and performed by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
The character of Ali G was originally developed for the Channel 4 series The 11 O'Clock Show and Da Ali G Show. The film additionally features one of Baron Cohen's other characters, Borat Sagdiyev, in a meeting with Ali G, where a double was used for different shots.
It is the first of three films based on Baron Cohen's characters from Da Ali G Show, and is the only one not to be a mockumentary, and is followed by Borat and Brüno.
Plot
Ali G is the leader of Da West Staines Massiv, a fictional gang composed of a group of wannabe gangsters from Staines (a suburban town in north Surrey, to the west of London); their chief rivals are Da East Staines Massiv. Ali and Da West Staines Massiv are heartbroken to learn that their beloved local leisure centre (where they like to chill out and also where Ali teaches his "Keep it Real" classes) will be demolished by the local council. Ali and his friends decide to protest this injustice. After he goes on a hunger strike and is spotted chained to some railings by the nefarious Chancellor of the Exchequer and Deputy Prime Minister David Carlton, he is drawn into a world of seedy political intrigue, as the Deputy Prime Minister tries to use Ali as a tool to destroy the Prime Minister's credibility. Ali is put forward as a candidate to be the next MP for Staines in a crucial by-election and manages to alienate most who cross his path, including feminists and the elderly. During a debate with his rival candidate, Ali tries to insult his rival by claiming that he "sucked off a horse". Unknown to Ali and the public, it turns out that the rival did indeed do such a thing, and trying to explain it away, he claims when he was out hunting with a friend he slipped, and his mouth landed on a horse's penis, which due to the mating season was erect. Ali then wins.
Although originally seeming out of his depth as a Member of Parliament, Ali's bizarre behaviour and solutions seem to actually work. He visits a Customs checkpoint in Dover, as a delegate compiling a report (though all he does is consume, steal confiscated pornography and drugs, and invite his friends to use them with him). Through ideas such as making more "relatable" education and selectively ensuring the immigration of attractive (or "fit") women into the UK, Ali becomes incredibly popular, meeting the Prime Minister's intentions and bringing his percentage lead in the polls up twenty two percent. With this the Prime Minister offers to save Ali's leisure centre. First though, Ali accompanies the Prime Minister to a United Nations peace conference to avert war between the French-speaking African nations of Chad and Burkina Faso. The United States and Russia back opposite countries and both threaten nuclear attacks. It gets to the point where World War III is almost declared when Ali sneaks into the catering area and puts an entire bag of marijuana, which he had stolen from Customs earlier, into the delegates' tea, and orders that they be served it right away. He throws the empty bag into a nearby rubbish bin. A side-effect is that the two opposing presidents become allies (in fact they begin to kiss lovingly). The Prime Minister says that Ali has saved the world. However, Carlton's secretary Kate Hedges figures out what Ali has done and retrieves the empty marijuana bag (which has "Ali's stash. DO NOT NICK" written on the back), which she mails to the press. Upon his return to the UK, Ali is forced to leave parliament.
Before the Leisure Centre can be saved, a video emerges of Ali and his girlfriend having sex in the Prime Minister's bedroom at Chequers. As Ali was wearing items of the Prime Minister's clothing at the time, the media believe the video details the Prime Minister with a prostitute, forcing his resignation. This results in Deputy Prime Minister David Carlton being made Prime Minister. Carlton, who despises Ali, orders the destruction of the aforementioned leisure centre. He has also bought all available real estate in Staines in the knowledge that the town is to be destroyed to make way for a new terminal for Heathrow Airport, which will make him super wealthy. After turning down an offer to have sex with Kate Hedges, in exchange for "keeping his mouth shut" about the videotape, Ali and the West Staines Massiv must race against time to find the master copy of the CCTV tape proving the former Prime Minister's innocence, extending the olive branch to all the gangs all over Staines and neighbouring Berkshire (even to the East Staines Massiv) to help them break into the vaults and retrieve the said tape. They do this successfully and manage to reinstate the original Prime Minister, save the Leisure Centre, and all live happily ever after when Ali is posted as the British ambassador to Jamaica. Staines is saved from destruction, with the reinstated Prime Minister declaring that Slough is to be destroyed instead.
The opening 'gangland' dream sequence was filmed in Los Angeles, with all other scenes photographed in London and Staines.
When Ali references the Berkshire Massiv of Englefield Green, this is actually in Surrey. The John Nike Leisure Centre is a real facility, though located several miles west of Staines in Bracknell, central Berkshire.
Release
Ali G Indahouse was not theatrically released in the United States and Canada, but did arrive in UK theaters on 22 March 2002 and across various other countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Spain, etc.) throughout the rest of 2002 and midway through 2003.[3] The film was released via DVD in the UK on 11 November 2002, and in the US and Canada on 2 November 2004.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews, holding a 56% rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[4] It opened to some notably negative reviews from critics; however, over the years, the film began to receive some positive mentions following the successes of Borat and Brüno. While some hailed it as a successful low culture comedy,[5] it inspired little of the strong fan enthusiasm associated with Da Ali G Show[6] and with Baron Cohen's subsequent film, Borat.[7]
Soundtrack
Untitled
On 18 March 2002, a soundtrack album for the film was released. Featuring music used in the film, it also featured linking material by Ali G, as if the album was a pirate radio broadcast on Ali's "Drive By FM." It was an enhanced CD, featuring the music video for "Me Julie."
Staines was officially renamed by local councillors to Staines-upon-Thames in part to avoid the fictional gangland associations implied by this film.[8]
