Sacha Baron Cohen brings Ali G into the TikTok era in the official trailer for his upcoming movie, Ali G: Who Iz I?
The new clip opens with Baron Cohen’s famous poser character reintroducing himself after 20 long years. “In that time the world went to crap,” he deadpans. “There was Covid. Wars. And Ed Sheeran. But I’s gonna get back on top with a brand new ting called a documentary.”
The clip is stuffed with exactly the kind of nonsense we’ve all come to expect from a Baron Cohen flick. In one scene, a guy walks in on Ali G taking a dump, and Ali convinces him to stick around while he finishes. In another, Ali confuses his partner’s positive pregnancy test for a vape, tries to hit it, and quips, “Taste of piss.”
It also finds Ali G updating his old interview shtick for age of viral videos and podcasts. In one TikTok-style clip, Ali interviews retired Army General C. Stewart Rodeheaver (yes, a real guy) about Iran while subjecting him to ASMR stunts like spraying shaving gel onto the microphones.
While Baron Cohen is famous for these kinds of mockumentary, prank-filled flicks — like with Borat and Bruno — this marks the first time he’s made such a movie as Ali G. The character previously anchored a 2002 film, Ali G Indahouse, but that was a rare scripted feature in which Ali G goes from a bumbling, wannabe gangster to a member of the British parliament. That said, the mockumentary style of Who Iz I? is plenty in line with Baron Cohen’s hit series, Da Ali G Show, which featured deranged interviews with unsuspecting subjects.
Ali G: Who Iz I? is set to hit theaters on Oct. 23. Baron Cohen teased the character’s return earlier this summer when he showed up to the Wimbledon finals in character, with the aim of selling as much weed as possible during the match.
