Ali G is back. After more than two decades, Sacha Baron Cohen is returning to the character that made him a television institution. This time, he is directing.
"Ali G: Who Iz I?" arrives in theaters October 23 from Amazon MGM Studios. Cohen shot the film in secret, the same approach he used on "Borat" and "Bruno": a mockumentary format in which real subjects believe they are participating in an actual documentary. The character last appeared in a fictional film context in 2002. He is now navigating TikTok culture and the influencer economy.
The scripted framework gives Ali G a crisis. His long-term girlfriend Julie, played by Morgana Robinson, is pregnant. He travels to America to reclaim relevance. Real-world interview subjects include retired U.S. Army General Stewart Rodeheaver. In one sequence, Ali G attends a birthing class and announces his plans to be an absent father.
"Who Iz I?" marks Cohen’s feature directorial debut. He previously directed an episode of his HBO series "Who Is America?" The 2002 film "Ali G Indahouse" was a conventional comedy narrative rather than a mockumentary, with limited U.S. theatrical distribution. Amazon MGM, which produced "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" in 2020, is handling domestic release.
Morgana Robinson steps into the role of Julie, previously played by Kellie Bright. The trailer arrived August 25. The mockumentary format, built for an era before hidden cameras became a genre shorthand, now faces a more media-literate public. Whether that changes anything remains to be seen.