Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ Lands on Prime Video Less Than a Week After Theatrical Release

Originally, Amazon MGM Studios had planned a wide theatrical release for the movie, which marks Cohen’s directorial debut, but following online backlash (including a concerted effort to get the movie banned from European theaters), the studio reduced its theatrical deal and instead chose to focus more on streaming. (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” went straight to Prime Video in October 2020 and was a huge hit and was nominated for two Academy Awards.)

In “Ali G: Who Iz I?,” the character is “shocked to discover that his long-term girlfriend, Julie, is 8 months pregnant. Faced with an extra mouth to feed, he gets off his batty and heads to America to reclaim his former glory … but soon encounters adversaries who will ultimately threaten his and his child’s very existence,” per the synopsis.

Morgana Robinson takes over as Julie after being portrayed by Kellie Bright in the first “Ali G” movie, 2002’s “Ali G Indahouse.”

Cohen also starred in “Ladies First,” a Netflix comedy, earlier this year and appeared in “Balls Up,” which also debuted on Prime Video.

Unlike the “Borat” sequel, this new “Ali G” movie was not as warmly received by critics (it currently has a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes). Our own reviewer wrote, “Returning to Ali G for his directorial debut, Cohen attempts to confront the fact that he’s simply too well known to easily navigate public spaces in the way he did in those earlier projects. But even acknowledging that immediate hurdle, watching him try to recreate the same magic a quarter of a century and a radically changed culture later is a dispiriting and painfully humorless affair — not because he or his characters failed to change with the times, but because what’s funny and what’s risky in real life has long since outpaced the comedian’s imagination.

Ouch. But decide for yourself when “Ali G: Who Iz I?” arrives on Prime Video later this week.