''Ali G Indahouse'' is a 2002 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film written by

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...

and

Dan Mazer Daniel Gideon Mazer (born 4 October 1971) is a British screenwriter, producer, and comedian. Mazer is best known as the long-time writing and production partner of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and worked with him on his three unorthodox characters ...

, directed by Mark Mylod, and starring Baron Cohen as

Ali G Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. A faux-streetwise poseur from Staines, Ali G speaks in rude boy-style Multicultural London English a ...

, the character he originally played on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

comedy series '' The 11 O'Clock Show'' and ''

Da Ali G Show ''Da Ali G Show'' is a British satirical television series created by and starring English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev, ...

''. It is the first of four films based on Baron Cohen's characters from ''Da Ali G Show'', followed by ''

Borat ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charle ...

'' (2006), ''

Brüno ''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters fro ...

'' (2009), and ''

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' (or simply ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'' or ''Borat 2'') is a 2020 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Ja ...

'' (2020). It is also the only one of these films to consist solely of a fictional narrative with no

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

element.

Plot

is the leader of Da West Staines Massiv, a fictional gang composed of wannabe gangsters from Staines. Their chief rivals are Da East Staines Massiv. Da West Staines Massiv decide to protest when they learn that their cherished hangout, the John Nike Leisure Centre (where Ali teaches a life support group for young schoolboys), will be demolished by the local council. After he goes on a hunger strike and is spotted locked to some railings by the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

David Carlton, Ali is thrown into a world of political corruption as the Deputy Prime Minister tries to use him as a catalyst to ruin the Prime Minister's reputation. Ali is put forward as a candidate to be the next MP for Staines and manages to alienate most of the electorate. During a debate, he tries to insult his rival candidate by claiming that the candidate " sucked off a horse". Unbeknownst to Ali, the candidate actually did so and subsequently resigns, leaving Ali the winner. Though he is inexperienced as an MP, Ali's outlandish behaviour and ideas seem to work. He visits a customs checkpoint in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

as a delegate compiling a report, and through strategies such as making education more relatable and ensuring the immigration of attractive women into the country, Ali becomes incredibly popular; he meets the Prime Minister's goals and brings the PM's percentage lead in the polls up by 22%. With this, the Prime Minister offers to save the John Nike Leisure Centre. Ali accompanies the Prime Minister to a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

peace conference to avert war between the French-speaking African nations of

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...

. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

back opposing countries, and both threaten nuclear attacks. Ali sneaks into the catering area and drugs everyone's tea with

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

, which has the side effect of making the leaders of Chad and Burkina Faso allies and even lovers. The Prime Minister says that Ali has saved the world, but Carlton's secretary Kate Hedges figures out what Ali has done and sends the empty cannabis bag to the press. Ali is forced to leave Parliament. Before the John Nike Leisure Centre can be saved from imminent demolition, a video emerges of Ali and his girlfriend having sex in the Prime Minister's bedroom at

Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Buck ...

. As Ali was wearing items of the Prime Minister's clothing at the time, the press misconstrues the video as the Prime Minister's

sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to e ...

with a prostitute, forcing the Prime Minister's resignation. This results in Carlton being made acting Prime Minister, and he quickly orders the destruction of the leisure centre. He also reveals that he purchased all available real estate in Staines, knowing that the town will be destroyed to make way for the construction of a new terminal for

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

which will make him wealthy. The West Staines Massiv race to find the master copy of the

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly ...

tape proving the Prime Minister's innocence, offering a truce to the gangs in and around Staines to help them break into the vaults and retrieve the tape. They succeed and reinstate the original Prime Minister. Staines is saved from destruction, with the Prime Minister declaring that

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the ...

will be destroyed instead. The film ends with Ali as the British ambassador to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

, where Carlton is forced to obey his every command.

Cast

and Borat Sagdiyev *

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

as the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...

as Deputy Prime Minister David Carlton * Kellie Bright as Me Julie (credited as Kelly Bright) *

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most not ...

as Ricky C *

Rhona Mitra Rhona is the name of: * Rhona Adair (1878–1961), British golf champion * Rhona Bennett (born 1976), American singer, actress and model * Rhona Brankin (born 1950), Labour Co-operative politician and Member of the Scottish Parliament * Rhona B ...

as Kate Hedges *

Barbara New Barbara Helene Barrington (9 May 1923 – 24 May 2010) better known by her stage and birth maiden name Barbara New was an English character actress, well known for playing Mabel the scullery maid in the David Croft sitcom '' You Rang M'Lord?''. ...

as Ali's Nan *

Ray Panthaki Ray Panthaki (; born 20 January 1979) is a British actor, producer, screenwriter and director. Early life Panthaki was born in London to second-generation Indian parents. His parents belong to India's Parsi minority community. Career Panthaki i ...

as Hassan B * Emilio Rivera as Rico * Paul Clayton as Alan Swan Lake * Olegar Fedoro as Russian Minister * Tony Way as Dangerous Dave *

Eileen Essell Eileen Essell (8 October 1922 – 15 February 2015) was an English actress, noted in part for not beginning her screen acting career until the age of 79. She retired from stage acting in 1958 following her marriage to playwright and actor Gera ...

as Mrs. Hugh * Daniella Lavender as Maid * Capri Ashby as Nurse Nina * John Scott Martin as Mr. Johnson * Graham McTavish as Customs Officer *

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

as herself *

Nabil Elouahabi Nabil Elouahabi (born 6 February 1975), often credited as Nabil Elouhabi, is a British- Moroccan actor, known for his role as Tariq Larousi in ''EastEnders'' from 2003 to 2005, as Rashid "Gary" Mahmoon in " Strangers on the Shore" (the 2002 Chr ...

as Jezzy F * Bruce Jamieson as Journalist *

Anna Keaveney Anna Keaveney (born Ann Keaveney, 5 October 1949, Runcorn, Cheshire, England – 20 November 2004, aged 55) was an English actress best known for her role as Marie Jackson in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside''. She also appeared in an episode ...

as Secretary

Production

The opening "gangland" dream sequence was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, with all other scenes filmed in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and Staines. Filming also took place at

Manchester Town Hall Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. It is the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments. The building faces Albert Square to ...

between 31 May and 2 June 2001. When Ali references the Berkshire Massiv of

Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Royal Holloway, University of London. The village grew from a hamlet in the 19th century, when much of Egham ( ...

in the film, this is actually in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

; the John Nike Leisure Centre is a real facility, though it is located several miles west of Staines in

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Reading, south of Maiden ...

Release

The film premiered in the United Kingdom on 22 March 2002, and was released in various other countries throughout the rest of 2002 and midway through 2003. It was given a limited theatrical release in the United States. On September 5, 2003, the film was released on a few screens in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. The film was released via DVD in the UK on 11 November 2002, and in the US and Canada on 2 November 2004. The DVD version has been modified from the original UK cinema version. In the original cut, the film opens with Ali appearing over the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

Certificate and changes the categorisation from 15 to 18. He goes on to warn about the dangers of having sex in the back row of the cinema (coming into contact with other people's semen on the seats) and to suggest that the audience's enjoyment will be enhanced by smoking cannabis. This 30-second introduction is missing from all international cinema releases and all current home video releases.

Reception

Commercial performance

The film grossed a total of £17.2 million on a budget of £5 million.

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews. The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported that 53% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 5.16/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 9 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". 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 Baron Cohen's subsequent films ''

'' and ''

''. While some hailed it as a successful

low culture In sociology, the term Low culture identifies the forms of popular culture that have Commoner, mass appeal, which is in contrast to High culture, which has a limited appeal to a smaller proportion of the populace. Culture theory proposes that b ...

comedy, it inspired little of the strong fan enthusiasm associated with ''

'' and ''Borat''.

Soundtrack

On 18 March 2002, a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...

for the film was released. Featuring music used in the film, it also featured linking material by Ali G as if the album were a

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

broadcast on Ali's "Drive By FM". It was an

enhanced CD Enhanced CD is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players. Formats that fall under the "enhanced CD" ...

, featuring the music video for "Me Julie".

Cultural impact

In 2012, Staines was officially renamed by the local council to

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred t ...

partly to avoid the fictional gang associations implied by the film.

References

External links

* *
"The ultimate Borat + Ali G website"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali G Indahouse 2002 films 2000s satirical films British satirical films 2000s French-language films 2000s Spanish-language films Films based on television series British films about cannabis Films directed by Mark Mylod Films set in London Films set in Surrey Films shot in Greater Manchester Films shot in London Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Surrey Hood comedy films Films produced by Eric Fellner Films produced by Tim Bevan Films with screenplays by Sacha Baron Cohen Films with screenplays by Dan Mazer 2002 soundtrack albums Hip hop soundtracks Island Records soundtracks Rhythm and blues soundtracks Staines-upon-Thames StudioCanal films Working Title Films films 2000s hip hop films 2002 directorial debut films Comedy film soundtracks 2000s English-language films 2000s British films