The Good

A hilarious show that insults everybody.

The Bad

I sometimes wonder if racist or sexist people don’t realize they are being lampooned on this show.

Ali G Show: Da Compleet Seereez is all you could ever want, all that there is currently available of the characters that Sacha Baron Cohen created for this show. There are three characters: Ali G, Borat and Bruno. Ali G is your typical British-Jamaican, rapped out journalist who’s very presence is meant to throw the stuffed shirt set off guard. Borat is that now ultra-famous Kazakhstani reporter who leaped ahead of these other characters in his own movie, Borat. Bruno, is your garden variety, gay fashion consultant. Cohen plays all of these characters and the fact that each one of them could reap him millions (and probably two have), shows you just how deeply layered his creations are.

In this 12 episode 4 disc set, we see these characters conduct interviews with real pundits who have no idea that a joke has been played on them. How Cohen was able to pull this off and use it on this show is anybody’s guess, but it’s a good thing he was because the results are nothing short of comedy gold. Whether he is duping people into singing an anti-semitic song, or insulting a group of lesbian women, or making very straight people feel very uncomfortable, Cohen’s gift is not only crafting these characters, but becoming them as well.

In all honesty, this set isn’t for everybody, but for the people with whom this comedy is geared, they will certainly find Ali G Show: Da Compleet Seereez a set to cherish.

Features

I was surprised that these were on here, mainly because I know that Cohen is very fastidious in how he plays these characters. While I enjoyed his insights, these tracks seemed to be things he was doing because he was obligated to. I often don’t like hearing funny people look at the things they’ve done (especially if they’ve acted in them) because they really don’t seem like they want to talk about (or watch) their work. He discusses the characters, what he was trying to go for, what happened when the

cameras were turned off, but for the most part I thought Dan Mazer actually helped him along quite a bit more than he should have.

Unedited Spyz Movie Pitch

Bonus Footage of Borat at the Hamptons Horse Show and the American Patriotism Event and Unseen Sequences

Both of these pieces are pretty much the same thing which is why I put them together here. As I was watching this stuff I was wondering why they didn’t just include these scenes as part of the regular DVD? It wasn’t like this stuff was bad, it just seems like an arbitrary decision. We see the characters that Sacha Baron Cohen has created having more fun with his subjects. He does more interviews with the likes of Noam Chomsky (I find it hard to believe, with his faithful college lapdogs, that he doesn’t know who this person is) and others. It always amazes me how Cohen can ask the kinds of questions he asks, or make the statements he makes, and not feel the need to immediately apologize for having uttered such offenses .

Glossary of Ali G Jargon

Commencement Speech on Class Day 2004 at Harvard

I sort of wish that Sacha Baron Cohen hadn’t done this. Aside from me not thinking that it was really that funny, I felt that it sort of compromised this character. Ali G is an outsider of the best kind. He’s the kind of guy who is seen as going up against the establishment. To see him here, as a paid performer (at least that’s what I think he was), it all kind of didn’t sit well with me. It’s seeing having to shell out $90 to see Tom Waits in concert, or hearing Bob Dylan songs used in commercials. I understand these people are well compensated, I guess I just wish that the outlaws didn’t always have to end up becoming the law.

Video

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1. This show has been created with a litany of video formats. In fact, when I first saw this show on HBO, I had absolutely no idea what was happening. It took me awhile to realize what the joke was. The predominantly used format of shooting things seems to be High Definition video. However, the Borat stuff seems like it’s from another planet, but I have no doubt that Cohen is laughing at something he saw on the Kazakh airwaves. This footage is pretty colorful and I was impressed with how good the lighting was overall. I find it so interesting how Americans are made fun of for being “Ugly Americans,” but the subjects here really go out of their way to be kind to this rude foreigner.

Audio

English - Dolby Digital 2.0. Aside from the very annoying soundtrack music (but I actually think that that was the point), the audio on this DVD set was fine. Nothing really jumped out and grabbed me but things were shot in so many different locations it was nice to see everything leveled across the discs. However, how hard is it really to get good sound when a lot of what Sacha Baron Cohen is doing is simply interviewing people? Like I said, things aren’t that amazing in the audio department but they certainly are not lacking.

Package

Ali G stands on the front of this slipcase cover with a black background behind him, throwing up a sign of some sort, decked out in bling and what looks like an oversized, yellow slicker. The back of this slipcase has some more images of the other characters from this show, a description of what Ali G Show: Da Compleet Seereez is about, a special features listing and system specs. The four discs that make up this set actually have a lot of space inside this somewhat bulky packaging. There is more artwork inside, a listing of what episodes go where, and it also points out where we can find the extra features. Not a bad packaging job but I thought it could have been more economical.

Final Word

I have a running debate going with my dad who thinks that this stuff is racist. My argument is that we’re Jewish, Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish, and what he is doing is illuminating the racism that a lot of people don’t even know they have. Rather than lecture them on a radio show, Cohen does it through humor. (Even though, I must admit, I think his tactics are tad too cloak and dagger). My father’s argument is what about the people who are watching these shows and they agree with these characters? They may not know that Cohen is Jewish and that he’s essentially having a laugh at how close minded people can be. I often counter that that is something they will easily find out if they study up on the man. Also, white power folks by and large probably aren’t watching something called Ali G Show anyway. In addition to this, Cohen spares nobody. There are very few groups that escape his comic sword.

Still, I think my dad has something of a valid point. Watching this show in the privacy of my own home I found that I laughed a great deal. The humor was very reminiscent of the kinds of things that Norman Lear (All in the Family) has done. However, watching Borat in a packed movie theater, I didn’t find things as funny. Even though I know that he is Jewish, it was somewhat surprising to see how much people enjoyed laughing at other people. Also, as much as I may not appreciate the things that certain people revealed about themselves (even if that is how they really feel), I think there is something to be said for sort of duping them into saying that. We call secrets by that name for a reason and sometimes it might be better that they stay that way.

All told, Ali G Show: Da Compleet Seereez is a lot of fun and the fact that it is so polarizing is large part of it.

Da Ali G Show was released .