Nuthin' but a 'G' thang

Sacha Baron Cohen aka Ali G is among the best of a new wave of British comedians, which also includes Ricky Gervais of "The Office" and "Shaun of the Dead" and "Spaced" creators Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. This is evidenced by his hysterical HBO series "Da Ali G Show." Sadly, his 2002 feature film "Ali G Indahouse," which is new to DVD in the States, isn't indicative of the man's talent.\n"Indahouse" is reminiscent of the "Saturday Night Live" spin-off flicks in which characters that are endearing for 10 to 15 minutes are spread thin across 90 minutes of screen time. Here, the numb-skulled G is appointed to Parliament by a priggish Chancellor (Charles Dance) in hopes of overthrowing the Prime Minister (respected Irish actor Michael Gambon). Sure, this is preposterous and sadly reminiscent of the Jamie Kennedy debacle "Malibu's Most Wanted" (which admittedly came later), but the movie has its fair share of laughs. Much of this comes by way of scatological dick and fart jokes and racially-fueled humor, i.e. a dog named Tupac slobbing G's knob, G incessantly referring to himself as black, etc.\nTrue to form, G works better off the cuff. This is evident in that the commentary which accompanies the film is more amusing than the film itself. Cohen does the track in character alongside "Office" alum Martin Freeman (in character as Ricky C), and it's a riot. Other bonus features include deleted scenes that are raunchier (and thus funnier) than much of what made the final cut and a behind the scenes special in which Cohen (again, under the guise of G) pokes fun of his cast mates and director (Brit TV vet Mark Mylod). My advice: rent or skip this flick and opt for the brilliance that is "Da Ali G Show"