Ali G: Who Iz I? opens for a two-day cinema run amid mixed reviews, boycott calls and lawsuits

Right · 2Sacha Baron Cohen's mockumentary Ali G: Who Iz I? was released in cinemas on Friday for a two-day run, with a later release planned on Amazon's Prime Video. 1 2 Right · 1The Jerusalem Post reported that Planet, Cinema City, Movieland, Rav-Chen and Hot Cinemas in Israel extended the release until Wednesday. 1 Right · 2The film follows Ali G, whose HBO series was cancelled over 20 years ago, as he prepares for the birth of his first child with girlfriend Julie, played by Morgana Robinson, and goes to Los Angeles chasing a promised $3 million payment. 1 2

Mixed · 2Baron Cohen also plays other characters, including the ex-Mossad agent Col Erran Morad and a Berkeley professor, Dr Nira Cain-N'Degeocello, and the film stresses that people he meets in these guises were not in on it. 1 3 Mixed · 2The Jerusalem Post said the film says only Baron Cohen and Robinson were in on the joke, and that he faces lawsuits from participants who regret giving permission; the Guardian reported that Michael Aboud, chair of the El Paso county Republican party, has called Cohen a “liar” and a “pervert” and intends to sue. 1 3 Left · 1Joshua Loudermilk, a 54-year-old aspiring actor from North Carolina, told the Guardian he recognised Baron Cohen early in the shoot but kept pretending to be a hard-right Maga sympathiser, hoping to trick the star; he said he took part mainly for money and welcomes the publicity. 3

Left · 1Loudermilk said he signed a non-disclosure agreement he was not given a copy of, which he considers breached now that the film names him. 3 Right · 1The Daily Mail reported that Ali G, in a video on the character's Instagram account, pulled Noel Gallagher, 59, from his seat at a Saturday-night screening and mocked the Oasis reunion. 2 Right · 1Reviews were mixed: the Daily Mail cited a 50 per cent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, four stars from The Times, and two stars each from the Guardian, Empire and the Telegraph. 2

Right · 1Before release, the media-monitoring platform NewsCord ran a campaign urging cinemas to refuse to screen the film over claims it perpetuates racist stereotypes; the UK Cinema Association's Phil Clapp said cinemas are not there to act as censors. 2 Right · 2Baron Cohen has said he revived Ali G because he is terrified of where society is headed and wants to show extremism on both sides; he told The Hollywood Reporter he is not surprised that prominent Jews are being targeted over the film. 2 1