If the posh grounds of Wimbledon could be re-classified as “dahouse”, then Ali G was definitely in it.
Sacha Baron Cohen appeared at Wimbledon over the weekend, both as himself and in disguise as his first famous fictional creation.
Ali G sat among the crowd in Wimbledon whites, wearing official merch but accessorised with his signature gold chain, yellow shades and beanie. He was unmistakeable.
Turning to his phone camera, which was then posted to the official Ali G Instagram page and shared on Baron Cohen’s profile, Ali G said he was at “The world cup of something called tennis which is like a crap version of ping pong”.
He added, “Them say that tennis is better played on grass, which is why I intend to sell as much of it while I is here. So if you want some herbal remedies, we’s got anything you want.”
Last week, it was revealed Baron Cohen had filmed a new Ali G movie in secret, and it’s not clear whether this Wimbledon appearance was part of that film or if it was just a marketing stunt related to it.
The movie has reportedly already wrapped, and there were no reports of film cameras around Baron Cohen at the tennis grounds.
Ali G was Baron Cohen’s break-out character, and first appeared in 1998 on The 11 O’Clock Show, a late-night British comedy series. He was a satirical send-up of a “streetwise” chav white boy who appropriated Black culture and inner-city patois, and was later revealed to be from a solidly middle class commuter market town, and whose full name was Alistair Leslie Graham.
Baron Cohen later spun the character off into this own series, Da Ali G Show, which ran for three seasons from 2000 to 2004, and also had his own 2002 feature film Ali G Indahouse.
Over the years, Baron Cohen had revived the character for one-off cameos, including at the British Comedy Awards, NBA ads, a Madonna music video clip, and at the 2015 Oscars ceremony.
The latter was not planned, at least by the Academy producers, and Baron Cohen surprised them by secretly getting into costume with the help of then wife Isla Fisher, in an accessible bathroom backstage while fending off queries by claiming he had food poisoning.
The actor later told Britain morning TV, “The Oscars sat me down beforehand and said they didn’t want me to do anything out of order, they wanted me to just present it as myself.
“But luckily my wife put on (on me) the Ali G beard in the disabled toilets and I managed to get away with it.”
When Ali G made his debut, he purported to be the “voice of the da yoof”, and now, 28 years on, he is very much middle-aged. What happens to someone like Ali G in their 50s – will he be hanging on to the misadventures of youth, or will he have evolved as his property portfolio grew?
The original Ali G character often ambushed or confounded real-life people including the likes of political figures such as Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, the former Lord Mayor of Belfast David Alderdice and Ralph Nader, and celebrities such as Buzz Aldrin.
Given the secret nature of the filming of this new film – just as Baron Cohen has done with his Borat movies – it’s likely that Ali G has found a new pack of “victims”.
No word yet on who has picked up distribution for the movie or when audiences are likely to see it.
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