Amazon MGM Cuts ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?' Theatrical Run to One Week

It sounds like Amazon MGM has decided to cut short the rollout of "Ali G: Who Iz I?," Sacha Baron Cohen's latest prank-filled improv comedy, which hits theaters on October 23.

I'm told that this ‘Ali G’ movie will play theatrically for only one week. That's it. The original plan was for a more robust rollout, but things have changed since then. The film, which is Cohen's feature directorial debut, has been mired in controversy, especially in the UK. Whether that controversy is what led to a shorter rollout has not been confirmed.

If you remember, Picturehouse Cinemas, a UK cinema chain, announced that it would not screen "Ali G: Who Iz I?" in October, mostly because of the character's "racist stereotypes." The campaign is being led by the media-monitoring organization NewsCord, which has urged other major UK cinema chains, including Odeon, Cineworld, Vue, Everyman and Showcase, to refuse to screen the movie.

The group claims Cohen uses satire as a "cover for enforcing racist stereotypes" and has accused the Ali G revival of bringing back a "racist caricature." More than 27,000 emails (!) have reportedly been sent to cinema chains.

Ali G was created as a white man from Staines who blindly adopts the slang, clothing and mannerisms he associates with Black British culture. The joke has always been about his ignorance and ridiculousness. The character is deliberately offensive. That is rather the point.

Cohen was a comedy revolutionary in the early 2000s with "Da Ali G Show," creating Borat, Brüno and Ali G, characters who blurred the line between performance and reality, exposed people's biases and turned culture clashes into sharp social satire.

I don't expect this ‘Ali G’ movie to hit paydirt, nor do I expect it to make any waves. Amazon has obviously noticed that. Presales haven't been terribly good, and since its Prime Video streaming platform is always in need of new "content," it seems Cohen's film will be heading there on October 30.