From Ali G to Borat: Every ‘Da Ali G Show’ Movie Ranked
By Dan Bremner - October 26, 2026
With Ali G: Who Iz I? finally unleashed upon the world, what better time to revisit the outrageous characters that helped make Sacha Baron Cohen one of comedy's most recognisable names? From the streets of Staines to the fictional nation of Kazakhstan, his creations have pushed boundaries, sparked controversy and delivered some of the most hilariously uncomfortable moments in modern comedy.
What started with Da Ali G Show eventually spawned a collection of big-screen outings, each bringing its own brand of outrageous humour and social satire. But whilst some have become comedy classics, others haven't quite captured the same magic. So, with Ali G back in the spotlight, it's time for a definitive worst-to-best ranking of every film that spun out of Da Ali G Show. Very nice.
5 Ali G: Who Iz I? (2026)
The latest spin-off lands comfortably at the bottom. Who Iz I? isn’t the complete disaster it could have been, but this very belated sequel never comes close to capturing Cohen at his comedic peak. There are still laughs to be had and a handful of genuinely shocking moments where unsuspecting members of the public get pushed to extreme and uncomfortable places, yet the old spark is missing. Alistair Leslie Graham feels like a character who should have stayed chilling in the early 2000s. Some things are better left in the past.
4 Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
Another belated sequel, this one arriving fourteen years later out of nowhere as a COVID-era Amazon Prime drop. Cohen takes Borat Sagdiyev to some interesting new places, delivering a multi-layered performance that has him going undercover as other people (necessary once the character became too recognisable). The addition of a daughter, played with full commitment by Maria Bakalova in a star-making turn, gives it some fresh energy. There are still solid jokes and stunts, including the now-infamous Rudy Giuliani sequence, but it never recaptures the masterful surprise and danger of the 2006 original. A perfectly decent follow-up that can’t help but live in the shadow of its predecessor.
3 Ali G Indahouse (2002)
The first big-screen outing for the franchise, and the only one that isn’t a mockumentary. Instead it drops Ali G into a fully scripted political farce. For a lot of people who grew up in Britain this was a childhood classic, and it still holds up as a crass, pointed and frequently hilarious piece of satire. It’s quotable, deeply silly and far more rewatchable than it has any right to be. Twenty-four years on it remains the most purely entertaining of his scripted efforts.
2 Brüno (2009)
Still the most underrated of the whole enterprise. It almost feels like Cohen himself has quietly retired the character for good, which might be for the best. Brüno is a genuinely boundary-pushing experience packed with outrageous sexual gags, celebrity mockery and Cohen in one of his most fully committed performances as the flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista. It’s meaner, stranger and more relentless than people tend to remember. I hope it stays a one-and-done. It’s perfect as is, and maybe even Cohen knows it.
1 Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Could it be anything else? Larry Charles and Sacha Baron Cohen’s landmark comedy still stands as one of the funniest films ever made. Controversial for about a dozen different reasons, it sends Borat on a chaotic journey across America in search of the American dream and somehow keeps escalating. Cohen is locked in with the sharpest, most fearless work of his career, throwing himself into one outrageous situation after another: the naked hotel fight, “The Running of the Jew,” the Pamela Anderson kidnapping attempt, and countless smaller moments of pure social terrorism. I’ve watched it fifty times and I’ll happily watch it another fifty. Great success!
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Dan Bremner
Writer
Dan is a writer from Guildford with a love for all things genre, schlocky, and thoroughly '80s, and a part-time philanthropist.
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