British-born comedian
Sacha Baron Cohen
is the brains behind Ali G,
host of "Da Ali G Show."
Is Sacha Baron
the bad boy of lje
MICHAEL ELKIN
Jewish Exponent
F
boat like a butterfly, sting like a bee — Ali G is the "gee-whiz" kid of
the moment, thanks to an HBO series that has the raunchy rapper rip-
ping into politicos, sports and arts figures with the aplomb of an A-
bomb loaded with laughs.
Such unique comedy. Or, as Ali G would say, in a pidgin English infected
with avian flu, "eunuch humor."
Is this master of malapropisms appropriate for today's information-challenged
generation? Worse yet ... is Ali G generating anti-Semitism?
As he himself would respond, alarmed, "Ain't got no Auntie Sam. Got an
uncle in prison, mayba, but no Auntie Sam."
Ali ... babble? British-born comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, 34, is the brains
behind Ali G, the "hip-hop journalist" host of the ersatz Da Ali G Show, which
returns to HBO with a new season of episodes Saturday, Nov. 13.
As in the previous two seasons, Ali G will be joined by two of Cohen's other
very funny alter egos: Borat, the crude, easily confused reporter from
Kazakhstan, and Bruno, the bouncy, supercilious Austrian fashion reporter.
Cohen is a committed Jew — which makes claims of his show's anti-Semitism
even wilder.
ALI BABBLE on page 50
11/12
2004
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