Indahouse

When my eldest son was 1, we had several 3-hour VHS tapes of Sesame Street which he watched again and again...and again. Later, he moved onto Thomas The Tank Engine, then all the fighting bits from Star Wars 4,5 & 6. He'd watch those suckers, day in, day out. 'Used to drive me crazy!

Why am I telling you this?

Well, the reason is, that unless you're in the zone of a movie's target audience, it can be nigh on impossible understanding what all the hoo-ha is about. How the hell can they can laugh at slightly different variations of the same joke again and again...and again?

You see, Ali G Indahouse is aimed at British male teenagers, er...15-40. Further, if you're:

young at heart
even slightly aware of hip-hop music & culture
gangsta rap
Jamaican Rastafarian patois, &
while having a small and relatively inexperienced penis, have convinced yourself that it's a killer-appendage

...well, Indahouse might just be the movie for you. It's from Sacha Baron Cohen, before Borat and it's very, very funny!

Ali G. Indahouse movie review, stars Sacha Baron Cohen

Ali G. Indahouse

As part of the long history of British Music Hall, via the Carry On movies and a transatlantic tip-o'-the-hat to Austin Powers, Indahouse unleashes Ali-G, the honky home-boy with a heart of gold, onto the world, who says:

"...If you iz watching dis in da UK, you may remember me from da telly. If you iz in Belgium... you iz livin' in a shit-hole..."

Indahouse shot on a budget of about $10 million, centres around Ali G, a professionally unemployed no-hoper...

Ali G Inda House trailer

...being tricked into running for Parliament for his beloved local constituency, Staines, in order to save his turf, The John Nike Leisure Centre from closure...

"It's like wot Mecca is to de Jews..."

Ahhh...but he's being manipulated by the evil Deputy Prime Minister, David Carlton (Charles Dance), because Ali's supposed to lose the by-election, thereby throwing the government's slim balance of power into chaos.

Carlton:    Tell me, Ali, do you have a job?
Ali G:        Unfortunately I iz recently gone on the dole.
Carlton:    Really? When?
Ali G:        Eight years and three months ago.
Carlton:    Says here you claim disability benefit, are you...?
Ali G:        Yes, I iz actually spasticated. I iz got a terrible DJ-ing injury...I still ain't got full mobility in me main mixing finger...

Ali G. starts to air-mix, winces, feigns pain and stops. Then noticing Carlton's attractive secretary Kate Hedges (Rhona Mitra), looking at him, he points to his crotch.

Ali G: Everything down there's still working though!

Indahouse then canters along at an utterly predictable but increasingly silly pace.

His pathetic attempts at gaining votes only result in his party falling even further behind but during a televised debate, when when Ali G, stumped for anything relevant to say, makes up that his eloquent opponent has had sex with a horse, his opponent surprisingly admits to the er..dalliance and Ali G's fortunes begin to change.

Of course, he somehow gets the numbers to just scrape into Parliament, but he's alone, without the support of his dope-smoking gang, Massive Staines and his ever-loving girlfriend, me-Julie (Mandy Bright).

Much to everyone's surprise, though, his undeveloped "Keep It Real" policy grabs the nation's attention and the Prime Minister quickly sees Ali G's worth. Invited into the PM's study at 10 Downing Street, Ali G sees the big red button that could start a world war and moves to touch it...

Ali G:      Can't we blow up somewhere crappy like Wales?
PM:        No, Ali
Ali G:      I heard the prime minister of Wales called your mum a slag.
PM:        I'm the prime minister of Wales.
Ali G:      That's no way to talk about you (sic) mother!

But Ali G's not here to destoy the world, he's here to save Staines and Indahouse provides adventures along the way, including:

(even more) sex with animals
a night in Customs, spent watching confiscated porn & smoking confiscated drugs with his friends, Massive Staines
insulting a fat child ("Look at 'im, eh? Fatty bum-bum!")
male homosexuality (reference to "batty boys" abound)
lesbians ("I 'as seen plenty of your videos")
Queen Elizabeth's (lack of pubes, to which Ali G mutters, goggle-eyed: "Respect!")
Having sex with me-Julie in the PM's boudoir

Then comes the Indahouse turning point. Ali G defuses an international war situation by putting high grade cannabis in the tea urn, getting all of them stoned and singlehandedly achieving Peace...but when Ali G's means of gaining the accord is leaked to the press, our hero is thrown out of Parliament.

He then discovers that the evil Deputy PM (who by then, through skullduggery, is actually the acting-PM) wants to bulldoze Staines, so he rallies the crestfallen Massive Staines and even his cajoles his turf-war rivals into the fight against Dance.

Indahouse DVD

"...I thought this movie was funny as hell (but) my girlfriend thought it was horrible and gross...if u laugh at really stupid stuff you'll love it..." Amazon reviewer Chris Akin

"...a must see for any Ali G fan. The plot is alright but I (couldn't) care less about that, the real reason for my purchase of this movie was the non-stop laughs. And this title also has superb video quality for a DVD..." Amazon reviewer John S. Cooper

"...If potty humor yanks your chain
Get this one from the shop
But if it's knowledge that you seek
You'll feel your IQ drop...

...He's lewd, he's crude, the plotline sucks
The cast's career's on low
Because of the offensive stuff
No sixteens or below..." Amazon reviewer Amanda Richards "Modest to the extreme"

Indahouse soundtrack

"...Dis be one of da best soundtracks me as evea eard. Me wasn't keeping it real when most of dese tracks came out. So dis CD really as turned me mind inta the Greats of Da hip-hop an Rap an Jungle an Garage. Fer Real this CD is great.

I'z usually don't bother wit soundtracks but dis is to wicked to pass up. If da muzic wasn't right good enough yous 'ave Ali G's hilarious intros to the songs just like im iz a Radio DJ, innit. Overall it be a slammin track wit da great classics on it wit some Real Ali G inbatween.

Oh yeah, an the Me-Julie Video iz so Great. So yous not only get muzic but a Freaky music Video toos, booyakasha. Me iz so right appy dat me bout dis Cd an yous will be too. Respek..." Amazon reviewer Corey Roberts

Does Ali G, Massive Staines & the hip-hop bro's stop the evil Deputy PM? I wouldn't dare reveal the ending...but it is in Jamaica and you do cast your eyes upon the biggest spliff you've ever seen. Indahouse is overpoweringly puerile, sexist, relentlessly homophibic & full of cheap jokes. I loved it! As Ali G would say, "Respect!"