is the leader of Da West Staines Massiv, a fictional gang composed of wannabe gangsters from Staines. Their chief rivals are Da East Staines Massiv. Da West Staines Massiv are heartbroken to learn that their beloved hangout will be demolished by the local council so they decide to protest. After he goes on a hunger strike and is spotted chained to some railings by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Deputy Prime Minister David Carlton, he is drawn into a world of political intrigue as the Deputy Prime Minister tries to use Ali as a tool to destroy the Prime Minister's credibility. Ali is put forward as a candidate to be the next MP for Staines and manages to alienate most who cross his path. During a debate with his rival candidate, Ali tries to insult his rival by claiming that he "sucked off a horse" but the rival unintentionally confesses to Ali's claim and Ali wins. Out of his depth as a Member of Parliament, Ali's bizarre behaviour and solutions seem to work. He visits a customs checkpoint in Dover as a delegate compiling a report. Through ideas such as making education more relatable and ensuring the immigration of attractive women into the UK, Ali becomes incredibly popular, meeting the Prime Minister's intentions and bringing his percentage lead in the polls up twenty two percent. With this the Prime Minister offers to save Ali's beloved John Nike Leisure Centre. Ali accompanies the Prime Minister to a United Nations peace conference to avert war between the French-speaking African nations of Chad and Burkina Faso. The United States and Russia back opposite countries and both threaten nuclear attacks. Ali sneaks into the catering area and pours a bag of cannabis into the delegates' tea. A side-effect is that the two opposing presidents become allies. The Prime Minister says that Ali has saved the world. Carlton's secretary Kate Hedges figures out what Ali has done and retrieves the empty bag, which she mails to the press. Upon his return to the UK, Ali is forced to leave Parliament. Before the John Nike Leisure Centre can be saved from imminent demolition, a video emerges of Ali and his girlfriend having sex in the Prime Minister's bedroom at Chequers. As Ali was wearing items of the Prime Minister's clothing at the time, the media believe the video details the Prime Minister with a prostitute, forcing his resignation. This results in Carlton being made Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Carlton orders the destruction of the leisure centre. He has bought all available real estate in Staines knowing that the town will be destroyed to make way for the construction of a new terminal for Heathrow Airport which will make him wealthy. The West Staines Massiv race to find the master copy of the CCTV tape proving the former Prime Minister's innocence, extending the olive branch to the gangs of Staines and Berkshire to help them break into the vaults and retrieve the tape. They do this successfully and reinstate the original Prime Minister. Staines is saved from destruction and live happily ever after when Ali is posted as the British ambassador to Jamaica. Carlton is forced to work under Ali's wing in Jamaica and dance in drag during Ali's party.
The opening "gangland" dream sequence was filmed in Los Angeles, with all other scenes photographed in London and Staines. Filming also took place at Manchester Town Hall between Thursday 31 May and Saturday 2 June 2001. When Ali references the Berkshire Massiv of Englefield Green, this is actually in Surrey. The John Nike Leisure Centre is a real facility, though located several miles west of Staines in Bracknell, central Berkshire.
Release
The film premiered in British cinemas on 22 March 2002, and across various other countries throughout the rest of 2002 and midway through 2003. Ali G Indahouse was not theatrically released in the United States and Canada. The film was released via DVD in the UK on 11 November 2002, and in the US and Canada on 2 November 2004. The DVD version has been modified from the original UK cinema version. In the original cut, the film opens with Ali G appearing over the BBFC Certificate and changes the categorisation from 15 to 18. He goes on to warn about having sex in the back row of the cinema and to suggest that the audience's enjoyment will be enhanced by lighting a spliff. This thirty second introduction is missing from all international cinema releases as well as all current home video releases.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews, holding a 56% rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It opened to some notably negative reviews from critics; however, over the years, the film began to receive some positive mentions following the successes of Borat and Brüno. While some hailed it as a successful low culture comedy, it inspired little of the strong fan enthusiasm associated with Da Ali G Show and with Baron Cohen's subsequent film, Borat.
Soundtrack
On 18 March 2002, a soundtrack album for the film was released. Featuring music used in the film, it also featured linking material by Ali G, as if the album was a pirate radio broadcast on Ali's "Drive By FM". It was an enhanced CD, featuring the music video for "Me Julie".
Cultural impact
Staines was officially renamed by local councillors to Staines-upon-Thames in part to avoid the fictional gangland associations implied by this film.
