I never know whether to simply laugh out loud (which I do) or clap my hands at the sheer audacity, the self control Cohen must need to spoof so many people so well. But usually it's a moot point, since I'm laughing too hard to do anything at all! "Ali G" has an uncanny ability to push his victim's buttons, all the while acting as an incredibly ignorant and occasionally boorish interviewer. Watch him take on Pat Buchanan ("'Ow many times was you President?"), Sam Donaldson ("Does you remember the scandal when da two journalists brought down the guv'mint in the scandal of Waterworld?") or Buzz Aldrin ("Was you jealous because Louis Armstrong was the first person to walk on da sun?") He also goes on location to farms ("Obviously some so't of trash zoo,") hangs with the tree huggers in Oregon, and visits an anti-gay rights rally with predictable results. Like his idol George Bush, he proves to be the biggest, clumsiest bull in the most delicate of china shops, with hilarious results.
Cohen can rightly claim the throne vacated by the late Peter Sellers, with none of the frightening edge that Sellers developed in later life. As Ali G himself would say, "Total Respec!"
