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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
21
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews
Jan 13, 2026
Season 1 Review:
There's no question that Sacha Baron Cohen is talented. And it may prove unwise to discount the tremendous popularity he and his Ali G character achieved in the United Kingdom. But the concept is hardly original to an American audience and, unfortunately, plays well under the acceptable level of greatness we've all come to expect from HBO. [21 Feb 2003]
Aug 12, 2013
Season 2 Review:
Though Baron Cohen is clever and amusing and quick on his feet, his humor boils down to a few endlessly repeated gambits: malapropisms, misunderstandings, and outrageousness in the guise of innocence. [17 July 2004, p.13]
Aug 12, 2013
Season 2 Review:
Mr. Cohen is better served - and better disguised - as the suited, shorthaired Borat. He's reminiscent of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, a painfully sincere bumbler who gets smashed on wine with the Mississippians on Sunday night before addressing an Oklahoma city council meeting next week. [18 July 2004, p.3]
Aug 12, 2013
Season 1 Review:
Cheap humor? Yes. Based on obvious stereotypes? Yes. Funny? What can I say? Borat got a chuckle out of me. And so did Bruno. [21 Feb 2003, p.B47]
Jan 13, 2026
Season 1 Review:
The galling part is how Cohen betrays satire by making it hollow and toothless. "Da Ali G Show" is a sheep in wolf's clothing. [21 Feb 2003]
Aug 12, 2013
Season 1 Review:
Funny in parts, overlong and out of steam in some taped bits and generally very inside in the humor department. Late night's a good spot for it, but the push for cult appeal in this six-seg series feels forced. [20 Feb 2003, p.10]
Aug 12, 2013
Season 1 Review:
One problem is that sometimes Cohen seems less interested in attacking funny bones than in appealing to sadistic streaks. [21 Feb 2003, p.C01]
Aug 12, 2013
Season 1 Review:
Despite Cohen's talent for submerging himself in his characters, Da Ali G Show is a spotty venture. As on "Saturday Night Live," the sketches are overextended instead of staying short and tart. And Cohen only flirts with political and cultural satire as he toys with his guests, who also include former US attorney general Richard L. Thornburgh. He resists making real points about America, falling back on the more small-minded fun of saying dirty words in front of unsuspecting people or watching them writhe when they hear his sex talk. Ultimately, he's a version of Howard Stern's interviewer Stuttering John, only in more exotic drag. [22 Feb 2003, p.F12]
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