SBC: Your favourite character

[Artemis]

Recently I bought and have been enjoying the Ali G in America DVD and have been very impressed with SBC's versatility in creating and executing new characters. I was wondering which of the three (Ali G, Borat, Bruno) you whores enjoy the most and for what reason...

At the moment I think my favourite is Borat because he's just so well done. His 'audition' in 'Borat's Guide to Acting' was stunningly funny... "fuck to you!" Second fave is Bruno though mostly for the responses he gets ... "do a September 12th face to the camera .... do a September 13th face" (etc.) Least favourite but still sporadically very funny is Ali G who I now feel is getting a little tiresome. Still, his response to the environmental activists when challeneged about the 'gold' he was wearing and it's inhumane extraction from Africa ("is you by any chance a bit jealous? ") was a good example of how he can often hit the right buttons.

Anyone know or would like to suggest what SBC's next move should be? I know he's working on another HBO series state-side, but what next?

[Neil]

I could take or leave his UK series, far too much filler, but the HBO shows really were very funny indeed.  Bruon was alright, although SBC or someone on the crew had clearly been watching their Brass Eye DVD's before hand.  I can remember a few gags that were pretty close to what Morris did.  Borat or Ali G would have to be the funniest though, I recently rewatched the first one in the series and found the whole section where he was training with the police very amusing indeed. In fact I'll have to dig them out and watch the rest of them again.  The movie was shit though, very dull, I don't remember laughing much throughout the whole thing, but it  was a complettely crap setting for the Ali G character anyway.  

I don't really get why people despise him so much to be honest...because he was on the 11OCS?  I think some of the interviews are reminiscent of what VLS used to do with his prank calls, where the laughs come more from the interviewer acting like a fanny than anything else.

[Uncle_Z]

Ali G is great character to the extent that it was about using this bizarrely damaging stereotype to give false security to celebrity or politcial targets.  Where SBC fell down was by making the pop video.  I do not begrudge anyone making a quid, and perhaps he had decided the underground phase of the character had run its course / had too much exposure to continue to work, but I now cringe in much the same way I did when Loadsamoney peaked.

For fucks sake neither of these characters were supposed to be "aspirational" were they?

Oh yeah and then Madely picking up the baton reminded me so much of Danny from Withnail saying "They're selling hippy wigs in Woolworths man"

[Vermschneid Mehearties]

Borat is my favourite character. There isn't quite as much SBC can do with it, but I find Borat funnier than Bruno and Ali G. Ali G in particular now SBC seems to be whoring it as an idol for white people who think they're from Harlem, but wouldn't last a fucking second there. Ironic really considering he was quite ahead of his time in observing that very trend, and now the people who 'find him funniest' are mimicking him as if he was promoting it.

I hope that doesn't sound like too much prattle. The original 'Ali G Show' was fairly good, though I thought 'Ali G in da USAiii' went downhill after a strong first episode.

[gazzyk1ns]

Borat is my favourite character too, but I expect I only prefer him to Ali G because I've seen so much of the latter and not too much Borat.

Ali G is a strange one though, originally as Z says, he was using the stereotype to trick interviewees and lull them into a false sense of security. Then, SBC realised that the actual "Look how stupid rapper wannabees are" joke was funny in itself, and understandably played on that by developing the character and his life story a litte (i.e. through little comments in interviews).

The came the puzzling bit - lots of people didn't really get the fact that he was being sarcastic, they thought he was kind of "exaggerating a little". And SBC went along with it. I don't want to fall into the trap of saying "fucken cnut did it 4 the money dat's all these ppl want!!" without being informed in the slightest about how true that is, but it certainly is puzzling.

Still he's clearly a very funny and talented guy, the fact that he can do more than one "thing" (i.e. Borat, Bruno) proves that. I don't like Bruno at all personally though, I was quite surprised to find that some people do.