Is Ali G better than Merv the Perv?

Remember that movie Ali G ,In Da House? The one with Sacha Baron Cohen the guy who played Borat?


As it turned out I found an old DVD lying around the house and decided to watch it, mostly because I didnt have much else to do. For those you poor souls who have gone through life with out enjoying the morbid jokes and elementary humor of Ali G I'll try and recap what the movie is about.

Ali G (actual name Alistair Graham) is a wannabe gangster who lives in a middle class suburb of London known a Staines, though Ali makes it seem as if Staines is as dangerous as the Bronx in the 1920's in reality its a peaceful commuter town full of middle level executives.

As fate would have it thorough numerous twists and turns accompanied by Baron's signature wit Ali G ends up being a Member of Parliament; his pet cause to stop the demolition of his neighborhood community center. Ali's unorthodox antics and his "Keep it Real" outlook makes him an instant hit with the public, obviously a make-believe public.

Funnily, perhaps I should say sadly and with deep regret the scene where Ali crosses the well of Parliament to silence the opposition speaker uncannily reminded me of our own parliament. Particularly of a certain Minister of Labor who has penchant for assaulting journalists. Yup, it is our very own Mervyn Siva alias Merv the Perv, Vermin Silva, Kudu Doctor, Doctor Dalipihiya, Kudda, Minimaruwa etc. (the list is endless, perhaps Mervyn's aliases can be the subject of another post!)

Anyways after the movie was over I was intrigued by the parallels between the two, both Ali and Mervyn are hapless politicians, both lack basic educational qualifications and both both have an association with illegal narcotics.

But after much soul searching and deliberation I had to conclude that Ali is in fact much better than Mervyn, miles if not nautical miles better.

Though Ali crosses the well of Parliament he restrains himself to snapping his fingers and silencing the opposition speaker, Mervyn unfortunately did not stop there he stole the sceptre, squeezed the privates parts of a monk who subsequently had to be hospitalized. The parliamentarian who was victim to Mervyn's assault later resigned from parliament. He continued to make a mockery of the legislature using abusive slang in his speeches in Parliament and when speaking to the media.

The list is endless, one does not need to repeat the antics of this larger than life rogue politician who for some obscure reason manges to get away with blue murder. Another striking difference between Ali G and Mervyn was tat Ali had the best interests of his community at heart, while one wonders whether Sri Lanka's Mervyn even has a heart!

Maybe Cohen could make a movie about Sri Lanka, similar to Borat which was based in Kazakhstan and followed the story of Kazakh newspresenter.

Maybe he can model his character on Mervyn, and there wouldn't even be any controversy regarding misrepresentation of a country and as an added bonus he can say that IT WAS BASED ON A TRUE STORY!