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Ladies First

Play trailer 2:25 Poster for Ladies First R 2026 1h 33m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
26% Tomatometer 46 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Damien Sachs (Sacha Baron Cohen) seemingly has it all: money, power, and a never ending stream of casual flings. As he prepares to ascend to the role of CEO at a leading advertising agency, his life is turned upside down when he wakes up in his worst nightmare: a parallel world dominated by women. Where he once ruled the boardroom, he now finds himself humbled and going head-to-head with the newly fierce and fearless Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike). With the rules of engagement changed and Alex at the top of her game, the two boldly battle it out in a playful and satirical comedy about what happens when the script is flipped.
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Ladies First

Ladies First

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Critics Consensus

A subversion of gender roles that feels outdated upon arrival, Ladies First's topsy-turvy fantasy is too cloying to wring many laughs from the battle of the sexes.

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Critics Reviews

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John Anderson Wall Street Journal May 29
The destination of “Ladies First” might as well be on tracks. But Ms. Pike is terrific, as are Ms. Shaw, Mr. Dance and Mr. Baron Cohen, an agile comedian in a production that isn’t particularly taxing. Go to Full Review
Amber Dowling Globe and Mail May 26
Director Thea Sharrock presents a somewhat predictable but entirely cathartic take on what it really would look like if women ran the world, and it is fine companion viewing for Eléonore Pourriat’s French film I Am Not an Easy Man, on which it’s based. Go to Full Review
Kevin Maher The Times (UK) May 26
2/5
The gender politics, much like the French original, are bonkers and alarmingly retro. Go to Full Review
Charles Koplinski Reel Talk with Chuck and Pam Jul 7
3/4
The issue of gender inequality gets a Dickensian twist in Thea Sharrock’s "Ladies First," a clever, timely satire that turns the workplace dynamic on its head. Go to Full Review
Erik Childress Movie Madness Podcast Jun 18
1/4
If the film was retro-fit back to the 1960s, the dynamics may have rung truer but it still wouldn’t have been funny. Suggesting that it is radical for men to be relegated to cooking duty in 2026 you can almost hear Danny Trejo say 'Guys can do stuff now.' Go to Full Review
Maxance Vincent Film Speak Jun 13
D
While Ladies First boasts a fun cast, the movie’s morals are even more dated and regressive than its French-language 2018 original. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Pandora P @RT68646284 2d I love the movie and it's messaging; it was very cathartic to watch as a female, as I saw another reviewer say. But also very outdated, they drew too much from that early 2000s romantic comedy vibe. It's cheesy but thematically consistent, worth a watch; especially if you grew up watching that genre and get nostalgia from it. See more Revilo G @RT42781507 2d As a Gen Z male with more than a good knowledge and respect for what this movie was about going into it I was ready to laugh and make fun of myself and men and have a good time the only reason I watched this and the only reason most people did is because sacha was in it and he makes us laugh every time. However me and my friends didn’t laugh nothing was really that funny at all maybe a couple small smirks or scoffs but nothing audible I’m struggling to figure out what really makes it a comedy. I’m not opposed in any way to the message but the fact I didn’t even get a laugh was immensely disappointing.If you want even one good laugh I highly recommend you don’t watch this movie. I don’t blame sacha when I saw who wrote it and produced it I immediately understood why it wasn’t even remotely funny which may ironically be the most funny part of the whole thing. See more Adam P @AdamPretty 3d I loved the premise the film, however this quickly evaporated about 15. minutes in. In essence its a Christmas Carol story concerning sexism. Trouble is, when in the alt world were women are on top, the film chose to give the women male characteristics and vice verse. I think it would have been so much more interesting to see women on top showing exaggerated womenness, not having the amazing female cast cosplay as horny men. Rather than the men being shown to be soft and tarty, I'd have like to see the men in second class position due to their maleness, demeaned for being meat heads.Not sure that makes sense- but essentially it felt heavy handed and somehow old fashioned. What i did love was the amazing attention to detail from the art department, and in fact the gender switch of the english language was maybe the most compelling thought starter. See more David H @DHoffm 6d The movie seeks to preach and fails to focus on entertaining. It is superliminal with each and every sermon. Not a moment is wasted getting down the the ideological agenda when you meet the heroic protagonist- she isn't young, she prioritized family, and her child is non-binary presenting feminine characteristics. Things don't improve from there. You don't need to skip this movie as you have already seen it. There isn't a single twist or turn in the entire thing. I believe this was mandated by the union to make up for not canceling Dave Chappele. They had to make it but you don't have to watch it. See more Vienna P @RT88940258 6d This movie gets terrible reviews because people are so uncomfortable with flipping gender dynamics. The movie is great satire, it’s fun and also provides a critical look at sexism today. See more Nikita D @RT84924062 Aug 8 I’m FASCINATED by the poor reviews. Yes, the stereotypes of male and female behavior are "exaggerated", but it’s *satire*. As a woman watching in 2026, I appreciate all the well-placed subtle jabs throughout the movie (I’m sure some men do too, but the movie appeals most to the gender that most intimately deals with the sexist behavior the movie satirizes). "Old boys clubs" are not a figment of the past- they exist today in subtle ways. For a review to say this movie is outdated.. either you live in a beautiful part of the world or you’re personally offended. It’s a feelgood movie with amusing details comparing the male- vs female-centric world. Aim was not to depict the "realistic truth" of gender norms today but to poke fun at the ones that impact women over MANY generations: being caretakers, maintaining the "right" amount of attractiveness for career success, romantic forwardness. Yes, as of 2026, men are in these roles too, but it’s naive to think there no further work to do. See more Read all reviews
Ladies First

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Movie Info

Synopsis Damien Sachs (Sacha Baron Cohen) seemingly has it all: money, power, and a never ending stream of casual flings. As he prepares to ascend to the role of CEO at a leading advertising agency, his life is turned upside down when he wakes up in his worst nightmare: a parallel world dominated by women. Where he once ruled the boardroom, he now finds himself humbled and going head-to-head with the newly fierce and fearless Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike). With the rules of engagement changed and Alex at the top of her game, the two boldly battle it out in a playful and satirical comedy about what happens when the script is flipped.
Director
Thea Sharrock
Producer
Liza Chasin, Eleonore Dailly, Edouard de Lachomette
Screenwriter
Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, Katie Silberman
Distributor
Netflix
Production Co
3dot productions
Rating
R (Sexual Material and Language)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2026
Runtime
1h 33m
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