Sacha Baron Cohen enters a women-run world in ‘Ladies First’
Sacha Baron Cohen enters a women-run world in ‘Ladies First’
The Netflix comedy stars Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike in a gender-flipped battle for power.
I’m very ready for this movie. I most recently saw Sacha Baron Cohen in Prime Video’s raunchy comedy “Balls Up,” where he completely steals the show, and honestly? I kind of think he’s a genius. Weird, absolutely. But also a genius. So, the idea of watching him spiral through a gender-flipped comedy where the whole world is suddenly run by women who stop bending to his will sounds pretty perfect. Add Rosamund Pike going head-to-head with him, and you can guarantee Tara and I will be watching “Ladies First.” Here’s everything you need to know before it hits Netflix on Friday, May 22.
Everything you need to know about ‘Ladies First’
When does ‘Ladies First’ come out?
“Ladies First” comes to Netflix on Friday, May 22. So if you’re into high-concept comedies, Sacha Baron Cohen chaos, or Rosamund Pike calmly destroying people with one look, this one should be on your list.
Can you watch ‘Ladies First’ for free once it starts streaming?
Probably not for free, as Netflix doesn’t offer a standard free trial, so you’ll need a paid subscription to watch “Ladies First” when it drops. Right now, Netflix plans start at $9 per month with ads, $20 per month for Standard, and $27 per month for Premium. Tara and I have the $9 per month plan because we don’t mind the ads.
Netflix
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Watch the trailer for ‘Ladies First’
What is ‘Ladies First’ about?
“Ladies First” follows Damien Sachs, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, a rich, powerful, wildly self-satisfied ad executive who’s used to getting exactly what he wants. He’s got money, status, casual flings, and a very high opinion of himself, which obviously means the universe needs to mess with him immediately.
Just as Damien is getting ready to take over as CEO at a fancy ad agency, he wakes up in a parallel world where women hold the power. Suddenly, all the rules he’s been coasting on are gone. And making things even worse for him, he finds himself up against Alex Fox, played by Rosamund Pike, who was one of his underappreciated employees in the world he left behind. In this new reality, though, Alex is at the top of her game, and Damien is the one scrambling to keep up.
Who stars in ‘Ladies First’?
The cast is stacked. Sacha Baron Cohen leads the movie as Damien Sachs, with Rosamund Pike starring opposite him as Alex Fox. That pairing alone is enough to make the movie interesting, because they both have such specific screen energy. Cohen brings the chaos, Pike brings the precision, and that’s a fun collision.
The rest of the cast includes Richard E. Grant, Emily Mortimer, Charles Dance, Fiona Shaw, Tom Davis, Weruche Opia, Kathryn Hunter, Kadiff Kirwan, and Bill Paterson. That’s a lot of very funny, very sharp people around Cohen and Pike, so hopefully the movie lets the ensemble get weird too.
Who is making ‘Ladies First’?
“Ladies First” is directed by Thea Sharrock, whose past work includes “The Beautiful Game,” “Wicked Little Letters,” and “Me Before You.” That’s a pretty interesting mix, because she’s worked in comedy and romance.
The screenplay is by Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman. Krinsky wrote and directed “The Broken Hearts Gallery,” Paul is one of the writers behind “Despicable Me,” and Silberman wrote “Set It Up.” So yeah, there’s a lot of comedy and rom-com DNA in this thing.
How is ‘Ladies First’ connected to ‘I Am Not an Easy Man’?
“Ladies First” is an English-language adaptation of the French film “I Am Not an Easy Man,” which comes from writer-director Eléonore Pourriat. The basic idea is the same: a sexist ladies’ man suddenly finds himself in a parallel world where gender dynamics are flipped, forcing him to experience life from the other side of the power structure.
That’s what makes the premise so clean. It’s not just “what if men and women swapped places?” in a vague way. It’s specifically about a guy who has benefited from the old rules getting dropped into a world where those rules no longer protect him. For Damien, that means the confidence, charm, and entitlement that used to work for him suddenly become a problem. And with Alex now standing in his way, he has to deal with someone who understands the game better than he does.
Excited for ‘Ladies First’ to hit Netflix? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Ladies First
An arrogant but charismatic ladies’ man finds his life of money, power and casual flings upended when he wakes up in a parallel world dominated by women.