Film Review: Ladies First 女士優先 (2026) - Hong Kong
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
I rated it 7/10
Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2
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In the grand tradition of gender-bending satires that dare to flip the script on power, privilege, and the everyday absurdities of modern courtship, Ladies First arrives on Netflix like a mischievous thought experiment wrapped in broad comedy packaging. Directed by Thea Sharrock and starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the swaggering Damien Sachs, this 2026 American remake of the 2018 French film I Am Not an Easy Man doesn’t reinvent the wheel — but it spins it with enough chaotic energy and star charisma to keep you watching, even as the jokes occasionally skid off the road.
Baron Cohen, that chameleon of discomfort comedy, plays Damien as the archetypal alpha male ad executive: moneyed, magnetic, and blissfully unaware of his own chauvinism. One unfortunate fall later (literally), he awakens in a parallel world where the matriarchy reigns supreme. Women hold the corner offices, dictate the terms of romance, and reduce men to decorative accessories. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted. Opposite him is Rosamund Pike’s Alex Fox — sharp, ruthless, and every bit Damien’s equal in this reversed arena. Their verbal sparring and power struggles form the film’s beating heart, delivering moments of genuine wit amid the broader slapstick.
What works best is the film’s willingness to lean into the absurdity. Certain sequences — boardroom reversals, dating rituals turned on their head, and the casual inversion of everyday sexism — land with a satisfying sting, echoing the “What if?” thrill of What Women Want while adding a sharper satirical edge. Sharrock stages these inversions with visual flair, and the supporting cast (including Charles Dance and Richard E. Grant) adds layers of dry British wit that elevate the material. Baron Cohen commits fully, toggling between bewildered outrage and reluctant self-reflection, while Pike brings icy precision and unexpected warmth.
Yet Ladies First struggles under the weight of its own one-note premise. Once the initial shock of the gender flip wears off, the film sometimes spins its wheels in repetitive gags that feel dated rather than daring. The satire, while playful, pulls its punches too often, opting for crowd-pleasing resolutions over deeper interrogation of power dynamics. In a post-#MeToo landscape, it occasionally feels like it’s arriving fashionably late to a conversation that has already evolved. The runtime (1h 33m) keeps things brisk, but a tighter script could have sharpened the laughs and amplified the emotional payoff.
Still, for a Sunday night Netflix watch, Ladies First delivers more entertainment than its harshest critics might admit. It’s not subtle, nor is it groundbreaking, but in Baron Cohen and Pike’s capable hands, it becomes a breezy, occasionally insightful romp about empathy, entitlement, and learning to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Not every gender satire needs to be a masterpiece — sometimes a cheeky diversion is exactly what the doctor ordered. (Neo, 2026)