I went into this movie blind mostly because Rosamund Pike and Fiona Shaw starred in it. I assumed the plot would be female-focused which turned out somewhat true though not in the way I had envisioned. Imagine an existence where gender roles are reversed; not patriarchal but a matriarchal world where women behave the way men traditionally do. This is a topic that has sparked global conversations, more so in this decade but seeing the scenario play out in a movie makes the idea feel vivid and unsettling in a comedic way.
Ladies First (2026) is an American comedy directed by Thea Sharrock and inspired by French comedy I Am Not An Easy Man (2018). It stars actors like Rosamund Pike and Sacha Baron Cohen as leads with Fiona Shaw, Richard E. Grant, Emily Mortimer, Charles Dance and others as supporting cast.
Richard E. Grant (Pigeon Man) does voice-over introducing Damien Sachs (Sacha Baron Cohen) in the opening scene as a wealthy but chauvinistic staff of Atlas, an advertising agency. In a weekend campaign meeting with Guinness on how to promote their drink to women, they remarked their reluctance to work with Atlas because there are no women in the agency's top staff. Damien lies that a female creative director has just been promoted so he can secure the deal.
When he resumes work on Monday, he meets Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike) whom he had chosen through his PA as the new creative director. At a meeting with other men about the Guinness campaign, they shut her out, debating vulgar ideas and jokes on how to run the campaign.
Alex discovers she's on the creative board for optics and not for her brain, so she argues with Damien and quits. While he chases her out of the building, ridiculing her for being ‘emotional’, he ogles a blonde on the street and blindly hits his head on a pole. He falls and passes out for a few seconds. When he comes to, he's shocked to find himself in a world where women rule and the men struggle to get ahead. How will Damien find his way out of this alternate existence? Can he endure this reality?
This comedy took me by surprise and I found myself chuckling through most of the scenes. The plot is brilliant even though it's what most women have imagined at some point in their lives but seeing this vividly onscreen makes it funny but in a reflective way. I like that the director makes viewers imagine a world where men face the same prejudices that women have faced for centuries. This reversal is reflected both in the workplace and at home. Half-naked men appear on buses, magazine covers etc. Boys make themselves pretty while girls run around free. The women lounge in front of the TV with the remote while men tie on aprons and get busy in the kitchen.
A scene that stands out for me is a funeral where the priest is a woman and she prays “in the name of the Mother, Daughter and the Holy Ghost” to which the people replies, “a-women”. Did these scenes look awkward? Yes and funny too.
The flaw of this movie in my opinion is the lack of creativity in the reversed roles. I find it sort of irritating that the women dress and act like men which feels unnatural. Their performance shows the vulgarity and chauvinism within our society yet it's unsettling to watch women embody these traits. Societies where women rule do not adopt the same behaviour, custom, and fashion as men. I wish the women in this movie had embraced their femininity in this alternate reality instead of acting like men.
Still, I like that the core message behind this movie is for society to recognise how patriarchy hurts women. Sacha Baron Cohen plays his role convincingly as a chauvinist and also a changed man. Rosamund Pike as always embodies her role beautifully. She's a timid, hardworking mother yet becomes bold and ambitious as Atlas’ top executive. Fiona Shaw and Kathryn Hunter are also remarkable and funny in their roles.
Rating this movie, I'd give it 7.5 stars out of 10 for the excellent acting. The flaw I pointed out undermines this movie and I wonder whether it would make any difference in our society. Still, it's a good effort by the creators to lend voice to the shifting dynamics in the world's gender politics.
All images above are screenshots from the movie
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