‘Ladies First’ Review Roundup: Sacha Baron Cohen’s Comedy Faces Mixed Reception
Netflix’s latest comedy, ‘Ladies First’, is receiving a challenging response from critics since its release on May 22. Currently, it holds a 17% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on early reviews, while audience reactions are slightly more favorable, with a 56% Popcornmeter score.
Directed by Thea Sharrock, this film draws inspiration from the 2018 French movie ‘I Am Not an Easy Man’ by Éléonore Pourriat. The cast features Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, alongside Charles Dance, Emily Mortimer, Richard E. Grant, Fiona Shaw, and Tom Davis.
The narrative centers on Damien Sachs, portrayed by Cohen, a wealthy advertising executive who consistently belittles women in his workplace.
In a bid to secure a business deal, Damien deceives others by claiming his company promotes women into leadership roles, pushing his long-time employee Alex Fox, played by Pike, into a creative director position. However, chaos ensues when Alex realizes she is not respected and resigns after overhearing Damien mock her promotion.
Following this, Damien suffers a head injury and awakens in a world where women hold the power, experiencing the same sexism that women face in his original reality. The film chronicles his struggle to adapt to this flipped society.
Despite the intriguing premise that garnered attention prior to its release, many critics feel the execution falters. Reviews published after the Netflix debut describe the comedy as heavy-handed and repetitive.
William Bibbiani from TheWrap delivered a negative review, stating, “Goes to great lengths to be two different kinds of movies, a light comedy and a harsh morality tale, but the balance is never quite right.”
Benjamin Lee from The Guardian was even more critical, giving the film a 1 out of 5 score. He remarked, “…for a film so unashamedly silly, it’s also incredibly, tiresomely un-fun and, by the end, laughably earnest, as if we should all be learning a very important lesson.”
Todd Jorgenson from Cinemalogue also criticized the humor, noting, “Without a hint of subtlety or surprise, too many of the gags fall flat as the one-joke premise funnels into a predictable arc of comeuppance and redemption.”
The Financial Times review by Danny Leigh rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, humorously stating, “Sacha Baron Cohen is knocked unconscious early in Netflix comedy ‘Ladies First’, a film that only sometimes makes you wish the same for yourself.”
Katie Rife from RogerEbert.com acknowledged the film’s worthwhile ideas but felt they were overemphasized, writing, “It makes some valid points, then proceeds to beat them to death.”
However, not all reviews were negative. Rachel Wagner from Rachel’s Reviews offered a more positive take, stating, “I laughed quite a bit. It leans into stereotypes but it’s funny.”
Variety’s Todd Gilchrist highlighted the performances, particularly the chemistry between the leads, writing, “The most interesting read on ‘Ladies First’ is a metatextual one, where Cohen’s most famous creation, the cheerfully chauvinistic Borat, gets emotionally vivisected by Pike’s calculating ‘Gone Girl’ character, Amy Dunne.”
Despite the low critic score, the film is gaining traction online due to its cast, controversial humor, and gender-swapped premise. Whether audiences will embrace it more than critics remains to be seen as more viewers stream the film on Netflix in the coming weeks.
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