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3 min readMay 26, 2026 06:19 PM IST
Ladies First movie review: First things first, this comedy drama about a misogynistic corporate honcho being made to navigate sexist treatment and mindset when he finds himself in a set-up that is ruled by women is not new. What adds spark to the remake of the French title, I Am Not an Easy Man, is the presence of Rosamund Pike as Alex Fox, a hardworking and talented executive who is picked as one of the company’s creative directors because it looks good for the optics.
Some minutes into the movie, things seem to have turned upside down. Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays Alex’s boss Damien Sachs, finds himself in a parallel alternative world dominated by women. He struggles to adapt to this new world order, where he is objectified and not given opportunities to be heard. Somehow, being a man works as an impediment for him in getting promoted.
As the dude vibe is replaced in the movie with feminine toxicity, which can be equally discriminatory, Cohen grapples to find his place in this comedy. Cohen plays a suave man with perfect biceps and looks dapper. But the Borat actor fails to make the misadventures of a man trapped in women’s world funny. Even when he is trying to entertain a predatory older woman at a high post by dressing up as a fetching cowboy, it does not get the laughs.
On the other hand, Pike, who has proven in David Fincher’s Gone Girl and I Care a Lot that she can be inscrutable, puts up an impressive act as his formidable adversary as they fight tooth and nail for the post of CEO. While the performances of this impressive ensemble cast remain compelling, Ladies First could have benefitted from some more lighter moments added to this battle-of-the-sexes drama.
The French original was written and directed by Eléonore Pourriat. This remake should have gone for some fresh approaches to look at how the patriarchal mindset is difficult to dislodge. The answer to this age-old problem can’t lie in making women behave exactly the same way men do. The prevelance of patriarchy or misogyny can’t be countered by creating clones of men. It is also churlish to think that men will have a change of heart when they are subjected to the similar sexist attitude that they are known to dole out.
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Years after Mel Gibson- and Helen Hunt-starrer What Women Want (2002) was released, such a wishful narrative about fixing gender-based discrimination at workplace should have factored in contemporary realities instead of packaging old wine, or, should we say Guinness (since the lead characters work on its marketing campaign), in a new bottle.
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Ladies First movie director: Thea Sharrock
Ladies First movie cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Rosamund Pike, Charles Dance, Emily Mortimer, Tom Davis, Richard E. Grant, and Fiona Shaw
Ladies First movie rating: 2 stars
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