Ladies First Review: Losing the Battle of the Sexes

Ladies First, despite a stacked cast, forgets the laughs and any interesting ideas in favor of regressive gender politics.

Despite the seriousness of the problems inherent in this inequality, there is still room for fantastical and comedic exploration. Putting a stereotypical man in the shoes of women has certainly been seen on film before, such as What Women Want, but what would happen if they legitimately swapped positions? This is one of many questions asked by director Thea Sharrock in Ladies First. Unfortunately, what happens is Ladies First forgets the laughs in favor of regressive gender politics.

The film opens, focused on Damien Sachs (Sacha Baron Cohen, of Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm), a powerful ad executive tapped to succeed his CEO buddy, Fred Powell (Charles Dance, of The First Omen). He is everything that we hate about the rich, paired with all the things to despise about chauvinistic men. All that matters to him is money, sex, and power. Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos films these sequences through a constant sheen, showing the falseness of his life, especially when paired with the almost clinical coldness of the offices when he returns to work. The setup is all basically fine, standard writing, but unfortunately almost none of the jokes land. Sadly, this will be a recurring theme through nearly the entire runtime. 

Back at the office, after Damien agrees to promote a woman to save his own skin, his assistant Ruby (Weruche Opia) starts giving him some names. Opia is impressive here, in her small role, managing both the humor and general annoyance at the situation in which she works. She gives him the first name on the list, in alphabetical order, by first name for some reason. Damien agrees and promotes Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike, of I Care A Lot), and this is where the world goes haywire. After treating her terribly, she quits, he chases after her, and walks headlong into a steel pole. When he awakes, he is transported into a world in which women are in power, and men are subservient.

There is so much opportunity for humor and interesting discussion with this flip, but sadly Ladies First does not seem interested in any of it. Alex and the other women in the office are now in charge, and the men are glorified administrative assistants. Is the world any different under a matriarchy? Not really. It is more a simple thought experiment. What if women sexualized men like men do to women? Wouldn’t that be hilarious? The answer is a resounding, thudding no. Cheap jokes abound, including books like “The Lady of the Rings” and fast food restaurants named “Burger Queen.”

As Damien predictably freaks out, he runs outside to find the world changed, but mostly focused on treating men’s bodies in advertisements as if they were pieces of meat. This would have been fine, even entertaining, if the movie had done any work to set up why this would be. The film is so focused on having the chauvinist learn his lessons, that the script, from Natalie Krinksy, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman, lazily completely equates the gendered dynamics without thinking much through.

With Damien attempting to traverse through this new world, he comes into contact specifically with Alex repeatedly, and it gives the talented Pike a chance to shine. The jokes around her continue to fall flat, but she maintains a modicum of respect throughout. Whether she is playing a more meek character in the real-world, or a high-powered executive in the matriarchal world, she is more than up to the task. Especially when dealing with her child, Charlie (Red Tennant), there is a care and consideration that belies the material that Pike must suffer through. The one area that even she cannot manage is building sexual tension with Damien, a difficulty made even more complicated by his comedy stylings failing at every turn. He is neither charming nor funny enough to provide a relationship that has our rooting interest.

In most reviews, spoilers are something to be cautious about. With Ladies First, trust me when I tell you, everyone knows exactly where this is going. And this could have still been acceptable, as all genres have their conventions. Unfortunately, everything is so predictable here that it borders on unwatchable as it all wraps up. The messages delivered are so on-the-nose that it becomes laughable; these are lessons that can be delivered to a child, and are beneath everyone involved.

Ladies First thinks it is presenting something deep and empowering. In fact, given its lack of actual followthrough on the intricacies of gender dynamics, it ends up being wildly transgressive and borderline insulting. Plus, there is nary a chuckle to be found. Ladies First is a comedy about an important topic that is neither funny nor progressive. No matter who goes first, we all come in last.

Ladies First is now available to stream globally on Netflix.