New movies on Netflix: Ladies First with Sacha Baron Cohen drops May 22

Show summary Hide summary

• 🔥 Quick Facts
• What Ladies First Is About
• The Filmmaking Context — Remaking a French Phenomenon
• Cast Dynamics and Performance Choices
• Critical Reception and Audience Expectations
• What This Release Means for Netflix Comedy Strategy
• Will You Actually Enjoy It?
  • Sources

Ladies First arrives on Netflix today (May 22, 2026) as an English-language adaptation of the 2018 French comedy I Am Not an Easy Man. The film stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Damien Sachs, an arrogant ladies’ man who wakes up in a parallel world dominated entirely by women, where masculinity has been systematically marginalized. Alongside Rosamund Pike as his formidable female counterpart Alex Fox, the ensemble includes Richard E. Grant, Emily Mortimer, Charles Dance, Fiona Shaw, and Tom Davis. Director Thea Sharrock brings a satirical lens to this gender-flipped comedy, exploring power dynamics through exaggeration and social commentary.

What Ladies First Is About

Damien Sachs epitomizes the self-satisfied charmer: wealthy, powerful, and perpetually surrounded by admiring women in his corporate world. He runs boardrooms, commands respect, and operates under the assumption that masculinity and male dominance are natural law. Then he wakes up in a transformed society where the tables have turned completely. Women hold every position of authority, control all resources, and view men with the same casual dismissal Damien once directed at women. Alex Fox becomes his chief rival — not a romantic interest to conquer, but a professional opponent who mirrors his own intelligence and ambition without a trace of deference.

This 90-minute narrative follows Damien’s forced reckoning with systemic sexism, now directed against him. Unlike straightforward comedies that rely on a single premise, Sharrock structures the film as a sustained examination of power reversal, examining what happens when someone loses the structural advantages they took for granted.

The Filmmaking Context — Remaking a French Phenomenon

Éléonore Pourriat’s 2018 original became a festival sensation for its willingness to use comedy as a vehicle for genuine social critique. The French version accumulated a cult following, with critics noting its brazenness in depicting female dominance without apology. Netflix’s adaptation compresses the narrative from its original length and recalibrates for an American audience, adding cultural references and comedic rhythms tailored to English-speaking viewers.

Director Thea Sharrock brings formidable credits to the project. After helming the Tony Award-winning film adaptation of Pride, which explored LGBTQ+ history with warmth and specificity, Sharrock demonstrated mastery of ensemble casts and complex interpersonal dynamics. Her work on the Mamma Mia films trained her in balancing comedy with emotional authenticity. For Ladies First, she maintains both the satirical edge and a sympathetic view of Damien’s gradual transformation, preventing the film from collapsing into pure caricature.

Cast Dynamics and Performance Choices

Sacha Baron Cohen’s career has consistently involved provocative characters — from Ali G to Borat to Brüno. In Ladies First, he plays a character closer to straightforward antagonist than to his usual anti-hero satirists, though with moments of vulnerability. The challenge lies in making Damien simultaneously contemptible and human enough to anchor a narrative. Cohen’s approach, per behind-the-scenes interviews, involved finding micro-expressions of confusion and genuine pain as Damien confronts uncomfortable truths about his privilege.

Rosamund Pike transforms into Alex Fox with calculated ferocity. Known for complex roles in Gone Girl and I Care a Lot, Pike brings sharpness to a character who could easily become one-dimensional. Richard E. Grant, Emily Mortimer, Charles Dance, and Fiona Shaw populate the world with specificity, treating the reversal not as surreal fantasy but as ordinary social reality — which sharpens the comedy’s edge by refusing broad winking at the audience.

Production Element	Details
Director	Thea Sharrock
Based on	I Am Not an Easy Man (2018, Éléonore Pourriat)
Screenplay	TBA
Runtime	1 hour 30 minutes
Rating	R (Sexual material, language)
Filming Location	Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England
Platform	Netflix

“Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike come last in one-joke Netflix comedy.”

— The Guardian, Critical Review of Ladies First

Critical Reception and Audience Expectations

The film’s arrival generates mixed anticipation among viewers and critics. IMDb ratings currently sit at 5.8/10 from 938 early user ratings, placing it comfortably in divisive territory — audiences either appreciate the premise or find it stretched thin across 90 minutes. Major publications have voiced skepticism. The Guardian’s review suggests the central joke about gender reversal exhausts itself halfway through, leaving the narrative to rely on romantic subplot conventions that undermine the satirical setup. The New York Times, meanwhile, titled its piece “A Nightmare for Men,” capturing the film’s deliberately provocative stance toward its male protagonist.

What distinguishes Ladies First from casual gender-swap comedies is its commitment to showing systemic marginalization as boring and demoralizing rather than inherently comedic. Damien experiences workplace discrimination, social dismissal, and professional disrespect — experiences many viewers experience daily. Some critics argue this grounding prevents the film from becoming pure farce; others contend it undermines the comedy by introducing genuine pathos that the script can’t adequately resolve.

What This Release Means for Netflix Comedy Strategy

Ladies First represents Netflix’s calculated investment in provocative ensemble comedies with A-list talent. The streamer has increasingly positioned itself as a destination for films that traditional studios might hesitate to greenlight — movies with specific ideological angles, adult language, and willingness to upset audiences. By securing both Cohen and Pike, Netflix signals its commitment to bankrolling ideas over franchise potential.

The timing proves significant. Recent Netflix documentary releases and original content have emphasized addressing social issues through modern lenses. Ladies First fits squarely into this pattern — it’s entertainment designed to provoke conversation rather than provide pure escapism. Whether that approach generates sustained viewership remains the open question on May 22, 2026.

Will You Actually Enjoy It?

That answer depends entirely on your tolerance for sustained gender-politics commentary wrapped in comedy. If you appreciate films that weaponize humor to explore power systems — think Network or In Good Company — Ladies First offers 90 minutes of consistent if occasionally blunt social observation. If you’re seeking traditional romantic comedy beats where charm conquers all, the film’s resistance to that formula will frustrate you. Baron Cohen loyalists expecting another Ali G or Borat-style character assassination will find Damien’s gradual humanization disappointingly earnest.

The film’s 90-minute length suggests studio confidence in the concept but also the awareness that stretched much longer, the premise risks redundancy. Stream it expecting either a wickedly smart comedy or an ambitious failure depending on how successfully Sharrock lands the tonal balance between satire and empathy.

Sources

• Netflix Official — Release date confirmation and plot synopsis
• Wikipedia (Ladies First 2026) — Cast, production, and adaptation details
• IMDb — Rating data (5.8/10 from 938 votes) and full cast credits
• The Guardian — Critical perspective on satirical structure and comedic payoff
• The New York Times — “A Nightmare for Men” review published May 22, 2026
• Hollywood Reporter — Production timeline and development history