Ladies First Parent Guide
In its witty attempts to shine a light on misogyny and sexual predation, this very funny film often crosses the line into inappropriate sexual content.
Parent Movie Review
Damien Sachs (Sacha Baron Cohen) is a jerk. An entitled, predatory misogynist, he believes power, women, and wealth are all his for the taking. Damien is in line to become the next CEO of the Atlas advertising agency, and to burnish the company’s social cred, he decides to hire a female executive. He randomly selects Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike) for the job, only to overlook, marginalize, and insult her.
Then Damien knocks himself unconscious by walking into a metal pole.
When Damien wakes up, he finds himself in a parallel reality where women hold the power and discriminate against men. Alex is in line to become the CEO and the executive class view men with barely concealed disdain. Determined to regain his status (and return to the real world), Damien sets out to become Atlas’s CEO in this mirror world. But the rules are different when you’re part of the underclass, and Damien will need to “pretty up”, recalibrate his strategy, and consider exactly what he’s willing to do to succeed…
I have three points to make about this film. First, it’s hilarious. Second, it’s entirely devoid of subtlety. And, third, it’s creepily sexual.
As for the humor, I am certain that most women will burst into peals of laughter throughout the film, whenever they’re not cringing. Damien’s incredulity as he starts to understand the “beauty tax” women pay is hysterical and there are plenty of tasteless (yet funny) gags surrounding “push up” underwear and waxing. Female viewers will laugh as Damien struggles to cope with their reality. Male viewers will likely cross their legs and wince.
The lack of subtlety is a glaring problem with this script. The movie has all the nuance of a nuclear bomb, screaming in all caps that SEXISM IS BAD. The men in the male-dominated world treat women like domestic servants and sex objects and see themselves as victims of a system that makes token gestures towards gender equality. In the mirror world, women simply adopt the same system, using it to oppress men. In neither world does true equality or allyship exist or even appear as an option. That’s unfortunate because this would be a better film if the script had a bit more depth.
Third, the sexual content. Ladies First is chock full of cringe-y sexual content. Whether it’s Damien’s constant objectification of the women around him or the sexual predation of Alex and her boss Felicity (Fiona Shaw) towards lower status men, this is a movie that focuses on sexual harassment and exploitation. It’s disturbing enough in broad strokes, but there is a scene where Damien is lured to the home of a senior executive, who greets him wearing nothing but a bathrobe, which reveals significant amounts of cleavage. She pressures him into a “sexy cowboy” costume and starts requesting a “performance” while she rubs her breasts, writhes, and moans on the couch. I understand that this film is trying to expose the horrors of sexual mistreatment, but I think this scene crosses the line into inappropriate viewing. Frankly, I find the film’s frequent scenes of powerful figures patronizing, demeaning, and exploiting their employees disturbing enough. I don’t need lurid detail. Sometimes, less is more – and that doesn’t just apply to the negative material, but to the entire film. It would have more impact if it were dialed back a notch or two.
Directed by Thea Sharrock. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Rosamund Pike, Fiona Shaw, Charles Dance. Running time: 90 minutes. Theatrical release May 22, 2026. Updated May 22, 2026About author
Ladies First
Rating & Content Info
Why is Ladies First rated R? Ladies First is rated R by the MPAA for sexual material and language
Violence: A man is knocked unconscious when he walks into a pole. He then walks into the pole repeatedly, trying to be knocked out again. A person dies during a sexual encounter.
Sexual Content: There is frequent sexual innuendo and managers frequently sexualize their employees. Women are seen in bikinis. Someone makes a condescending comment about masturbation. A woman rubs up against a man on a train. A female executive summons a male underling to her home: she is wearing only a bathrobe with deep cleavage and significant breast exposure. The man is pressured into wearing sexualized cowboy apparel and behaving seductively while the woman rubs her breasts, writhes, and moans in front of him. A female boss rubs a man’s thigh. It’s implied that a female boss has sex with a man who works for her: the couple make out vigorously on the bed and later discuss the activity but there is no explicit on-screen nudity. There are frequent scenes of scantily clad men on marketing materials, including bare chests and visible buttocks. Stylized testicles are briefly seen in an ad. There is frequent repeated mention of penises and testicles, both in terms of appearance and functionality. There is discussion of “push up” underwear for men and a quick look at a “testicle bra”. There are non-detailed scenes of a man screaming as he has his groin waxed. A man inquires about “penile filler” and is later seen walking with a straddling gait. A woman grabs a man’s genitals below screen so her action isn’t seen but the man mentions it. A song has lyrics that are loaded with sexual innuendo.
Profanity: The script contains 13 sexual expletives, ten terms of deity, five each of scatological curses and minor profanities. Several crude anatomical terms are used throughout the film.
Alcohol / Drug Use: There’s speculation about someone’s possible drug use. People drink alcohol several times. Main characters drink heavily, becoming intoxicated.
Page last updated May 22, 2026
Home Video
Related home video titles:
If you’re looking for a movie that tackles misogyny and gender discrimination in a more teen-friendly manner, Barbie is an excellent choice. These issues are also handled with nuance and wit in Misbehaviour, a film about real-life women who launched a protest against the 1970 Miss World competition in order to highlight societal sexism.
Films that deal with sexual harassment include the well-made She Said, which focuses on the New York Times reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, and Bombshell, which investigates a culture of institutionalized sexism at Fox News. The fictional Netflix production, Moxie, focuses on a teenager who fights back against the pervasive sexism at her high school by producing her own feisty, handmade magazine.
If you get a kick out of Damien’s change of heart, there are other films about people who turn their lives around after self-assessments. The most familiar is that of Scrooge, told in A Christmas Carol and The Muppet Christmas Carol. In The Family Man, a Wall Street tycoon is astonished to wake up one morning in a strange bed, only to discover that he is now a tire salesman with a wife and two kids.