Netflix And Chill: Ladies First (2026)

If Ladies First had been made in the 1980s then it might seem like something fun and harmless. It could make use of some comedy stars to have some fun with the deep-rooted problems in a patriarchal society that would seem ripe for an overhaul. As a film released in 2026, however, it's just a depressing reminder of how little progress has been made throughout modern history. And it doesn't have the right lead actor needed to make it an amusing enough distraction.

Sacha Baron Cohen plays a male chauvinist pig named Damien Sachs. Working for a company that needs some better optics, he promotes the talented Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike), but doesn't really want to take note of her good ideas. He doesn't really want her input on anything at all, because he and his colleagues are used to completely ignoring women unless they're trying to sleep with them. That becomes a big problem when Damien hits his head and wakes up in a world where the roles are reversed. Women are in charge, and he will be trapped there until he can figure out a way to get into a top management position.

I actually wondered why I didn't have more fun with this, but writing out that plot summary has clarified things for me. This is a Netflix film based on another Netflix film, "Je Ne Suis Pas Un Homme Facile", which may not seem like a great idea, but there's just about enough talent behind and in front of the camera to make it work. If only anyone involved actually made some effort.

Director Thea Sharrock doesn't do much to liven things up, settling for a reliance on numerous production design gags (various ads using males in very little clothing, Burger Queen, etc.), and writers Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman seem so busy having fun with the role reversal concept that they forget to pack in more gags or any storyline that viewers may actually care about. Everything about this, from the obviousness of the jokes to the character names (male character names Sachs, female is Fox, and even a character our lead needs to pursue as he tries to get promotion is named Chase), is lazy.

There are better performances from most of the other players, but Cohen cannot make his main character work, which is a big negative. He can be cocky and rude, believably sexist for most of the runtime, but there's nothing tempering that, either because of the writing or because Cohen cannot manage to add a touch of honey to his sharpness. Pike is much better, but even she is unable to do anything truly great with what she's given. Fiona Shaw presents a riff on a character that she's done a number of times before (she's very good at being the polite Brit who also happens to be struggling to contain a burning passion), Richard E. Grant is amusing enough as he portrays "Pigeon Man", and there are decidedly okay turns from Emily Mortimer, Tom Davis, Charles Dance, Bill Paterson, and Kathryn Hunter, to namecheck the main faces I recognised.

I had heard bad things about this before I pressed play, but I figured that it was just being dismissed by people who weren't in the mood for some silliness. I was wrong. Silly isn't bad. Silly and lazy and unfunny is bad. Did I smirk a couple of times? Yes. Did I laugh enough times to be able to rate this as a comedy? Not even close.

3/10

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Prime Time: Balls Up (2026)

If you want to know the level of care and thought that went into writing and directing Balls Up then you should know that it's set during a football world cup tournament in Brazil. In 2025. I'm no great follower of sports, and certainly no football expert, but even I know that the World Cup has taken place every four years since it began back in 1930 (with the exception of a couple of tournaments that were not played due to a little historical event known as WWII). 

Directed by Peter "How Far The Mighty Can Fall" Farrelly, and written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (two men who have proven that they could be funny on past projects), this tall tale concerns Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser), two men who are aiming to make their latest prophylactic (one that covers both testicles as well as the shaft of the penis) the only one to be features in the World Cup final. Things don't go to plan though, and Brad and Elijah soon end up stumbling from one mess to another, seemingly pursued by every Brazilian football fan.

I never thought I would say this, but I think Mark Wahlberg needs a Ted 3 to save him before he hits any new lows that he won't be able to come back from. It's almost as if he's become so enslaved by the streaming services, and their paychecks (of course), that he has forgotten how the movie business works when it comes to stars maintaining their value. I could be very wrong, but right now . . . if Wahlberg was a stock market commodity then people would be selling their shares before the inevitable spiral and crash. Hauser is also devaluing himself, but he at least has a fairly varied selection of features that offer him a chance to hold on to enough goodwill until another upswing saves him from potential obscurity. 

It's not just the leads who dive into this bog of eternal stench, however, and both Benjamin Bratt and Sacha Baron Cohen should have a stern word with their agents. At least Bratt isn't onscreen for much of the runtime. Cohen is a big presence in the middle third, sadly, and does nothing to stop it from being a fairly laugh-free zone. Molly Shannon made me smile a few times, there's an amusing voice cameo from Larry David, but Eric André, Chelsey Crisp, Jackson Tozer, Daniela Melchior, and Eva De Dominici are sorely mistreated by a screenplay that's stinkier than Pepe Le Pew in self-defence mode.

If you're after some simple laughs then the opening scenes may give you some hope. There's nothing smart or gut-busting there, but at least one or two moments are entertainingly silly without having to feel connected to a whole wide world outwith the workplace environment. I'd advise you not to let that sense of hope fool you though. Sometimes, yes, hope can set you free, but it can just as easily set you up for a plunge into mirth-free darkness and pain. And that is what you get here. 

I was going to rate this a 2/10 for the opening scenes, but I decided to generously bump it up by one because I admit that I chuckled when Wahlberg and Hauser were shown performing a karaoke version of "Somebody That I Used To Know". Others may not be so easily amused, although there's a chance that my reaction was akin to someone being given a sip of water after three days wandering through a desert. Consider yourself duly warned.

3/10

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Prime Time: Ali G Indahouse (2002)

Maybe it's the passing of time mellowing my attitude to what I once viewed as crimes against cinema. Maybe it's because I have actually now seen more movies that ARE crimes against cinema (including at least two feature films for British comedy creations that were nowhere near as much fun as Ali G). Whatever the reason, I decided to rewatch Ali G Indahouse this week for the first time in over a decade, expecting to put myself through some pain, and I did not hate it.

The plot sees a number of ridiculous coincidences leading to Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) becoming an elected MP. For everything he says and does that could be disastrous, or at least a major social faux pas, he somehow goes up in the estimation of Joe Public. But Ali doesn't realise that he is being used as a pawn by a scheming politician (Charles Dance) who wants to oust and replace the Prime Minister (Michael Gambon).

The history of small-screen British comedy being adapted into feature films is a troubled one. For every success you can name at least half a dozen failures (I'm not going to name them here, some people may become curious and seek them out, which will make me feel guilty for their temporary madness). Ali G Indahouse at least manages, thanks to the script by Cohen and Dan Mazer, to give fans of the character a lot of what they will enjoy. His constant attempts to be cool hide a very obvious lack of cool, but his own lack of self-awareness almost manages to make him still seem . . . cool, when he's not being a complete moron.

Director Mark Mylod may have a filmography overflowing with TV work but he does a decent enough job here, especially as he obviously has to work within the constraints of the silly plot. The fake start is a bit annoying, perhaps more so because we've now seen the big cinematic opening segue into something smaller and more intimate in many other TV-to-feature openings, but it's decently paced, energised by a very enjoyable soundtrack (equal parts genuinely good music and dollops of cheese), and helped by the fact that luminaries such as Dance and Gambon are very willing to go along with even the more juvenile gags.

And that's the biggest problem here. I laughed quite a few times, to my own surprise, but none of the scenes worked that were supposed to provide the biggest guffaws (Ali G handcuffed to some railings that are being cleaned by a blind man, the moment our main character meets the Queen, naughtiness in the residence of the PM that is heard by the guests while the PM is in a meeting with a guest, and more). Yet there were enough smaller chuckles, often just single lines of dialogue, that kept me amused enough throughout.

Cohen doesn't act, he creates characters that he completely embodies with ease. So, despite the varying quality of the gags here, he's consistently excellent in the role. People who forget that Martin Freeman is in this should give it a rewatch to remind themselves that . . . Martin Freeman is in this. He's a friend to Ali G, as is Tony Way, and is arguably even more ridiculous and desperate than our lead. Dance and Gambon suffer their indignities with aplomb, Kellie Bright is good as the famous Julie, referred to at almost every opportunity by Ali G as "me Julie", and Rhona Mitra has a small role as an attractive temptress helping Dance to reach his end goal.

If you don't like the character of Ali G then you're not going to like this film. If you do like the character of Ali G then you still may not like this film. It's not ever going to be essential viewing, or anyone's favourite comedy, but it's not the travesty that some might lead you to believe, especially compared to some British comedies that we've been subjected to in the past few years.

5/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can pick it up here.