Reactions: Comedy but way too real to be funny
Where to watch: HBO Max

If you’ve been waiting for some fanfic about what Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and a some of their billionaire pals might do on a bro weekend retreat, then Moutainhead is the movie for you. I had trouble watching it because I think it’s supposed to be absurdist and therefore amusing. But it’s just too fucking real to be funny.

Remember how we all loved Succession, but the weird part was there was never a single character with any redeeming value? Every character you might almost start rooting for just ended up being a monster too? Well, Jesse Armstrong has written another story with four equally vile, rich, despicable characters. You almost start liking one of the billionaire bros because he serves as the group’s moral compass, until he doesn’t, and turns out to be just as oligarchically devious as the rest of them.

I’ll give it credit for being well written, well produced, etc. And to be fair, there’s an entire sub-plot that made me extremely anxious for the outcome. I’m glad I watched it. However, I’ve been avoiding dystopian novels and tv shows/movies as much as I can lately. We’re already living in a dystopian hellscape. I don’t need a movie showing me what life looks in a not-so-fictional reality one year from now.

If you liked Succession, you’ll like Mountainhead. But there’s very little redeeming about the characters or the plot. This isn’t a funny or feel good movie, at all.