‘Mountainhead’ a darkly comic fireside chat about the apocalypse

If the world’s most influential billionaires had the fate of humanity in their hands, let’s hope they do a better job than the fictional ones depicted in “Mountainhead,” the HBO Max film from “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong.

Taking inspiration from the Elons and Jeffs and Marks of the world, “Mountainhead” follows a quartet of billionaire friends/rivals on a secluded weekend ski retreat. Steve Carell plays the veteran big money player of the group, Corey Michael Smith (a highlight as Chevy Chase in last year’s “Saturday Night”) made his billions on a social media site with a major misinformation problem and now wants to strongarm Ramy Youssef (“Poor Things”) into selling off his advanced fact-checking technology, and Jason Schwartzman is “Souper,” an insecure tagalong who can’t quite break into the Billionaire Club.

It will be no surprise to anyone to learn that all four men are obsessed with “disrupting the game” and ignoring the larger ramifications of their unchecked technological advancements. The men barb each other relentlessly while casually checking for online updates about a sudden rush of collapsing world economies and widespread violence.

Luckily for these guys, all the money in the world will not only shield them from the fall of civilization, but it will also help them become the de facto leaders of a post-truth world.

Money, however, can’t protect them from their fragile egos.

“Mountainhead” is intended as a dark comedy, though for the first half of the film, these super-rich-yet-morally-bankrupt men likely won’t inspire much more than disdain. With no “normal” people in the story, the audience is forced to cringe as these morons blunder their way into more power and money.

Those more attuned to the stylings of Armstrong’s “Succession” will no doubt revel in the grimly amusing psychological warfare that eats up much of this film’s runtime. It’s the third act, however, that takes an inspired turn into a borderline slapstick climax that centers on a half-hearted plot to murder the lone dissenter of the group’s convoluted solution to world order. The four performers thrive as their characters’ broad personality quirks begin to make meaningful impact on the plot.

It would be unfair to label “Mountainhead” as just another Hollywood exercise in “eat the rich.” The structure of the film offers no clear, likable protagonist, and, as most of us know, rich people seem to get away with everything. Still, the uproarious final act, combined with a thoughtful-yet subtle final sequence, provides enough incentive to suffer through the cringier rich bro content in the opening half.

“Mountainhead” is currently streaming on HBO Max … er r… Max … err … I guess it’s back to being called HBO Max.

•••

Tyler Wilson can be reached at [email protected].

    This image released by Max shows Cory Michael Smith, left, and Steve Carrell in a scene from "Mountainhead."
  

    This image released by Max shows Jason Schwartzman in a scene from "Mountainhead."