There’s something undeniably fun about watching a familiar world get skewered, which might explain why I felt slightly out of my depth watching Mountainhead. Jesse Armstrong’s directorial debut features Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef, and Cory Michael Smith as an insufferable clique of powerful tech bros gathering for a weekend retreat amid global chaos—some of which they may have caused (and which several believe only they can fix).

Having never worked in tech—aside from a brief temp stint at an unnamed search-engine company where I stole a bunch of pens before quitting—I couldn’t tell if the rapid-fire, Succession-style dialogue in Mountainhead rang true (especially since no full-time employees spoke to me during my temp job). So, I asked current and former big-tech employees for their take on how well the film captured their world. Here’s what they had to say:

Anonymous tech veteran and startup founder:
“Mountainhead felt like someone binge-listened to All-In podcasts while writing it. It exaggerated the ‘bro’ vibe—tech moguls might act bro-y, but they’re still more nerdy than fratty. That casual ‘we can run the world’ arrogance is more common in venture capitalists than actual CEOs.”

Anonymous tech journalist:
“The whole idea that merging a Facebook-like company with AI would instantly make it superhuman is absurd. So is killing the AI company’s CEO. Tech has too much power, but AI won’t be purely good or bad—it’ll be both. The movie’s characters are either doomers or tech boomers, which feels silly.”

Anonymous former big-tech employee:
“Was Jason Schwartzman’s character gay? He should’ve been—representation matters. Ramy’s schlubby look was spot-on, but someone should’ve dressed ridiculously bad (think Sam Altman’s Henleys or Zuckerberg’s Eastern Bloc drug-dealer phase). The dialogue was too slick—in reality, these guys have way more awkward pauses. Also, where was the security? Elon has more guards than Trump! The breakfast bar and quiet-luxury decor were accurate, though, and I liked that the chief of staff was an older woman (a clear Sheryl Sandberg nod).”

Anonymous magazine editor with tech experience:
“What Mountainhead missed is that many tech leaders genuinely believe they’re helping the world. They might be delusional about their impact, but they’re usually optimists at heart. The film’s characters felt one-dimensional—Succession was satire too, but its characters were complex. Here, they’re just caricatures.”

(Images courtesy of HBO)