For those who saw this on the shelf, it has an appearance of something akin to the Real Housewives of wherever, but don't be deceived -- that is miles away from the actual content. And thank heavens for that. THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES is well crafted and spans several recent years, comparing in a metaphor the regal French lavishness that fell (re: Marie-Antoinette, the Palace of Versailles, the French Revolution, the guillotine, etc.) to our modern economically depressed times. When the recession hit, everyone was affected; the billionaire time-share resort owner David Siegel, his rags-to-riches beauty queen wife Jackie, and their eight children (seven biological children, and one they "inherited") are no exception. The documentary starts with the Siegels building an American replica of the Palace of Versailles, a beautiful, spacious, record-breakingly large home tailored to their very specific francophilic tastes. However, the market crashes and things don't go as planned. The disintegration of their fortune isn't kept solely at the financial aspects of their life, though, as their business lives seep into their personal and family lives. We find out who people really are when the pennies are precious and the dollars scarce. You may be surprised at what the Siegels will and won't sacrifice: money, business, pride, family, and love. I highly recommend this story to anyone who has ever reevaluated what really matters in life.

An excellent documentary! Very well-done, Laura Greenfield! Follows the Siegal family before, during, and after the 2008 recession. I thought I wouldn't like Jackie Siegal, but actually, her husband is the one I really ended up being exasperated with. He let his family (including Jackie) do whatever they wanted/consume whatever they wanted. He put no limits on their lifestyle. Very laissez faire/hands-off father and husband. He wants to build "Versailles" because in his words, "He Can". I actually started kinda liking Jackie (she's not obnoxious, and actually remembers where she came from and still has her friends from when she was growing up). All in all, I recommend this one!

The story of a billionaire and his arm-candy spouse struggling through the 2008-2010 recession. In a review of the film, The Economist called it "an uncomfortably intimate glimpse of a couple’s struggle with a harsh new reality," concluding that "the film’s great achievement is that it invites both compassion and Schadenfreude. What could have been merely a silly send-up manages to be a meditation on marriage and a metaphor for the fragility of fortunes, big and small."

Money with no class. They should bring back the guillotine in Florida.

add this to the wall street disaster. recommend the documentery enron, lots of suiccids in it

The genius of the filmmakers is that they hook the audience's own American Dream expectations with the spectacle of extravagant wealth. Then when it becomes a train wreck we're already hooked and can't look away. The husband got done in by his own greed -- the corrupt banking system he got rich off of eventually took him down, along with the rest of the country. (and yet, we still have no banking reform). People with money and OCD but no taste look worse with plastic surgery--she looks like a barbie doll on steroids. The kid had the only insight in the family--"he married her for a trophy wife." And the pitiful/loving nannies who gave up their own children out of economic necessity. What a class commentary. The wife says: "I became addicted to having children when I found out I [wouldn't have to raise them] could have nannies." And she passes on this parasite do nothing philosophy to her children. The worst consequence of her financial downturn is that her children may "have to go to college." She has explicitly taught the kids to have no aspirations because Daddy's money will always be there. Assured infantile dependency for life. This learned passivity results in dead pets and bored kids opening their Christmas presents like depressed automatons --very very sad. Both parents have serious OCD and narcissism. It's not uncommon for parents to use their infant children to meet their own needs (rather than vice versa), but to keep having children to satisfy OCD--which the wife actually admits--that takes the cake.

This documentary was surreal. It's the story of a wealthy family in Florida who set out to build the largest single family home in America called "Versailles." This is not your typical family. The husband is in his 70s and the CEO of a timeshare company that made millions. His 3rd wife, a former "Mrs. Florida" (during the time she was marrried to her 1st husband) is about 30 years younger, and is seen throughout the movie posing - their home is filled with pictures of her. They have 7 children, attended by up to 4 nannies, and a houseful of pets. The wife's two-story closet is enormous. Just about everything this family does seems over the top. They are able to get away with their lavish lifestyle until the recession of 2008 hits (during the filming of the movie). Then the film looks at how they deal with this setback. The husband retreats to his study and his young wife continues spending. The only sane people in this bizarro world are the nannies (one who talks about coming from the Philippines and not being able to return there to see her own family for over 10 years - she sent most of her money back). If you want a glimpse of the difference between the haves and have-nots in this country, and a view of how excessive wealth can be unhealthy, watch this film - you won't be able to stop.

I watched this movie in its entirety but I am not sure why. This movie stands for everything that I am against. As I watched the movie, I got increasingly irritated and angry. C'mon...at what point do you say enough is enough (when it comes to possessions)? You cant cry the blues about being broke and then get a boob job, botox, and then purchase 4 carts worth of "stuff" for Christmas. Then to see that new bought "stuff" added to a garage FULL of bicycles (more than the amount of people they have in their family). It was also irritating that the "Queen" plead ignorance to everything that was going on with the finances. I still say it is worth watching...and leaerning from to anyone looking to scale back. Do everything OPPOSITE of what this family has done. Stop borrowing money, stop buying the unecessary, know the difference between wants and needs. "Want what you have." ((Sorry for the rant.))

P.S. Check out her fingernails at 1:00:31. Nasty. Critics call it "hilarious" and "wickedly funny" but this isn't a comedy and I only laughed once. At first, Jackie is somewhat likeable and far from the dumb blonde you might think her to be. Later on you realize that even though she's been through cycles of poverty and wealth, she and her husband are completely void of empathy or compassion. This is cemented by an interview with a nanny who has worked for them for 11 years but hasn't been able to see her own family. You'd think if the Siegal's were so charitable they'd start with their own employees. Unfortunately the couple's children inherited some serious apathy and there are instances of animal cruelty and neglect that echo throughout the film. How do you lose a litter of puppies, not understand the fragility of a hamster, kill a pet reptile which a few family members weren't even aware existed, etc... !?!?

GROSS EXTRAVAGANCE. I WATCHED THEIR TIME SHARE EMPIRE CRUMBLE WITH TOO MUCH BORROWED MONEY..WHO NEEDS A NEW 90,000 SQUARE FOOT HOUSE THAT WAS NEVER FINISHED. THEIR EXISTING HOME WAS BIG ENOUGH. A TROPHY WIFE, BEAUTY QUEEN WHO MARRIED A BILLIONAIRE AND DID HER BEST SPEND IT.