The Queen of Versailles (2012) User Reviews (68)

The filmmaker did not aim to exploit these classless, tasteless billionaires; they took care of that themselves

[chaz-28 · 8/10 · 4 August 2012]

Schadenfreude - pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. The entire audience at the screening of The Queen of Versailles experienced this feeling about the Siegel family; they are truly atrocious people. Two years ago, David and Jackie Siegel were billionaires. They had planes, Rolls Royces, multiple nannies for their seven kids, hosted parties for the Miss America pageant while David flirted with the contestants, and sat on a golden throne in their Orlando house during interviews for this documentary. They also began construction on a mansion called Versailles, a project which would become the largest house in the entire United States.

It appears the filmmakers wanted to document the rise of this monstrosity of a house and display the lifestyle of the obscenely rich. Even better, these rich people liked to flaunt in front of the camera, not enjoy their splendor in private ala Bill Gates. David Siegel proudly claims he is individually responsible for George W. Bush winning the state of Florida and therefore the presidency; however, he chuckles that what he did was not exactly legal. Oh yes, schadenfreude. David called himself the 'King of Time Shares'. He built 28 resorts and an enormous building on the Vegas strip, parceled them up, and sold them 52 different times to vacationers. Then, in what must have exceeded all of the filmmakers' expectations, the recession hit and everybody in the country stopped buying time shares.

The Siegels were billionaires and yet, they had no savings. They paid cash for the Versailles house and only later put a mortgage on it because that meant millions more in ready, liquid money. They put nothing away for college funds for their kids. In fact, Jackie stares at the camera exclaiming her children might actually have to go to college now. The Siegels can no longer keep up with the Versailles mortgage payments and put it up for sale unfinished for $75 million. The housing market just crashed, tens of thousands of families are entering foreclosure, including Jackie's best friend, and the Siegels are trying to move a $75 million dollar mistake. The realtors may not be quite up to the task of marketing the house since one of the agents exclaims how unique Versailles (pronouncing it Versize) is.

Nobody is buying time shares, therefore, there is no money coming in to the company, and David lays off 7,000 employees. He also fires 19 household servants. Dogs run around crapping all over the house and nobody picks it up. A lizard dies of lack of food and water, a fish floats at the top of its filthy tank, and one of the kids exclaims, "I didn't know we even had a lizard." Don't worry, Jackie still compulsively shops to add to the ridiculous piles of 'stuff' that the kids do not even know they have. She also maintains her plastic surgery regimen. Jackie's chest has enjoyed being a a third character in this whole mess.

Other than the Michael Moore type of documentaries which have a stated agenda, filmmakers are thought to be neutral arbiters. They film the action, interview the subjects, and edit it in a way fair to all the players. However, no matter how one edits the footage, the Siegels are going to come off looking like some very horrible people. David is 30 years Jackie's senior and now that their funds are rapidly dwindling away, he is starting to get tired of his third wife. He hides in his office (a couch in front of a flat screen surrounded by papers and food scraps) to enjoy being away from the chaos which his house has become.

You will not envy the Siegels. They still have more money than you do, but you would never switch places with them. I walked out of the theater with a new appreciation for my situation in life knowing that most of us are normal folks going about our business and enjoy time with our family and friends. The fact that there are folks like the Siegels out there, who by the way are shocked a bank bailout did not filter down to them, makes you shake your head in shame of the human race.

A completely revolting couple

[nikatnyte · 8/10 · 8 August 2012]

I knew the back story to "Queen of Versailles" before I saw it, but I wasn't prepared for the extreme revulsion I felt for these characters, particularly David Segal. These folks are poster children for the worst extremes of our materialistic, narcissistic culture. Their values are money, ostentation, self-aggrandizement, acquisition and mindless hedonism. They are venomous leeches on society.

Yet I felt pity for them as well, particularly Jackie. She's something of an enigma. She boasts about getting an engineering degree so she wouldn't have to work as someone's assistant, yet she mostly devotes herself to keeping young-looking and voluptuous (those breasts of hers deserve some sort of special effects award) so she can snag and keep a rich hubby. As her world starts to fall apart around her, she begins to have some insights about what life is really about (not building the world's biggest house), yet still can't abandon her out-of-control shopping sprees or torturous visits to the beauty clinic.

The children, also, seem to be far more aware than their parents of the emptiness and ridiculousness of their lifestyle.

Fortunately, I saw very little of myself in this abhorrent couple, but I did see some similarities to friends and family. Everyone is susceptible to greed and an inflated sense of self. This film shows what happens when that proceeds unchecked and fueled by obscene wealth.

The Empty Rich and Their Cluttered Life

[nyshrink · 8/10 · 19 December 2012]

This movie was planned to be a documentary about the biggest house in America, but after the crash of 2008 occurred shortly after filming began, the director turned it into a story of the economic collapse. We're familiar with the stories of the many ordinary people who lost their jobs in 2008-09; this film is a story of people who despite being very rich--at least on paper--were also victims although perhaps mostly of their own bad judgment. I expected to hate the Siegels, but I did not. Although they're not people with whom I would want to spend personal time, they come across as merely shallow, immature and maybe even naive people who became addicted to money and spending and suffered the consequences.

The film shows laughable yet slightly shocking scenes of people who equate stuff with happiness and excess with success. "Versailles" is never finished (the house plays a bit part in the movie) but the home they live in is ridiculous in its own way: It's luxurious, but also filthy. Unhousebroken dogs poop all over the place, every room is cluttered, stuff spills out of closets, one daughter is obese and it's obvious the hired help can't keep up.

The movie takes time to give personal histories of both Mr. and Mrs. Siegel and it's easy to see how they turned out the way they did: Mr. Siegel's parents were gamblers, and although they lost their money in Las Vegas and their son became rich, the movie shows how really he is a gambler and big spender as well. Mrs. Siegel is not merely a "trophy wife" although her sexist husband sees her that way; she has an engineering degree and made money as a model before her marriage. Despite her shopping addiction, disorganization and extremely poor housekeeping skills, it's clear she's a savvy survivor who has a tendency to get what she wants. The movie also features some interviews with other family members including two teenage daughters. Their comments are extremely honest, both about their parents and about wealth. The heartbreaking interview, however, is with the Filipina nanny. In her brief tale, she gives a glimpse into Third World poverty that shows how lucky the Siegels really are.

From what I've read the Siegels are back on their feet; like most rich people, they did not suffer in the way that most of us have suffered. Yet it is clear that they did suffer. The film is not judgmental and I have to give the Siegels credit for allowing the filmmaker to film intimate details of their life, giving us a glimpse into the lives of people who are addicted to money and spending. In the end you'll have to judge for yourself if you envy or pity the Siegels. My own take was that their view of life is so foreign to mine that what they would call happiness I would only call boredom.

The struggle of very rich people forced to live like sort of rich people

[cherold · 2 January 2013]

There is a famous, though fictional, exchange in which F. Scott Fitzgerald says "The rich are different from you and I" and Hemingway replies, "Yes, they have more money." That quote suits this film's central character, Jackie, whose tendency towards excess is magnified to an insane level by seemingly limitless wealth.

The movie is about how Jackie, her tycoon husband David and their children and employees deal with a crushing recession that forces them to struggle to live within their means.

Even though they are never broke, they genuinely do struggle because Jackie has satisfied too many whims, filling her house with pets and children and furniture and other things that require servants and lavish spending to keep going.

The movie could easily have caricatured Jackie, whose giant fake breasts and obsessive shopping are qualities that could make her seem white trash, but she comes across as a reasonably intelligent, generally nice person who simply has no concept of "enough." If she were poor she would probably be in debt because she collected memorial plates or something, but because she's rich she has collected everything.

David is less likable, a cold, brusque businessman with a sense of entitlement. As the movie begins he shows overwhelming confidence; it's easy to see how the sort of person who can build up a big business is the sort of person who never has insecure thoughts like, "did my wife marry me for my money." David claims in the movie to have personally made GW Bush president, but even though he expresses doubt about whether that was a good idea, because of the wars that resulted, after this movie came out he threatened his employees with job loss if Obama beat Romney, so I'd say he is as awful as he seems in the movie.

One of the best qualities of this movie is how non-judgmental it is. It shows its characters being both thoughtless and thoughtful and it gives them a chance to represent themselves to the camera; it's a movie that has no interest in being a hatchet job. At the same time, it juxtaposes their problems with those of one of their nanny's, whose situation is far sadder; it also has no interest in being a whitewash.

The even-handedness of this film means you are free to see the characters as you like. Some reviewers here reacted very differently from me, seeing David as a hard working businessman stuck with a white trash gold digger, or seeing them both as odious monsters. If you hate the rich, that will probably be your reaction, but if you *are* the rich, you would probably see this as a reasonable portrayal. In fact, if you're rich enough you probably wouldn't see anything wrong with the way they live. (Rich people are different than you and I; they think living like millionaires is normal.)

Overall this is a very engrossing and admirable film that made me feel some sympathy for people who, in the natural order of things, I would consider leeches on the belly of America.

A long and unpleasant journey...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 2 June 2013]

"The Queen of Versailles" is an extremely unusual documentary, and I can only assume the histrionic nature of the Siegel family is why the film was ever made. It consists of a camera crew following this family (and in particular Jackie and her husband David) during a period which appears to be about two years to three. I honestly cannot expect most families being willing to have their lives chronicled and disrupted like this--particularly because the second half of the film shows the family at their worst. Odd, that's for sure.

When the film begins, David Siegel is an incredibly wealthy man. He's made his fortune with his vast empire of time share properties and because he is so wealthy, he and his wife are in the process of building a new home they nickname 'Versailles'. It is projected to be the largest single family home in America! During most of this period of the film the camera follows Jackie--a woman who seems to love the attention and who lives a charmed life of luxury.

Part-way through the film, however, comes the market and housing crash of 2008. And with it, disposable incomes have diminished--making selling of time shares almost impossible. Additionally, bank financing, which had previously been easy to obtain by David, suddenly evaporated--leaving his heavily leveraged empire on the brink of collapse. During this period of the film, Jackie has come to accept that she WON'T be moving into the new palace--and they might lose their current home as well. She handles this by shopping.

It's rather hard to adequately rate this film. On one hand, the filmmakers have provided a wholly unique film showing these folks--warts and all. And, it is well constructed and compelling. But on the other hand, there really is nothing to like or admire about these folks. Despite their wealth, they seem spiritually impoverished, self-centered and sad...profoundly sad. In fact, after seeing the film, my entire family felt depressed and insisted we watch something uplifting or fun. Seeing this film is anything but fun and it's not even good for someone wanting to laugh at the Siegels. They aren't funny....just profoundly sad. A very sad marriage, spoiled kids, a love of money, looks and possessions...all quite depressing to witness.

American nightmare

[Lejink · 7/10 · 7 February 2013]

I normally run a mile from real-life documentaries like this but ghoulishly fascinated by the story-line here, I found myself rubber-necking this car-crash of a family saga from start to finish. An allegory of the burst bubble of the latter-day "greed is good" dynasty, we follow the progress of billionaire David Siegel's self-confessed riches to rags story as he and his sprawling, dysfunctional family struggle to adjust to rain after the sunshine years as his billion-dollar timeshare empire crumbles as the credit crunch bites.

So, instead of the no doubt originally intended homage to Mammon, as Siegel and his plastic, boob-enhanced ex-Mrs America "trophy-wife" (named as such by her own daughter!) airily plan to build the biggest private house in America (going from a mere 18 to 30 bathrooms in the process), we get a much darker tale, as Siegel retreats away in his dressing-gown from his young family into his den, desperately making calls which he hopes will return his opulent lifestyle to him and his family.

His wife, Jacqueline, the erstwhile title character of the movie is similarly seen changing from boasting about wearing ostrich-feather Gucci pants to suffering her husband's testiness over leaving too many house-lights on, while still undergoing her periodic face-peel and Botox injections, hardening her face into a mask, ill-serving the emotional traumas she's obviously experiencing.

As a modern-day morality tale on the old maxim of be careful what you wish for, it could hardly be bettered as not one of "David's Friends", prominently pictured in his household come to his rescue as his business empire crumbles and leaves his prestigious West Gates luxury building in Las Vegas as another white elephant totem to excess.

As usual with American documentaries like this, it's hard to take your eyes off the mess you're witnessing. The film doesn't seek to pity the family's plight but does inadvertently lampoon its subject although it has to be said most of the damage is self-inflicted.

Proof, if it were still needed, that pride surely comes before a fall, although here the fall is cliff-sized.

A house that David try to build

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 14 July 2019]

David and Jackie Siegel thought The Queen of Versailles would be a fawning documentary about them and their wealth. He was the timeshare king and the Siegels planned to build their own Versailles. The largest private residence in America, the symbol of their wealth.

During the making of the documentary, the financial crash happened and it seems the Siegels put nothing away for a rainy day. By the end David Siegel was complaining about bankers when he himself roped in countless of punters to buy timeshares they did not want. His Versailles mansion still only partly completed and his timeshare empire was at risk from the financiers.

By the time the documentary came out, David Siegel was suing the makers of the documentary for not a being a puff piece of the golden couple now fallen on hard times.

Jackie Siegel is the trophy wife who had time to have plastic surgery even when money was tight. Her bosom were in prominent display throughout the documentary to keep someone hard. She pumped out kids when she discovered that nannies could always bring them up.

David Siegel built the PH Towers Westgate in Las Vegas, a luxury timeshare resort. He had a crack team of salespeople trying to sell a dream to ordinary folks. They too could live like a king instead of in a crummy motel. Here is a tip. Just pay for a better hotel room in Vegas, no need to get a timeshare and ongoing annual management costs which rise every year.

David Siegel liked to claim credit for the election of George W Bush in 2000. He persuaded his employees in Florida to vote Republican. The same employees he ruthlessly fired when times got tough.

David and Jackie's children are spoilt. Everything is done for them by the household staff. They flew in private jets. When they had to fly scheduled flight and hire a car, you see Jackie asking at the rental desk if the car comes with a driver.

You get a taste of what David was really like as a person. His son from his first marriage tells how he never sent enough money to his mom after the divorce. They were raised poor but were always well dressed as he would take them clothes shopping. His son works in the timeshare business but admits their relationship is more employee/employer than father and son.

By the end David looks to be heading for a nervous breakdown as he tries to salvage his business empire. It is hard to feel sorry for him as it dawns on viewers that his life of excess consumerism was built entirely on debt. He also piled on debt to people he sold timeshares to. It looked like he owned very little that was his, he may not even had money squirreled away for his kids college funds.

Director Lauren Greenfield does not mock the couple. She was astute enough to realise that the financial meltdown meant she could paint a real picture of the Siegels.

The American Dream in All its Wretched Excess

[Chris_Pandolfi · 8/10 · 20 July 2012]

There's a surprisingly complex scene in "The Queen of Versailles," Lauren Greenfield's newest documentary, in which the subject, Jackie Siegel, is travelling to Binghampton, New York to visit the neighborhood in which she grew up. After getting off the airplane and making a stop in Elmira, she and her children find themselves at a Hertz Rent-a-Car counter. First, she explains to the clerk that flying commercial for the first time was bizarre. Second, she asks the clerk for the name of her driver. The clerk can only stare at her in stunned disbelief. We're left wonder: Has Ms. Siegel truly been so privileged as to genuinely expect a driver as part of a rental car, or is she well aware of how the Hertz system actually works and is merely performing for the camera, knowing full well that the main focus of the documentary is her?

Jackie's life has been nothing if not a climb up the social ladder, during which she had earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering technology, worked at Citigroup, was briefly in a relationship with Donald Trump, and had been a model, her efforts rewarded in 1993 when she was crowned Mrs. Florida. In 1996, at the age of thirty, she met sixty-year-old David Siegel, a real estate broker who amassed billions after buying an eighty-acre plot of orange groves in Orlando and turning it into Westgate, a private time-share resort that, since its inception, has expanded to twenty-seven other locations, including Las Vegas. David and Jackie married in 2000, would over the next nine years have eight children (including an adopted niece), and in 2006 oversaw the start of the construction of their 90,000 square-foot Orlando dream home.

They have dubbed it Versailles, and true to its name, it's modeled after the famous French château. Standing at nearly seventy feet tall, the incomplete palace sits on ten acres of lakefront property. The house itself consumes an entire acre. When completed, it will have thirteen bedrooms, twenty-two bathrooms, nine kitchens, a bowling alley, a roller-skating rink, an arcade, an indoor swimming pool, a fitness center, a spa, and staff quarters. The kids will have an entire wing made just for them, complete with a living room, a computer center, and a movie theater. The adults will have a theater of their own, as well. Jackie takes Greenfield on a tour of the grand ballroom, which, even in its unfinished state, is a sight to behold. Two staircases sweep down on either end of the 120-foot long, sixty-foot-wide room, which has French balconies and a six-foot-high glass dome built into the ceiling.

Construction had to be halted in 2009 due to the faltering financing for Westgate, a direct result of the 2008 economic collapse. Versailles, which the banks are threatening to foreclose on, sits only 60% complete, with no interior walls, no plumbing, and no electricity. The 200 crates of Italian marble they had imported specifically for this project lies unused in the twenty-car garage. As for the Siegels, with David's company in upheaval and his personal fortune deeply affected (he suddenly found himself around $1.2 billion in debt with no real savings), he and his family moved indefinitely into the 27,000 square- foot home intended to be a temporary residence until Versailles' completion. By most standards, that would be more than an adequate amount of space for a family of ten. For the Siegels, Jackie's extravagant shopping has left the house in a state of clutter.

"The Queen of Versailles" is nothing if not a cautionary tale of wretched excess, fueled by the relentless yet hollow pursuit of the American Dream. We now live in a time when the country's population has been categorized into one of two percentiles; here is a profile of two proud one-percenters, one of whom defines herself by living beyond her means. We see her buying shopping carts full of board games from Wal- Mart and turning them into Christmas gifts. We see that she still has a limo driver, who in one scene takes her to McDonald's, and maids from the Philippines, one of whom lives rather comfortably in the children's former playpen and laments about the family she never gets to visit. We see one of Jackie's dead pet dogs on display in a glass case, having been worked on by a taxidermist. We see entitlement and irresponsibility in her niece, whose excuse for letting her pet lizard die was not being driven to a pet store.

"The Queen of Versailles" was originally marketed as a "rags to riches to rags story," prompting David to sue Greenfield and the Sundance Institute for defamation. He even says near the end of the film that he doesn't want his company to be portrayed as going completely under. Ultimately, Jackie attended the premiere at the Sundance Film Festival as if she were a celebrity and is said to have enjoyed it. But according to an interview with Susan Berfield of Businessweek.com, she's also baffled by the way her lifestyle is criticized. "You would think they would be happy for someone living the American Dream," she said. "Why is everyone so concerned about how we spend our money? We give a lot to charity. We keep the economy going." David adds his two cents: "There's always been rich and poor, the 1 percent and the 99 percent. It's like a prison. If you only have prisoners and no guards, you'd have chaos." Now there's something to mull over.

-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

The Queen of Versailles a 2012 documentary

[hopelyons1103 · 7/10 · 17 March 2015]

The Queen of Versailles, is a 2012 documentary, directed by Lauren Greenfield. The documentary follows the lives of David, owner of the Westgate Time Share Company, and wife Jackie Siegel for two years. This billionaire couple are living the American dream. The Siegel's are in the process of building a 90,000 square foot replica of Versailles. They soon have to face reality when economic crisis occurs. Their dreams of finishing the largest family home in America starts to diminish.

To start off, David and Jackie talk about their life in Orlando, Florida their seven children, inherited child, and past. Both David and Jackie didn't come from wealthy families. Jackie went to school to become a computer engineer, soon after she decided to move to Florida to pursue her dream as a model/beauty queen. Jackie was crowned Miss Florida in 1993. She was abused in her first marriage after the divorce she met and married David Westgate, Resorts' President, CEO, and owner. He believes he is responsible for Presidents Bush's election not stating any details as to how. Richard, David's oldest son from his first marriage, works in a high position at Westgate. These two are more business partners than anything. David isn't very family oriented he focuses more on fame and fortune which is seen throughout the documentary.

In the beginning of the documentary, Versailles is in the middle of construction. Jackie explains that their current seventeen bathroom 26,000 square foot home isn't big enough to accommodate their family. She thinks they have outgrown it and need a larger place to live. They live such an extravagant lifestyle with private jets, drivers, fancy parties, and clothes. This lifestyle soon comes to a screeching halt when economic crisis strikes, and both the U.S economy, and Westgate sub-prime mortgage collapses. Therefore, they have to dramatically change their prosperous lifestyle. For example, the Siegel family is forced to sell their private jets, put their kids in public schools, and lay off people that work in the house as well as hundreds of workers at Westgate. The children are confused as to why other people are riding on "their plane". Jackie doesn't know how to react to the fact airport cars don't have drivers, and that her children might actually have to go to college now. The building of Versailles is put at a standstill. Their current home becomes trashed and ruined because there isn't enough workers there to keep up the house. Dog poop, a dead lizard, toys, dirty dishes, and junk are scattered throughout the house. The family has a hard time leaving Versailles unfinished. Jackie continues to spend money her shopping addiction, and Botox is putting David over the edge. In the end, David explains that he will finish Versailles.

To continue, when I think documentary, I think boring, put me to sleep movies. I have never really enjoyed, or gotten into them. However, The Queen of Versailles, exceeded my expectations tremendously. It was intriguing to see how this billionaire family lived their everyday life. I feel like everything worked, and the director did an awesome job of getting into the lives of the Siegel's. The way they lived had me mind blown. I can't imagine having private jets, drivers, and be able to spend thousands of dollars on clothes without thinking twice about it. I love how there was a twist to the story, and that all of a sudden everything was taken from them. This showed me that not only did regular peoples live change during the financial collapse but, wealthy peoples did to. We all go through hard times no matter what the circumstance.

In conclusion, The Queen of Versailles, is an American documentary that shows us the lives of Jackie and David Siegel. The building of their dream home, and heartache as these dreams slip through their fingers. The family has to learn how to overcome economic crisis, and move on with their lives.

Absolute Madness

[aharmas · 9/10 · 6 August 2012]

You couldn't write a screenplay like this if you tried. Sometimes the best source of drama is reality itself, and "The Queen of Versailles" offers plenty of interesting odd situations. Some of the scenes can only be classified as absurd, as we can only sit there and witness the extravagant maneuvers made by the Siegel family.

I went in to see how anyone could come up with rather impractical idea of "replicating", in a loose way, Versailles in America. The director gives us a good introduction where we can imagine how these wealthy people can believe such plans are possible. We learn about their backgrounds, and how Mr. Siegel seems to have plenty of capital to treat himself to that real estate dream. Along comes his third Mrs., and she's a more interesting woman than I thought she could be. She appears intelligent, loving, a bit lost in her dream world as she takes cares of her personal whims and manages to at least be aware of her family. She seems to be honest about who she was, who she is, and we even believe she hasn't lost her connections to what really matters. The problem is she doesn't truly understand reality changes around her until it is a bit too late.

There are plenty of memorable scenes in the film, and it is the intimate moments inside their home that make us notice and care about what is happening to them. At first we are voyeurs because these are real people, and in an era of "reality TV", we want to see how crazy and extravagant this family is. As the film progresses, we are see that not everyone here is as disconnected as the Mrs. We get testimony from the nannies who can see this is not a happy household. There is an army of employees and nannies, so we know communication is broken. We hear about a child who prefers to sleep with a person who gives him the attention his parents are not providing. We know that when these servants disappear, there will be some critical exchanges between a few of the members of the family.

It is after the financial crisis begins and deepens that we start being enveloped by the darkness that closes in around the household. We see how their resources become limited and disappear, and some of the scenes are hilarious. You can't help but chuckle as the inquires about the drivers at the car rental place, and the discovery of the unattended pets is horrible but still manages to elicit a laugh because it is so unbelievable.

The film offers some hard truths many won't like to hear, and it might be more than a journey through the lives of a wealthy family that has its rude awakening. The documentary crew shows us the connection of these people to mere mortals like us, and it is there when it becomes chilling because if it happens to them, it might also happen to anyone.

"Versailles" deserves a viewing since it is a reflection of the times, and truth might not always be pretty.

A poke in the eye with a golden stick

[Stachehunter-857-73111 · 6/10 · 11 March 2014]

David and Jaqueline Siegel, the central figures of "The Queen of Versailles" approach levels of Shakespearean tragedy in this documentary that follows them from the heights of excess to the ugly realities of having no money. Viewers will no doubt be polarized by the Siegels. While we may feel empathy for their plight, we will probably feel some joy at their dilemma and eventual destruction.

Director Lauren Greenfield pulls off an astonishing stunt here by simply allowing the principals involved be themselves. Jackie Siegel is the entitled "queen" of a repulsive parody of that famous other Versailles over there in France. This astonishing Floridian mess would have been the largest single-family home in America. Jackie the Spendthrift becomes increasingly infuriating to the viewer as the proverbial you-know-what hits the financial fan. Thirty years junior to her husband David, she holds court over too many nannies, too many children, a million dollars worth per year of low-cut garments and ugly eBay-bound handbags, and too many dogs (including two dead ones, one of which is stuffed and on display in a glass case, and the other spending eternity as a bizarre drape on the grand piano) which merrily defecate all over a tacky, kitschy, and filthy mansion stuffed with anything and everything. Jackie thrusts her gigantic breasts at anyone who moves and coos at her aging hubby, obviously using sex and her trophy wife status to manipulate him. He, in turn, becomes fairly disenchanted with her by the end of the film, hiding in a trash infested room staring at a big screen TV while attempting to figure out how to save his disastrously gone-awry time share empire. By now, we all know David Siegel lost his shorts in the market implosion of 2008, but that doesn't faze Jackie and her breasts. She continues to compulsively shop and finally admit she has too many kids. She had them because nannies were easily available and so her mothering duties were non-existent. One comes away from this train wreck of excess and greed feeling sorry for the children of privilege who haven't a clue about the real world.

Filled with jaw-dropping scenes of a clueless Jackie attempting to cope with the vanishing money and joining the 99%, the most telling scene here is Jackie, her breasts, and her kids having to suffer the indignity of commercial flight versus their usual private jet. The kids "want to know why ALL of these other people are on their plane". Jackie rents a car and asks a stunned counter-person the name of the driver she'll have. The guy at the counter finally tells her there is no driver. Has her husband's money and the privilege it buys blinded her to the realities faced by the 99% on a daily basis, or is this a staged moment by Jackie, who wants a reality show. If she doesn't know that no driver will be supplied, she's truly delusional inside that golden bubble. If she does know that no driver will be supplied, she's disingenuous and smug, acting for the camera. You decide.

And what of the shoddy grandeur of the so-called "Versailles"? It appears now and then as the film reaches it depressing end. At the last, it's a rotting hulk brightened only by the nightly Disney fireworks from the nearby Magic Kingdom. A true metaphor for the downfall of the Siegels, their colossal waste of money on absolute trash, and most appalling, their continuation of drawing plots to get back what they threw away. Unfortunately for the neighbors, the Siegels aren't gone. The documentary ends with no resolution. However,at this time, through David's shady business acumen, they have bounced back financially enough to try and finish the house. Naturally, Jackie hopes to have a reality TV series. Hopefully she'll be able to hire a full-time poop scooper before the cameras roll.

A great documentary, for reasons you might not expect

[rooprect · 8/10 · 17 February 2015]

After reading the top 2 IMDb reviews for this documentary using words like "appalling", "revolting", "tasteless", "classless" and everything short of "Nazi" to describe the subjects, I figured this would be a fun way to forget my own financial inadequacies by relishing in the multi-million dollar tragedy of a bunch of monsters who deserve to suck slime. So with that in mind I poured myself a cup of fresh blood and got my vampire on.

Immediately I was "disappointed" because, aside from having a pair of ivory tusks displayed in their living room, these people didn't display anything worthy of being flogged publicly as I was led to believe. Sure, their lifestyle was extravagant to a fault. But, ask any third-world kid who can't afford a pair of shoes, and you'll learn that extravagance is relative. No matter, thought I, wiping some drool off my non-designer jeans, this show is just getting started; I'm sure they'll spit on a few beggars in good time!

Actually quite the opposite. As the family begins to realize it's financial decay, instead of telling the laid-off employees to eat cake, Jackie actually started donating goods and volunteering at a local charity for their benefit. Aw man, way to kill a good feeding frenzy, thought I. Well, at least I can still hate her for all the excessive cosmetic treatments she keeps getting for her own vanity. Oops, wrong again. Those of us paying attention soon realize that she's not doing it for sheer vanity's sake but to try to please her husband as psychologically she seems insecure in that department. And as we learn more about the titular Queen of Versailles, we see many parallels between her and the other unfortunate queen, Marie Antoinette in her paper mâché marriage to Louis XVI. Yes, the interpersonal drama runs thick, between all family members in different ways. And just as the French eventually realized that they maybe went a little too far with that whole guillotine thing, you see that the Siegels, while guilty of clueless indulgence yes, don't nevessarily deserve to get their financial heads lopped off. These people are not aberrations of humankind as you'd been led to believe by some reviews, but instead, this is the story of a normal American family that has been subjected to abnormal extremes.

True, the husband (a man of 1 emotion: stoic), did at one point talk about how he personally got Bush re-elected by means that "may not have been legal", but he immediately counters it with "but then we got involved in this Iraqi War, so maybe I didn't do that much good after all." That statement is the key to understanding this powerful documentary. It is NOT a spectacle of seeing Emperors thrown to the lions. Rather, it is a very Faustian tale of pride and arrogance that gets the best of humans, and humans eventually accepting or at least admitting to the possibility that they were wrong. I'm talking about all humans, not just these people.

I have to hand it to the tragic family for bearing their downfall much more nobly than their rise. In the end (especially after watching the deleted scenes showing more of their human side), I felt good--not because I had just witnessed a gruesome car crash like other viewers, but because these people (except maybe 1 individual? I won't spoil) had all evolved into something better.

In that respect, this is a very complex story which requires your full attention. It's not like a sporting event that has 1 good guy, 1 bad guy and 1 outcome. It's really one of the best illustrations of pride under pressure. And although my greatest financial hurdle consists of how to pay my $75 parking ticket, I can somehow associate with these ex-billionaires on how money, and lack thereof, changes us all.

17.9 Percent Interest

[wvbonds · 7/10 · 6 February 2016]

This film is worth watching just to get a heads up on the time-share business. I saw this movie just before I went to Las Vegas. When I got to Las Vegas, I got caught in a sales pitch for a time-share. Well, I knew just what to say to fend them off and collect $100 without passing Go. This film shows how the time-share people do not respect the buyers (marks). Watching this film made me appreciate my life. This is a good example that Gordon Gecko can be wrong. In this film, greed is not good, particularly when you are not happy. This film gives an insight into conspicuous consumption, an unhappy dysfunctional family and proves that money is not everything.

I would say, before you buy a time-share watch this film.

DISGUSTING HUMANS

[coreena_barrett · 1/10 · 19 August 2019]

UUUUUGGGGHHHHHH WHAT DISGUSTING HUMANS!!!!! Starving live animals to death.....talking people into and taking people's money...then again why would people go when they can't afford it. Bulling people in spending their hard earned money.... Why did they need the "biggest" home in america......to flaunt it, that's why. Disgusting. They could have built shelters, hospitals, schools, etc etc etc....they are worst than the Kardashians...and they are bad.

An American Nightmare

[JohnDeSando · 7 August 2012]

As taken as I was with the lessons in Margin Call, a story about a Lehman Bros.-like mortgage brokerage firm in the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis, The Queen of Versailles is more powerful. And it's not about brokers—it's about a family that accepts all that cheap money, buys blindly, and declines maybe even more than the rest of us because it spends more than a small nation could. It's not an American dream; it's a nightmare.

At the beginning of this disturbing documentary, David Siegel owns Westgate Resorts, one of the world's largest timeshare companies. Worth billions, he spends those billions freely, aided by his clueless trophy wife, blonde and buxom beauty-contestant Jackie, who helps him plan the largest single-family home in the USA: 90,000 square feet of Versailles palace imitation—"kitsch" is perhaps the best descriptor.

Slowly director Lauren Greenfield lets the nice David talk about their fortune and the home. At the same time, Jackie has eight children, stating that without nannies she would never have that many. When the market tumbles, the Segals face not finishing their home and severely reducing their lifestyle, but not Jackie's spending or her nannies.

As in any good documentary, the players do all the heavy satirical lifting, in this case Jackie redefines white trash and the much older David clarifies the role men play who indulge their wives as long as they are hot and attentive. "Foolish old man" is an apt cliché for a decent guy who was smart enough to make billions, but not smart enough to avoid cheap money (which his timeshare sales staff sold in abundance itself to reckless, unsophisticated buyers—a sad irony for all involved) and a cheap wife.

As the documentary glides inexorably to its conclusion, we are left with the impression of a decent man who couldn't control his appetites and a Pollyanna wife who couldn't control her spending. Be warned, this is not Inside Job, an insightful documentary about how all of us contributed to the crash; it is rather a depressing insider look at how so many bought into the cheap money trap and could not get out.

My radio co-host and I had to take a half hour to detox from this misery before we could record our show in at least a minimal upbeat manner. The Queen of Versailles is unremittingly gloomy probably because a part of us all is hidden amongst that greed. And yet, it is in the best documentary tradition: truth will out.

I Feel Sick

[Olinthecity · 7/10 · 1 September 2018]

A nausea-inducing look at a struggling billionaire time-share company owner's family, lifestyle, and business practices. Over-consumption and lack of appreciation are understatements. See it to believe it.

Timely and Interesting

[proud_luddite · 7/10 · 26 September 2020]

This US documentary follows the lives of David and Jackie Siegel. David is the billionaire owner of Westgate Resorts and lives in Florida. The film is like a reality show and takes place before and after the stock market crash of 2008.

In the beginning, the film is like a satire. The excesses of the rich seem gaudy and laughable at times. The attitudes of the couple and their large family seem way out of touch compared to the average person.

But all changes after 2008. It seems even the rich were affected by the stock market crash. In super-rich and less-rich times, the Siegels never seemed to be malicious, just perhaps naive. Maybe, the purpose of the film is to expose this side of truth even though it can be difficult to sympathize with someone who helped George W. Bush get elected.

At 100 minutes, the film seems rather long near the end. It helped to have interviewed the Philipina nannies of the household. It would have been more effective to have interviewed former employees of the enterprise who lost their jobs and others affected in similar ways. But overall, the film does well in exposing a group of people rarely covered in documentaries. The film does not side one way or the other. It exposes as much as possible leaving the viewers to decide.

Interesting perspective of a family with sickening amounts of money.

[rik-taylor-72-242302 · 6/10 · 19 May 2014]

Following the two or three years of the life of David Siegel and his wife and family, we see how there lives go from unnecessarily rich to the point of completely wasting gigantic sums of money to a level that, although still very rich, seems to be one they can't contain.

It was sad to see a family that just didn't seem connected, a lot of the time Jackie almost seemed to be trying to force situations to make it look like she was a loving and caring wife when really it all seemed pretty distant.

Overall a unique look at one families experience of the financial crisis.

Good documentary about despicable peep

[mailjohnw · 8/10 · 15 April 2013]

You have to laff when the "Queen"--often seemingly desperate to kiss her AH husband into some sort of affectionate submission (she always fails to receive anything other than an aggressively polite peck, which seems more like a 'kiss-off')-- the "Queen" plays the victim card, due to the financial upheaval in 2008. She's truly sickening, despite her "humble" roots. Were these pigs ever in real jeopardy? Well, their "conspicuous consumption, had to be "downsized" from poisonous excess to sheer madness, and meanwhile, the wonderful housekeeper has suffered and struggled to meet her own dreams--and you get the feeling she's cast her lot in with the wrong people. Fascinating and disgusting, see it.

Better Title: "Here Come The Conceited Schmucks"

[lrathome · 6/10 · 3 July 2013]

An excellent look at what's wrong with the world and the consumer society in America. A reprehensible bunch of of idiots with no empathy or self awareness. They made their bed... you know the rest. Every scene where these morons espouse their greatness and merit to society, or the kids talk about how they "don't want to end up spoiled" or they regale us with talk of how everyone who knows them is "better for it" makes you gag. A well filmed documentary that you can use as a teachable moment to say to individuals you influence: "Don't be like these people"! Must have been a slow year at Sundance if this was so well received. Just don't watch it after you've had a big meal.

A riches to rags tale with the intimate glimpse into the wealthy lives of David and Jackie Siegel.

[SLUGMagazineFilms · 8/10 · 21 January 2012]

Rather than going the been-there-done-that route of a rags to riches story, director Lauren Greenfield accidentally (yet exquisitely) delivers a riches to rags tale with the intimate glimpse into the wealthy lives of David and Jackie Siegel. As the president and CEO of the largest timeshare corporation in the country, David is the epitome of the American dream, and his beauty pageant/trophy wife is living proof. While the film's initial purpose was to document the development of their 90,000 sq. ft. home (the largest in America), once the financial crisis of 2008 impacted banks globally, David soon finds his entire empire in jeopardy. Greenfield captures the highs and lows of being in the top 1%, even though most of the bottom 99% would love to give it a shot no matter the repercussions. (I always did want an ice rink in my home.) It's fascinating to watch the discourse between Mr. & Mrs. Siegel, two individuals who came from poverty, but have different interpretations of the importance of life. Watching the chaotic roller-coaster that is Jackie Siegel allows audiences the chance to laugh at the elite. At one moment you emphasize with the princess billionaire with the heart of gold, but once she attempts to classify herself as the "average" person, one can only watch with resentment. Either way, Greenfield, offers a crowd-pleasing documentary that leaves a lasting impression on audiences.

A story of American success - and materialism

[Mike_Devine · 7/10 · 3 August 2020]

There are some true stories that are just so hard to believe until you watch a documentary about them. That's where the story of David and Jacqueline Siegel comes in. 2012's 'The Queen of Versailles' is opulent, grandiose and amazing in all the wrong ways.

For a couple that struck gold in the timeshare business, there is a bit of irony in watching a documentary about the financial hardships that come with attempting to build a $100M mansion right before an economic downturn. Because it's so hard to relate to the Florida couple and their family, we're intrigued, disgusted, captivated and plain confused with the extravagance of their lives, to the point that you wouldn't peg them for being real, live people. Lauren Greenfield does a great job painting them in a light that feels authentic and fair, all things considered.

'The Queen of Versailles' is not really about a mega mansion. It's a reminder of the perils that come with failing to see what's right in front of you, and getting caught up in the materialism of everything. For these critiques, it's worth a (virtual) trip down to Orlando.

Mind Blowing and Mesmerizing Documentary

[larrys3 · 10/10 · 18 November 2012]

I found this documentary, directed by Lauren Greenfield, to be mind blowing and mesmerizing. Mostly, I was sitting and watching the DVD and shaking my head wondering can this get any more bizarre--and it does.

This is the story of Jacqueline and David Siegel living in a 17 bathroom house, in the Orlando area, with 8 children and many pets. She is a former model, extremely well endowed physically, and Mrs. America married to a timeshare conglomerate mogul(Westgate Resorts)who built his company into the largest timeshare resort company in the world. She is 30 years his junior.

Of course all of this is prior to the Great Recession of 2008. They are so filthy rich that they decide they need a 30 bathroom house patterned after the Versailles Palace, in France, and when completed will be the largest single family home in America.

But,alas, the Great Recession comes upon us and the bottom falls out of the timeshare market. Things begin to go south for the Siegels. The banks, who when times were good, were falling all over themselves to give Siegel cheap money. But now, as Jacqueline puts it they are like vultures waiting for the carcass to die so they can sweep in and pick it apart. Seven thousand workers of the timeshare company are laid off 2 days before Thannksgiving. Foreclosure of their properties are certainly looming, including the Versailles replica.

Jacqueline, claiming she's not been told about the extent of the financial problems seems to continue to live in this fantasy world. She'll start shopping at Wal_Mart but will buy shopping carts full of items, admitting she is compulsive. She doesn't seem like a bad person, and claims she's worked in menial jobs in her life, and knows what it's like to be poor.

To me, she is the heart of the film. It's totally fascinating to watch her try and cope in her own way with what's happening. While on the other hand David(her husband) is clearly the cold calculating businessman, showing the strain of his empire crumbling around him.

I believe if you take the approach that you hate these people who have had so much compared to the average person, like myself, and 99.9% of the populace as well, then this film will not be enjoyable. But if, you can just watch it without judgments, as it unfolds, it can be as good as any Shakespearian tragedy. I was telling myself a great deal of the time "I don't believe this", and shaking my head in disbelief.

I don't believe you have seen anything like it in the past or will in the future. It is unique, in my opinion.

money rules their world.

[makaylaalexisfields · 7/10 · 19 October 2016]

Money over everything… at least that's what the Siegel family believes. In "The queen of Versailles", a witty and fun documentary about the Siegel family, David Siegel - a 78 year old and multi millionaire , is the whole reason any of this is happening. The family decide that they want to build a mansion that resembles Versailles. The mansion would've been 90,000 square feet complete with an ice skating rink and a health spa. The story then moves over to David's life and it tells us about how he decided on his timeshare idea and his newfound wealth. Moreover, we learn about the Siegel kids. They talk about how they are so excited to move into the new house because the one they are living in is too small even though it has 10 bathrooms.

We then take a closer look at the timeshare company. There are 23 buildings in 11 states. In the climax of the documentary and a horrible turn of events, the Siegels' life has come to a startling holt as the stock market has crashed. Almost all of the Siegels belongings have either been auctioned or sold. Any planes ,resorts ,and even their mansion which was 50% finished. Everything was sold at half price. Even the mansion was going to be sold at only 75 milllion. The family struggles with avoiding to compulsive shop and get used to the "normal" life. David tries to convince himself that material things don't completely matter to him. Yet he has a problem with wanting to see his timeshare company. Which I could understand because that is something that is really personal to him. The documentary is an eye opener. Money comes and goes but family is always there. The documentary does not finish with a happy ending due to the fact that the problems weren't resolved but the family continues to work hard at doing better with their spending habits. It is however, pretty funny to watch a rich family go through everyday struggles.

Average, semi-dysfunctional people just like everybody else, but with a lot more means

[Samdalsh · 3/10 · 2 November 2012]

I "officially" rated this movie low after reading so many highly-scored reviews that included all sorts of carping about these supposedly bad and disgusting people. My low score continues this non-sequitur as a contrarian protest to those judgments. I actually loved seeing regular average, run-of-the-mill, semi-dysfunctional people do what regular average, run-of-the-mill, semi-dysfunctional people do: buy happiness with stuff. In short I absolutely loved the film because 3/4 of America would fill giant houses with cheap crap expensive decor if provided the same means of extravagance.

Bottom line is this: if these people were average (i.e. not wealthy), there would be nothing to write about or to see here, folks. This film shows how personal dysfunction magnifies the excesses of wealth. After all, having wealth isn't a problem until wealth (or just the same, acute lack of it) has you. I hope this mom gets a grip on boundaries and core worth and value or these kids are gonna end up having a very difficult transition to real world adulthood. Other than that and the bad-ass dad's workaholism, these people seem pretty normal to me ("normal" meaning "somewhat dysfunctional" just like the rest of us schmucks without a gazillion dollars).

The most interesting aspect of this movie is to see this couple and family in the midst of identity crisis. As long as there's plenty of wealth, there is no crisis (hence the problem). For example, one really wonders why the mom bought that 100th kid bike at the supermarket. You later see the garage packed full of kids bikes and can't help but to realize that neither the mom's or dad's "relationship tool bag" is well stocked if yet another kid bike is really the answer to what woes.

On the other hand, what family of 8 or 10 people, mostly children, doesn't have its fair share of child dereliction going on if the mom is a major enabler, or narcissist, or whatever her deal is? Along that line, I was actually surprised to see no shoes flushed down toilets or kid pranks gone too far. Dead lizard caused by a teen going through a snarky, spoiled phase in which she is too lazy or self-absorbed to water it? Meh, seems pretty normal. Maybe not every teen has let a hundred dollar lizard die of thirst, but hey, not every teen has had a hundred dollar lizard.

Also, I thoroughly salute the people who made this film. It ended up being much better than if financial crisis hadn't hit. Guys like this dad will end up back on top, leaving eat-the-rich carpers of this world to hate away. People who think rich people should exhibit admirable qualities and good sense are only giving themselves an excuse to sit on the sidelines of life, waiting for the never-to-come day that they themselves are perfect and worthy and deserving enough for such wealth. Sure these people have their issues, but so does everybody else, and that's what I love about this film.