You couldn’t invent a better metaphor for America’s economic injustice and insanity. Florida raconteur David Siegel made billions with his time-sharing business, and so he acquired a trophy wife, Jackie, and every luxury they and their spoiled kids could desire. But then he overreached and tried to build the biggest residence in the country, based on the palace of Versailles. Didn’t he remember what happened with the original?
>> READ: "Interview: Lauren Greenfield looks at The Queen of Versailles" <<
Still he might have gotten it made if the economy hadn’t tanked, and now he’s trying to sell an empty shell with a $50 million price tag. Originally just about the Siegel’s house, Lauren Greenfield’s documentary took an abrupt turn when the financial shit hit the fan; it became a parable about hubris, illustrated with surreal details, like the Siegels’ stretch limo pulled up to a McDonald’s takeout window. As Jackie grows more sympathetic and David less so, the film calls out for a third act. But then so does the country.
