alexis-chantell A tale from rags to riches... more like the opposite! "The Queen of Versailles" is morally intriguing and plays on the feelings of those who watch. Jackie and David Seigel both have this unintentional comedic presence about themselves. They will have you wondering whether they are being serious or completely ignorant which in most cases, they were being completely serious. They are characters without trying to be and honestly it gets a little tiring to watch. I mean, we get that you are going through a hard time, doesn't every human? Jackie Seigel is by far the most materialistic human I have ever come across. She literally doesn't understand the real world at this point because she has had a taste of what having things handed to her feels like and it has consumed her way of thinking. On the other hand, David uses his sense of humor to try and get through the family's struggles. You can see how the struggle is taking a toll on the family and you see that in its realness and a lot of people can recognize that. It shows the up and downs within a family, even a rich family and more people can relate to that. Although Jackie may be tiring to watch, she's full of life and and tries to make the best out of any situation and it is refreshing to watch. She never gives up and that sends a positive message upon anyone who decides to watch. The filmmaker Lauren Greenfield hits us with the shocking reality that anyone, even the rich go through hard times and that is okay to struggle because everyone does. Even those who are living the American Dream tend to struggle. The film does an outstanding job of relating a billion dollar corporation owner to someone who has lost everything and is finding a way to cope. That makes the film more real. It's the lives of real people. The motto for this film would be "Everything that glitters, is not gold," because it is basically saying that everything is never what it appears to be. Although it is a decent documentary, the film dragged on and on and still didn't come to a proper conclusion! Being bored out of your mind while watching the film doesn't really do anything for you. I would have rather watched sandpaper dry if I'm totally being honest here. Yes, it's an original tale but did I enjoy it as much as as I thought I would? Not exactly how I expected it to be.

bpw-94652 Yesterday I found myself watching, "The Queen of Versailles". In the beginning I thought that this was all a joke… a 74 year old rich man (David) is married to a 43 year old woman (Jackie) and no one saw a problem with this? She's a gold digger –is all I kept thinking in my head. They were living a dream that people would kill for. Having a huge house and building an even larger house; the biggest house in America to be exact. This house contained 30 bathrooms, yes I said 30, 10 kitchens, a sushi bar, a tennis court, and a ballroom. Who needs 30 bathrooms? This house or shall I say mansion was built as a replica of the top 3 floors of a hotel in Paris. The Siegel's also bought 5 million dollars' worth of marvel from China to put into the house to fit the theme. I certainly don't have 5 million dollars just lying around and if I did I would put it to better use. Seeing that they have eight children, they could have started them a college fund that would have gotten each of them a doctorates degree and possibly have some money left over. Seeing how loosely she spent money and had eight kids by him I again thought that she was being a gold digger. Usually when a younger woman dates an older man it is all for the money. It was until she explained how her ex-husband misused and abused her that I began to see why she loved David so unconditionally. It seemed as if everything was okay until David was sued for unpaid bills and began having problems with his company. The banks began trying to foreclose on his home and resorts. Due to this David was forced to lay off seven thousand employees and 19 of his nannies, and the building of Versailles also came to a standstill. This gave a lesson: no matter who you are or how much money you have you must take care of your responsibilities or everything can crumble. The children took sacrifices such as transferring from private to public schools, losing friends in the transition, and as Jackie said, "they may have to go to college now." This is my problem with parents with money; they feel like their children are too good for public school! You learn the same material, require a diploma upon graduation, and you still meet friends. My best friend attended a private school while I attended a public school and I'm actually smarter than her! Just because it's private doesn't mean their IQ score will tremendously increase, I actually would say it decreases. I say this because when kids are in private school they feel as if they can do what they want because their parents fund the school. Just as one of the Siegel kids did; when he started public school he immediately began getting into trouble and serving detentions for attendance or behavior problems. Whether I'm rich or not my child will go to college. I did something with my life so that my child could live a good life and it is up to them to do the same. My child will not live off of me forever. While everyone, David, the kids, David's employees, and business partners suffered, Jackie did not. She continued to throw parties, spend uncontrollably, and have face-lifts. The money that Jackie was spending could have been used to help pay some of the bills or put aside for future use in case they lost everything. David became depressed and began pointing out ways in which his family was being ungrateful, and soon Jackie did too. The kids had pets that they had never taken care of that died once the nannies were laid off. When I was a child and asked for a pet it became my responsibility, not anyone else's. The Siegel kids knew nothing about responsibility and that is a major problem! This film shows major life lessons for everyone. I would not categorize this film to a specific audience, because everyone young or old can learn something from it. What you have today can be gone tomorrow. Stop taking things for granted. In my opinion, "The Queen of Versailles" is a very good film. I would rate this as a five star documentary and advise everyone to watch it. Jackie is being referred to as "The Queen," but the film does not just focus on her. The film also gives you a glance at the lives of those around her. There are pros and cons in this film and that surprised me. Normally, when watching something like this it's all good, but not this time. Now that you've read my review I would advise you to go watch it and give me your feedback.

grantss Interesting...up to a point.A documentary on the lives of David and Jackie Siegel. He is the founder and owner of Westgate Resorts, the largest timeshare resort company in the world and she is his wife. Focuses more on her (hence the title): her rise from humble beginnings to the wife of a billionaire, the palatial house they were building ("Versailles", after the French palace) and then the problems they and the company faced in the wake of the GFC. Quite interesting for about the first half. You see her humble beginnings, how he made his fortune and his plans for his company. You also see how the GFC turned everything upside down, how the banks, despite government bailouts, did their best to undermine their own debtors and seemed more interested in claiming their assets than receiving debt payments. It is an interesting study in how to make and lose a fortune, the consequences of the GFC and the unscrupulous practices of the banks (ironically, the same organisations who caused the GFC).With these points made, however, the movie seems to run out of things to say. It drifts for the latter half. About the only interesting observation from then on is how she is unable to adjust to a much-diminished budget (even just having a budget would have been foreign to her). This creates a strain in the household, as he is desperately trying to cut costs.The latter half does reduce the empathy one has for the characters, especially Jackie. In the first half they seemed reasonably normal, despite their wealth. It is in the second half she loses our engagement by behaving rather arrogantly.Overall: worth watching, but it does feel like a drag in the second half.

Rachel Bolyard The American Dream is classified as rising above what you started with. The Queen of Versailles is a documentary about living life on a pedestal and shows what the American Dream is all about. It also shows us how the American Dream can easily be turned into a nightmare. The documentary follows billionaire David Siegel, 74, his significantly younger wife, Jaqueline Siegel, and their eight kids (one of which was inherited). David owns the largest privately owned timeshare company in the world, and the fruit of his labor is very obvious. He and his family have private jets, yachts, a big house, multiple nannies and help, many pets, and an excessive amount of clothes and personal belongings. On top of it all, the couple is building what turns out to be the largest home in America. It's modeled after the palace in Versailles and it is 90,000 square feet. When asked why David wanted to build it, he says, "Because I can." Lorraine Barrett, a real estate agent, claims that "it's the jewel of the United States." During interviews, David immediately gives the impression that he is one of the most important people in the world and that his way of life is the most sensible one. When talking about lower- class people, he explains that, "If they don't want to feel rich, then they're probably dead." But not everyone in the household feels this way. Jonquil, their inherited daughter, came into the family from nothing. She says, "There's nothing normal about rich life." She brought reality to the family and humbled them. She says she doesn't want to be spoiled. Jacqueline also came from nothing, growing up in New York in a three bedroom one bathroom home. But she has embraced the royal-like lifestyle. She first met David through people in her modeling career, and she claims that they have a great relationship. In 2008, the stock market crashed, and chaos ensued. Alan Greenspan said it was a "once in a century financial crisis." The Siegels were no exception to being affected by this disaster. Since the company, as David says, was built on cheap money (money from banks), the company quickly went into debt and the banks did not relent. Jaqueline says, "I almost feel like the bankers are like vultures, like circling around waiting for the animal to die instead of helping out the situation." The family had to make major cutbacks on shopping, sell most of their assets such as their jets and yachts. David says that "I'm a victim of my own success, or failures." What this documentary does well is depict this family as the royals they feel like. David is instantly shown as the self- righteous "king," and his wife is immediately pictured as the trophy wife. However, as the movie progresses, it can be seen that the real victim in the relationship is in fact Jaqueline. One of their own children claims that he only married her for her looks and to show her off. Jaqueline genuinely loves him and believes that they are in love. He obviously has more interest in his business and success than in her. He even says in an interview that he doesn't draw any strength from their marriage during the hard times. The documentary also does a good job of showing how each of the members of the family is affected, as well as everyone involved in the timeshare company. The documentary shows that an economical crisis can affect anyone, even the once-financially sound. Although the documentary does show different aspects of the results of the crisis, the movie tends to jump around a little too much. The documentary shifts from focuses on the Siegels, then to families outside of the Siegels, and then back to the Siegels. The viewer expects that the main point of the movie is going to be how the Siegels are affected, not how everyone else is. However, even with the shifting focal points, the documentary still shows the issue at hand in a very real light. In conclusion, the documentary is worth watching. Even though at times the interviews and scenes are comical, the flaws and faults of humans are revealed throughout the movie. People are attracted to money and success, even at the risk of failure. The documentary tracks the process of the Siegels coping in a new lifestyle, and it shows that relying too much on one thing can be the end if things go south. Not one person is safe from anything. Unfortunately, the feeling of being invincible is another human flaw, and The Queen of Versailles shows us that invincible is simply something we're not.