The Queen of Versailles

Never manages fully to humanize its subjects (probably because they're beyond it) yet never draws blood. As a result, it mostly just sits there amid the excesses it's chronicling.

It teeters right on the edge of revealing the horror and emptiness of it all but it never does

Fictional characters couldn't do a better job of representing the state of America today. Despite the vulgar materialism on display, the film makes it depressingly clear this family is just an exaggerated version of us. Not only r they trapped in a hamster wheel of credit, but interviews w/ nannies & an adopted daughter reveal that not only do we envy these people, but - though we'd like to believe we'd never go so far- the truth is we're all similarly unimpressed w/ whatever possessions we have

Fascinating and grotesque. An hour and a half of trashy rich people screwing up their lives, having just enough connection to the real world to know they aren't in it, but not enough to adjust when pushed back towards it, being wasteful and deceitful scumbags and generally being horrible people that are still somewhat pitiable. Not especially informative or productive, but I was fascinated by the train-wreck I was witnessing, feeling sorry for those involved yet hoping it would all blow up.

Based on other reviews I was fully expecting to hate this "grotesque" and opulent family. But I came away only hating that piece of shit David Siegel. His wife is a smart woman, who was used and abused by a delusional control freak. A truly sad portrait of the depths to which seemingly limitless wealth can reduce a family, if you can call it a family.

The grotesque pathos of late capitalism deserves a better aesthetic model than reality television (well, actually, when i put it that way maybe it's sort of "perfect", but still...), but oh well i guess that's what Don Dellilo and Adam Curtis are for right?

This movie isn't about horrible rich people as much as it is about fairly ordinary people who made way too much money. It's about how your environment can completely change who you are. Let's not forget that Jackie Siegel got a computer engineering degree at a time when women were rarely seen in engineering programs. We aren't shown that Jackie. Instead we see what limitless money can do.

Few set pieces - The Hertz rental & a few real pieces "Does your marriage give you strength? 'No" "It's like I have another child". I'd like to pursue the hints Siegel drops implying he had some backdoor persuasion over the 2000 election. Siegel is an interesting guy, his business & children are the things he postures caring about, seemingly only the business gets the attention it requires. Could have dived deeper into his character but some apprehension in cross-examining David seemed apparent.

Marie and Louis sans Bastille.

The house is secondary to the story, the family could be much more unreasonable, but there's still plenty of gawking to do. This is a lot closer to reality TV than Werner Herzog, but that's no surprise. It actually serves as a decent glimpse at the 2008 crash from the higher-up side, while allowing plenty of poking fun at those more fortuneful.

Don't feel sorry for 'em. Welcome to the real world, b-tches!

Interesting to see people who are addicted to money, having to live with less. I tried to feel sympathetic towards them, but when the lady bought a million toys (and seeing a huge pile of bikes, and she buying 3/4 new bikes) for her kids, it faded in one blow. Pride seems to be a big factor too; not wanting to give up the house they're building, selling a few cars or their own house.

Greenfield portrays these grotesque people's lives as an accurate if exaggerated metaphor for consumerist society. What surprised me was, despite their obscene wastefulness and gauche vulgarity, just how likeable they were. And in many ways, just as naive as any sub-prime borrower. Fascinating.

I felt sorriest for the lizard.

I hate her. So much. That god damn lizard didn't deserve anything that happened to it. Bastards.

Reveals the void in these people's lives, utilizing the unfinished home as a poignant symbol of the lives they've created for themselves. Further, and maybe more importantly, the film reveals the often predatory nature of the US economy, where consumers, business leaders, and banks are all trying to get the best of each other. In the end, everyone loses. The absence of cooperation in the lives of these people both personally and professionally is a story with genuine relevance today.

A fascinating perspective, but a lot is lost by not really going into more emotional detail. I suspect there's a reason for that, but it would be better if we spent more time talking to the family.

I can't imagine how the filmmaker got such access to these people's lives... such candid interviews. An utterly fascinating look behind the curtains of the 2008 financial crash.

These people are serious fucking animal (and nanny!) abusers. >: (

Some might consider those kids lucky to have such wealthy parents. I consider myself lucky to not have a mother with that much cleavage. Score is not a grade.

The family is surprisingly symphatetic in all their wealth and delusion. Not bad people, just living in a dream.

I feel like it mostly makes you have sympathy for the rich people. I think Jackie in particular is the most interesting. David really gets no sympathy from me. I don't know if that's the movie's fault or just my own personal values. Aside from that, it does a good job of depicting a riches to rags (as David said) type of story. Lauren tried but with these kinds of subjects, it's hard to ignore the class hatred or envy (whatever you feel) and truly care. Valiant effort though.

We come so very, frustratingly close to witnessing the birth of a human soul, but alas, it's just not to be.

Feels a bit too much like a reality TV show for my taste, but it's all sort of interesting nonetheless. These people are deluded and distracted by money at the expense of everything that they claim to be important. Those kids are gonna end up doing so many drugs when they grow up. "Dad, I love you." "Thanks..."

A snapshot of the consumer-addled minds of the mega-wealthy, and their lifestyle before and after the 2008 market crash. The director never forces a message here; all of the characters from rich to poor speak towards what is valued and clamored for in the US: more stuff.

A sub-prime hawker cries victim again and again when he doesn't get some of that sweet bailout cash, what an awful man. Sad to see her brought down to his desperately hanging around with celebrities emptiness and barely-concealed despair. Unclear whether she had in fact 'sold her soul' as it was far too 'reality-tv' easy on them.

seems like a weird sort of hell; to have everything, and then see it all drain away

what if you lost hundreds of millions in one day...

I know its a faux pas to review the reviews instead of the movie, but the fascinating reactions to this film, from the proud disdain of its subjects, to disdain for the film itself for making you empathize with its subjects is telling. I think it suggests that this documentary refuses to paint a simple portrait of these highly unflattering people who look bad enough as themselves, but even worse as a blown up reflection of all American consumerism.

What makes the titular character interesting is that you expect her to be a shallow gold-digger. While she certainly enjoys the lavish lifestyle, she's a much deeper person than you'd expect her to be. Unfortunately, I think I went into this with my expectations a little too high from the positive reviews I've heard around. Worth checking out anyway.

A fascinating documentary that follows one of the wealthiest families in America who are building the biggest home in the country only to have their materialistic lives brought to a dramatic halt by the economic crisis of 2008. Really examines the lives of the 1% in America and what it means to pursue the American Dream.

It's an interesting documentary. Manages to show a family of means as impartially as possible. They are rich and they seem completely out of touch to normal life. Then they fall on hard times and it's apparent that they have little to no idea how to not be rich. By the end you feel some sympathy to how unhappy they are and how much stock they put into material goods.

Nope, I don't feel sorry for a billionaire who faced a few financial woes during the mortgage crisis. Now my heart does go out to all the Westgate employees who lost their jobs during that time. And sure boo-hoo there will be no Versailles in Orlando. Who cares? Several other Americans lost their homes too during that time, except they lost the only homes they had. But that's not what this film is about. It's got a cool subversive streak where questions the price and importance of wealth.

Incredibly entertaining and not nearly as mean-spirited as you may think. It possibly ends up as being as much of a bauble as the conspicuous consumption it purports to attack. The Queen of Versailles of the title is so clueless though, that while it doesn't quite lead you to condescend to her, when combined with the slick colorful photography it makes the film feel kind of staged. Definitely far from an unpleasant experience though.

Priceless.

I really liked this documentary; it was a perfect combination of well done interviews, footage, characters and a bit of luck (to be doing it just in the 2008 crisis). This is quite a way of showing the amercian dream, a very wealthy family with a crazy consume pattern, but all fueled with cheap credit and when that ends they go down, not very down, but down. The dad's final thoughts are going to be stuck to me for a long time.

So THAT'S who used to own my house!

Avaricious capitalists get stiffed for a couple of years by those higher up the food chain.Oh the humanity.Also confirmation that all the money in the world cant buy you good taste.

The excess, materialism, and conceit displayed in this film is honestly just disgusting. And someone should investigate what he did in the election that he said wasn't exactly legal. The audacity of these people... I also question the authenticity of the film considering I have seen them on other things since then and they don't seem like they are any worse off than we see at the beginning of the film.

If you don't already hate rich white people, this should cement it for you. It's hard to feel sorry for these people who are so out of touch with the way that a vast majority of America lives. Fascinating stuff though.

A pretty straight-forward portrait of a family with a grotesque lifestyle. It's nice that the filmmakers try to be somewhat impartial to the subjects, but in the end it just feels incomplete, sedate and overly cautious. The niece's interviews are the only really compelling pieces, as she seems to act as a bridge between the audience and the family, but it's really not much to work with. Still entertaining in an empty, reality TV kind of way.

There's nothing I love seeing more than selfish ego maniacs getting their comeuppance!

Very entertaining look at the lifestyles of the rich and...soon not to be so much. One of my takeaways was that once you adjust to a luxuriant lifestyle, you become anesthetized. The "new normal".

I don't get the appeal of sneering at people for their hubris

Super wealthy people lose some money and have no taste. Shame....

Well done but also manipulative and ultimately untrustworthy.

Intriguing documentary about the emptiness and excess of american dream in 2000's and one family's downfall once the bubble bursts. Some scenes (e.g. car rental) do feel a bit suspicious / reality TV show material.

Seen: 2. Pretty fascinating, but damn I hate these people. Kudos for illiciting that type of reaction.

Extremely entertaining, but it could have been a lot more than that if the creators attempted to throw some punches. She is too cartoonish to really dislike all that much, but David Siegel is a complete douche.