Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows

The Queen of Versailles Reviews

Nov 30, 2024

Honestly, this is America at its worst.

Jan 4, 2023

Am I supposed to feel sorry for these people? They're fucked up!

Dec 14, 2022

A movie about rich people doing rich things. All the while homelessness and child hunger are an issue in the US. This shows how elitist have lost touch with modern society.

Aug 2, 2022

It is an exceptional and disturbing documentary that everyone in the western world should watch. It documents the absolute excess of our culture. Fantastic!

Jun 30, 2021

It's great because it's from big to rags and it's a great movie. I love to see watch is as motivation. Great movie.

Mar 28, 2020

Fantastic documentary that makes you wonder why on Earth the couple at the center of the film agreed to put their wasteful, self-centered, and disturbingly consumer-centric lives on full display. A fascinating look at the disturbingly vapid lives and how neglected children can be when parents are obsessed with material things. Sadly, one of the daughters died of an overdose 3 years after this film - she wasn’t getting much substance from either money obsessed parent. Surprisingly engaging documentary.

May 16, 2018

The Queen of Versailles is truly mind blowing in that it reveals the complete otherworldism that makes up the minds of the 1%.

Sep 24, 2017

Interesting documentary. Watch the rise and fall of a time share tycoon. Tragedy is not the rise and fall. It's how the old man aka tycoon treats his young children. Movies could also be titled why an old man should not have young kids.

Aug 14, 2017

worth a one time watch. before I watched it she was made out to be a gold digger but any women who is younger is always going to be made out to be a gold digger. shes a nice women.

Jun 2, 2017

Fascinating documentary looking into the life of a billionaire family who was completely devastated by the crash of the economy. I would definitely watch it again.

Dec 23, 2016

You do feel sympathy for the people going through a family crisis, but only as much sympathy as one can muster for spoiled rich people.

Oct 17, 2016

Pretty Tragic & Does What You Might Expect, Reveals How Disconnected These Types Of Families Really Can Be. The Hedonistic Nature Of 'The Queen' (Jackie Siegel) Is Quite Disappointing To Watch Even In The Face Of Her Husband's Retreat To His Room & Clearly Developing Depression. She Remains Idealistic & Completely Naive Pretending To Ignore The Obvious While His Son Doggedly Sticks By His Side. The Postscript Suggests Some Things Have Come Good As Of 2015-2016 But Still With A Great Deal Of Debt Owed To Those Whom Stuck With The Business..(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_of_Versailles) ..Not Surprised Also A Lawsuit Precluded The Original Release In The Way The Family Was 'Depicted', Which Was Subsequently Thrown Out.

Jun 16, 2016

Heard it showed how trashy the family was - I personally didn't see that. Thought they were eccentric but ok. Bit disappointed they didnt show the finished house (if it ever was finished...)

May 3, 2016

Insane life of a rich trophy wife. Riches to "rags" story?

Mar 7, 2016

The Queen of Versailles depicts a train wreck. Not an actual train wreck, mind you; It's actually about a family struggling through the 2008 financial crisis. But it's as horrifying as the most horrifying train wreck, and director Lauren Greenfield gives it to you without censors and in extreme slow-motion. The "Queen" of the film's title is Jackie Siegel, wife to David Siegel-the owner of Westgate Resorts, the biggest time-share company in the world circa 2008. "Versailles" is their half-finished palatial home on the Florida coast; It will be the largest single-family home in the country when its 13 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, nine kitchens, two movie theaters, two pools, 20-car garage, bowling alley, ice-skating rink and baseball field are completed. When the market began to crash, however, plans for Versailles was on hold; David Siegel was struggling to keep his business afloat. Time shares weren't priorities for Americans, and banks simply quit loaning money. Siegel had just cut the ribbon on a massive tower in Las Vegas before the recession began, and he was starting to default on his credit. It was just a gigantic mess. At home, things weren't better. Jackie fills up six shopping carts when she goes shopping. They lay off servants, and Jackie is forced to actually take a role in maintaining the house. Their seven kids (plus an adopted niece) don't take either parent seriously. And David can't leave his work troubles at the office; He takes his frustrations out on his wife, and she's thick enough to imply that their relationship is stronger than ever. Jackie actually comes off as a remotely sympathetic figure-at least when you compare her to her husband. She's not the brightest bulb in the box, but she's not a total fool, either. Yes, her comically over-sized breasts and Botoxed-six-ways-to-Sunday face make her look like just another trophy wife. But one senses that she's pretty perceptive-maybe just in denial, or playing a certain part for the cameras. Her past as an engineer is evidence enough that while she might be out of touch, she's not a total moron. David, on the other hand, is a class-A dick. He wants nothing to do with his kids, and he refers to Jackie as just another child of his. He brags about doing something that "might not have been legal" to give the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush. He just doesn't care about anyone or anything other than his money. It's awful. The Queen of Versailles is an excellent documentary-probably the best of the year so far-but if it has one fault, it's that listening to David, spending time with him, is excruciating. The film works on a host of different levels. We get a glimpse of a corporation in ruin. This is the financial crisis for the 1%, and Siegel's Vegas-based business partner/son from a previous marriage actually makes an interesting point about his company's downturn. Westgate-like so many others-got addicted to "cheap money," meaning they could do more for less than ever before, but it was all smoke and mirrors. Just as that addiction was reaching critical mass, the market took away the supply. It's a cold-turkey recovery for Westgate Resorts, and it isn't pretty to watch. There's only one answer to this conundrum-declare bankruptcy on the Vegas venture-but Siegel is too prideful. The only thing deteriorating faster than Siegel's business is his home life. There's dog shit literally all over their multi-million dollar house. One sequence simply has to be seen to be believed. Jackie tells a few of her children that their pet lizard is hungry and they need to keep a closer eye on it. They bitch and complain about how no one ever takes them to the pet store. They continue back and forth until Jackie actually lifts the lid off the lizard's cage and notices he's dead. The camera lingers on this dead lizard while the disgusted family disperses. One Siegel child says he didn't even know they had a lizard. The world of The Queen of Versailles is totally foreign to me, as I suspect it would be to most men and women who watch it. What's relatable, however, is the sense that everyone has a Siegel in his or her life. This person perhaps isn't quite as wealthy as David and his family, but he is more than a little clueless when it comes to the problems of the average American. He still has millions, yet he complains about the hard times he's facing. Maybe he has to lay off a chaffer or housekeeper. Maybe his trust fund goes from eight digits to seven. Whatever it is, you can't help but roll your eyes when he shares his "concerns" with you. The Siegels are this person on steroids, meaning your eye rolls will be a full 360 degrees. It's impossible to take such people too seriously, and as such, the frustration you might feel watching The Queen of Versailles is offset by the film's almost comically judgmental tone. For Greenfield, it's a major accomplishment, and though she isn't part of the elite class of well-known documentaries-the Fergusons, the Gibneys, the Morrises-but if The Queen of Versailles is any indication, she's well on her way to joining that group. http://www.johnlikesmovies.com/queen-of-versailles/

Nov 25, 2015

I can't believe this person exists. I hate her though I couldn't stop watching and I never felt bad for these people. I still don't think that she is understanding living at a different level.

Jul 7, 2015

Are you kidding me. Embarrassing

Jun 3, 2015

A film that follows a rich couple as they go from riches to rags due to the stock market crash a few years ago. Heart-wrenching when focused on those affected by the couple, this film shows how those who are materialistic and power-hungry live in denial after everything is taken away from them. From a technical point of view, the documentary is beautifully filmed and expertly edited.

May 7, 2015

Sometime you wonder if this doc's subjects are aware of the same impending doom that the audience is aware of. A superb study of the rich and not-so-famous, The Queen of Versailles dares you to sympathize with these 100% unrelatable divas of fortune.

Apr 5, 2015

Shameful excess. Identifies exactly what is wrong in this world. Like a good black comedy these people have no redeeming features.

Load More