Before seeing The Queen of Versailles in theaters, I
literally knew nothing about the movie, nothing about the infamous Siegel family, and nothing
about Versailles (that last part’s not true). By its title alone, I assumed the movie would
be some sort of period piece drama, probably starring Kiera Knightley as one of
King Louis XIV’s wives. But as I glanced at the enormous poster before
stepping inside the theater, I knew right then that my assumption was far off. Worse, I feared that my mom dragged to
some sort of Cougar Town movie spin-off.
Thankfully, that was wrong too.
The Queen of Versailles is a sort of quasi-documentary, though not quite a mocumentary. There is no narrator,
but the characters, completely aware of the filming, speak directly to the camera. In
the spirit of popular TV shows like The Office and Parks & Rec., I
figured a movie would soon bank on this trending style. Our story revolves around the
Siegels, David and Jackie Siegel and their eight children. They are beyond far beyond any notion of the term. Don Siegel is the founder of Westgate Resorts, the largest
timeshare company in the world. The film
counts his success showing pictures of David with celebrity faces like Donald
Trump, George Clooney, all the 50 Miss America representatives, and oh yeah, he
claims his money got George Bush elected to office. What makes these 1%-ers such a sight is the
fact that they are in process of building the largest single family home in
America- thirteen bedrooms, twenty-three bathrooms, three swimming pools, two
tennis courts, a twenty car garage. When asked why,
Don simply retorts, “Because I can.”
