Palace, Interrupted: The Queen of Versailles

The Queen of Versailles begins as an examination of the new American dream. We’re invited to meet Jackie and David Seigel, a well-to-do Florida couple in the midst of constructing a palatial mansion worthy of its own zip code when the real estate bubble bursts. David’s empire, which is built on selling vacations to people who can’t really afford them, is tested by the financial collapse. What starts as a Real Housewives look at how the other half lives turns into what David refers to as a “riches to rags” story. Well, riches to rags if rags means that your kids have to go to public school, you only retain a handful of house staff and you fill your convoy of SUVs with presents purchased at Wal-Mart.  It’s stressful, but the former billionaires still live like one-percenters on a budget.

David, thrice married, is 30 years older than his trophy wife. Jackie, who we’re told is a self-made, well-educated woman often acts naïve and childlike. Still, no one is all good or all bad. David has his back against the wall in a seemingly no-win situation with the banks that used to push “cheap money” and Jackie tries to help out friends and family in need.

You can’t help but wonder why former pageant winner Jackie Siegel and her timeshare czar husband David continued to allow a film crew access to their innermost thoughts and their Orlando home when their world started crumbling around them.  In the end, it’s probably the same reason they appear to do most anything.  From putting her ballooning fake breasts front-and-center in every situation to surrounding herself with dogs, children and nannies, Jackie craves attention . . . attention that she can’t seem to coax out of her self-involved spouse. And, from crediting himself with fixing the George Bush election to deciding to build a massive 90,000-square-foot home inspired the Palace of Versailles, David’s hubris knows no bounds.

It’s a train wreck you can’t help but watch and, in the end, you’ll find yourself very fascinated, slightly amused, somewhat repulsed and reluctantly sympathetic.