The Queen of Versailles

Directed by Lauren Greenfield

(PG)

***

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People searching for the “next big documentary-as-cultural-touchstone” should look no further, said Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly. This “succulently entertaining movie” invites us to drink in the follies of the 0.001 percent before turning into a surprisingly sobering cautionary tale. When we meet billionaire David Siegel and his trophy wife, Jackie, they are building a house, modeled on Versailles, that will be the largest home in America. Then the economy crashes and David’s business collapses. In filmmaker Lauren Greenfield’s hands, this plays like a Theodore Dreiser novel, but one “infused with the vivid, vulgar spirit of reality TV,” said Andrew O’Hehir in Salon.com. Jackie manages to be somewhat sympathetic, even though she and her husband are unaware that their dream house is named for a palace that sparked a revolution. If only Jackie didn’t seem overly conscious that she’s playing a role, said Mary Pols in Time. It’s unbelievable that she’s surprised that a Hertz rental car doesn’t come with a driver. Instead of being exploited for our entertainment, she’s “exploiting Greenfield’s willingness to listen.”