St Louis County Library

  ~ F Scott Fitzgerald

 

During the 90-minute documentary, "The Queen of Versailles"  Harvard educated and award winning documentarist Lauren Greenfield  follows the daily lives of billionaire David Siegel and his wife Jackie as they attempt to build the biggest house in America.

 

At times both embarrassing and entertaining, this reality show-ish DVD is layered deeper than it appears and gives an intimate portrait of one family's wealthy decadence. Thirty bathrooms aren't enough.

 

 It's addictive to watch; it's important to watch. The film isn't about getting satisfaction from someone else's misfortune. Rather, it's a chronicle about our culture of excess and a commentary on the American Dream.  Lesson learned: maybe we shouldn't dream so big.

 

--Laura S., Sachs Branch