THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES
RYAN: And?
CAROLINE: I really liked it! It’s about a dude who owns a huge timeshare company and how he and his wife are building the largest private home in the country… until the economy goes to hell and they lose a ton of money. It’s really interesting.
RYAN: And just how big is said home?
CAROLINE: Oh, about 90,000 square feet. Makes Tori Spelling’s childhood home look like a woodshed.
RYAN: Jebus, that’s insane!
CAROLINE: Yeah, it’s really interesting to get a glimpse of how these people live. Of course the husband is about 30 years older than the wife and she’s much more attractive than he is, as you would expect. But they have 7 or 8 kids, multiple nannies and several dogs and it’s fascinating to see how it all works. Of course, once they lose their money, they have to cut the staff way down.
CAROLINE: It’s pretty unfathomable to be honest. The nice thing is that the wife is very friendly to her staff and just seems like a nice, down-to-earth person in general. She didn’t grow up with a lot of money so that’s probably why. The movie started out as a doc about the building of the house, but it quickly became more of a story about how the economic downturn affected these insanely wealthy people. All of a sudden they have to fly coach. The horror!
RYAN: Welcome to the real world, people.
CAROLINE: I never felt mad at them though. They just happen to be uber rich and they do what rich people do, until it all comes crashing down on them. The husband does seems like a bit of a jerk from time to time. He clearly puts his work ahead of everything else in his life; but I guess you have to do that if you want the big bucks.
RYAN: So how does it all turn out for them?
CAROLINE: Well, suffice it to say that their dream house is no longer a reality. I really would have liked more of a postscript though. The movie ends in November of last year, and I wanted to know what’s happened with the family and the house and their company since then. That was really my only beef though. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
CAROLINE: Well, people who appreciate documentaries know who they are, and this is a good one. It’s interesting to see how the other half lives, but they’re so ‘normal’ in so many ways that you don’t feel like you’re watching some horribly stuck-up people. Also noteworthy is the fact that the dude featured in the movie is suing the filmmaker because he thinks she defamed him. Guess he doesn’t want himself and his business being portrayed badly on the big screen.
RYAN: Well reputation is important.
CAROLINE: True, but I don’t think he has much of a case; I think the movie is actually pretty sympathetic toward their situation. No one could have predicted the nosedive the economy took in 2008, and these people just happen to be a casualty of it. Overall, this is a small documentary but it covers a very interesting and timely topic. It’s not in a ton of theaters but definitely worth renting or catching on TV some time.
