The Queen of Versailles ***

On the way to making a documentary about the couple who were building the largest single-family home in America, something happened that changed the focus for filmmaker Lauren Greenfield. What happened was the stock market crash and credit crunch of 2008 that put billionaire David Siegel's time-share empire in jeopardy and halted work on his wife Jackie's dream house. The before and after picture of the the Siegels, their eight kids, and numerous employees and nannies present contrasting portraits of The American Dream, and an up-close look at how the system can create great wealth and quickly collapse if its foundation is lies. As Siegel's son from a previous marriage says in the film, "easy money was the drug" that built the Westgate empire, that led them - and their customers - to borrow more and more. When the system collapsed, the banks came after their crown jewels. Meanwhile Jackie, the main subject of the film, is forced to adapt to her new situation. But old habits die hard. It's fascinating, revolting, and often surprising how rootless these lives of the super-rich appear.