Funny! Pathetic! Bizarre! Extravagant! Sumptuous Greed! Gauche!
This
is a documentary so of course it is true. It is so ‘over the top’ that I
heard several people ask if it was for real. My friend and I couldn’t
stop talking about this bizarre family long after the film was over.
Jackie and David Segal were amazingly rich. He owned 28 time sharing
properties in 10 states. They lived a life of extreme wealth. Jacqueline
is 30 years younger than her husband. She was a former model. He had
been married a few times before. They had 8 children. Their home was
enormous and there was a staff of cooks, chauffeurs and nannies. They
owned a private plane. Pictures of Jackie were posted all over their
gigantic house. She really did seem to care for her husband and had a
lot of patience when everything seemed to tumble in front of them. I had
a love/hate relationship with her. We learn that she was a university
graduate but she dressed and acted like a ‘bimbo.’ She always had a
smile on her face and I had to admire that. Jackie had been married
before in an abusive relationship. She stated that she felt adored by
David. He stated that she had a good heart and was a good mother.
I
had quite a laugh when one (of the many dogs) was playing with a
cockroach in the sumptuous house. Jackie just laughed. Did she realize
that the camera was making a film to be seen by many?
David
and Jackie were realizing their dream by building the largest house in
America. It was to have 30 bathrooms and was 90,000 square feet. It was
inspired by French architecture. There were 10 kitchens and 2 tennis
courts. The baseball field would also serve as a parking lot for big
parties. The children’s playroom had a stage. Jackie was showing the
structure to a friend. The friend commented on the bedroom. Jackie
stated,” That is not my room. That is the closet.” David was asked why
he would build such a large house. He answered, “Because I could.”
The house never did get completed and when the fortune crumbled the house went on the market but did not sell.
We
witness staff meetings and the ‘super selling’ of the time shares.
David’s eldest son by another marriage was in charge of the time share
selling. It was humorous but annoying to see how they pressured clients
into buying. No wonder the economy went on a downward spiral. People
were almost forced to buy shares beyond their means.
When
the market began to implode David lost a lot of money. They began to
cut back on staff at home and in business. They were down to 1 cook and
one nanny as well as the chauffeur. The house was a mess. Dog feces were
all over the house. Jackie laughed when her son stepped in some dirt.
The big unfinished house went up for sale for $100,000,000. It did not
sell.
One
of the nanny’s was from the Philippines. She was so loyal and loving.
My heart broke when she spoke of her own son who was 7 when she left her
home country. He was 26 when the film was made. It sounds as if she had
not been home. She thought of the Siegel children as her own and was
caring and loving with them.
When
they were forced to take a commercial plane one of the daughters asked,
“Why are all these people coming on our plane? Even when things were
financially bad Jackie went to Wal-Mart and purchased 3 carts of toys
for the children. She also went for a Botox injection.
Love them or hate them they were a colorful family.
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