Amadeus courtesy of MGM Pictures

If Marie Antoinette were alive today would she feel at home in 2008? Amidst the tabloid scandal and the perennial glare of flashbulbs and outlandish fashion trends it’s a fair bet that this former queen of France would fit in quite well. Can’t you just see it now, “Let them eat cake” sprawled across the cover of Us Weekly or in the headlines of Access Hollywood? Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film adaptation of Antonia Fraser’s biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey portrayed the young queen as a pink-coiffed discerning fashionista who liked to party about as much as she loved to shop, much like troublesome starlets gracing the covers of gossip rags. Most of the baroque rocking and rolling happened in the queen’s personal sanctuary called the Petit Trianon at Versailles which best expressed her personal design sensibility.


A shot of the decor in the Petit Trianon

It might sound superficial to try to understand someone through their prized personal possessions, but now you can do just that at the Legion of Honor exhibit “Marie Antoinette and the Petit Trianon at Versailles” which gives the viewer a first-hand glimpse into the queen’s most personal world. In conjunction with opulent exhibit, the Legion of Honor is holding a cinema series called the Cinema Supper Club: The Real Drama Queens which invites you to experience this Marie Antoinette-like lavish decadence through film, art and food. The series, which happens every Thursday evening until February 14, features authentic French cuisine fit for a queen, a showing of the Marie Antoinette exhibit as well as a movie that fits into the thematic parameters. This week’s film is the saucy biopic Amadeus, which delves into the lusty hidden world of legendary composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Cinema Supper Club is a regal event not to be missed, and plan ahead, because reservations are recommended. Think of it as living like a queen for a night.

Cinema Supper Club: The Real Drama Queens
Thursday nights through February 14
For more information about purchasing tickets and to see a sample of the dinner menu check out the Legion of Honor website

“Marie Antoinette and the Petit Trianon at Versailles”
Legion of Honor Lincoln Park at 34th Ave and Clement St., 415-750-3600
Ends Sunday, February 17.