Hot Coffee

The exhaustively informative Hot Coffee uses the much-ballyhooed 1990s civil litigation case brought by coffee-spilling grandma Stella Liebeck against fast-food giant McDonald's as a lead-in to deeper issues, including the increasing trend of America's judicial system becoming more anti-people and pro–big business. More broadly, the film examines the dubious roots of corporation-friendly tort reform, along the way pointing out how company PR propaganda has consistently triumphed over objective journalism in the last 15 years. Offering shocking graphic evidence, director Susan Saladoff first puts to rest the notion that Liebeck's lawsuit was a blatant example of “jackpot justice”; in fact, Liebeck not only suffered severe burns but McDonald's had previously shrugged off numerous other incidents of customers being injured by scalding hot beverages. Interviews with politicians, judges, lawyers, and citizens effectively debunk various myths surrounding tort reform, showing how state judicial positions are essentially being bought out by business interests, with the rising scourge of corporate arbitration steadily replacing traditional civil courts and jury justice. Although Saladoff, a former public interest attorney, adopts a one-sided stance here, Hot Coffee is still a discomforting look at corporate America's increasing chokehold on the media and the government. DVD extras include an interview with Saladoff, deleted scenes, and a featurette. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin)