Hot Coffee

Yes this film covers one side of the tort reform and mandatory arbitration argument. Yes the cases presented have been chosen to ignite a certain emotional response. But is this a bad thing? In a nation where it seems that the people have grown jaded to government actions, it takes a certain amount of emotional stirring to get them off their seat. This film does just that.

Hot Coffee shows us what damage can be done when we listen to PR or shoddy journalism without investigating their claims further. Before watching this film if asked about the leading story, enter McDonald's infamous coffee spill, I would have been right in line with those ready to condemn the clumsy patron. But after being presented with more of the facts from the case I am now appalled at how quickly I jumped on a bandwagon led by ignorance and corporate damage control. Susan Saladoff succeeds in bringing these issues down to a level we can all understand. From what started the drive for tort reform and how it can hurt the victims of these cases, to what measures have been taken by big business to protect their interests, each story presented guides us through the evolution of this process with poignant relevance.

In reference to a previous review I also wanted to clear up that in no way does this film try to pass the buck. No one, including the victims, denies there were things they could have done differently to help prevent these accidents from occurring. What is being found in each of these cases is a consistent amount of gross negligence on the part of the companies involved. None of these examples were the first of their type submitted to the businesses. So how do you get these types of corporations to changed flawed policy? You hit them where it hurts. This is why the jury, not the victim (in this case), sought such high dollar damages, to prevent this sort of accident from occurring again. If you missed that the first time, you might wanna give this documentary another go.

With that said, Hot Coffee is an effective and engaging documentary with a clear message. This viewer came away feeling more empowered, and will think twice next time he signs the dotted line.

An HBO documentary that I had the pleasure of seeing at the Provincetown film festival. It covers the infamous case of the elderly woman who spilled McDonald's coffee on her lap--and sued and won a large amount of money. Everybody thought that was ridiculous--but this doc shows horrific pictures of how badly she was burnt. The poor woman needed skin grafts! McDonalds tried to cover it up though. Then it goes on to show other cases where corporations made critical mistakes and refused to take responsibility for them. There is the woman who was carrying twin babies and was falsely told that each was fine--when it was clear through ultrasound that only one baby was OK--the other was born with severe mental problems. There's the lawyer who looses his seat in a state supreme court because he refuses to side with big business. Then there's the woman who was brutally gang-raped due to the company lying to her and blaming HER for the crime! This documentary had me livid at the end. Some people have said not all the information in this was not true...but there's more than enough in there that IS true to horrify anyone. Maddening but important. I give it a 10.

We as a people have to be aware of laws and public policy that is being influenced by big corporations through the use of/and because of money.

Laws and public policy directly affect our freedoms as a people.

This movie beautifully brings this to light, and uses a number of cases which illustrate corporate influence and just downright greedy behaviour.

The narrative is interesting, entertaining and easy to follow. The "lawyer speak" is broken down so everyone can understand it.

I highly recommend this movie! (PS. I WAS one of those "err she's suing over hot coffee?" people.. not any more!)

I wish every American could see this film to understand how their views can be manipulated by high paid corporate lobbyists. It also shows how important our court system is to all of us as long as it is kept clean and independent and not subject to outside influence through the campaign financing process. It is well researched and well produced. I am impressed. I have to commend HBO for this production. It is truly relevant and a great contribution to documentary media. I must say I would not have expected them to support such an insightful production that touches on a topic that exposes some of the worst examples of abuse by corporate America. What Halliburton did to its employee was truly outrageous. You will have to see the film to know what I am talking about.

I saw Hot Coffee at the San Francisco Film Festival last night (4/22/2011). Trial lawyer Saladoff has done well with this debut documentary feature and the case studies were presented well.

That being said, I think it needs greater balance in order to work as a serious statement. The subjects of tort reform and mandatory arbitration are her targets in directing this film. 4 cases are presented supporting her thesis that they are damaging to democracy and not supportive to the masses who are looking for accountability when treated badly by corporations.

I am not defending tort reform or mandatory arbitration because I don't know enough about the issues or the subject. After seeing this movie, I feel the same way, in fact I feel a thirst to hear from the other side as this film had me feeling manipulated by cherry picked cases and emotionalism. I don't doubt that there will sometimes be harm done to the individual by corporations but there are also "opportunistic" cases brought forth by individuals when the situation calls for it. There was no addressing this in the film and no explication of what happens to professionals such as doctors when they are, perhaps, unjustly accused by individuals.

Saladoff's claim is that the "other side's" story has been told for the past 25 years. I don't feel I know that story well enough and would have appreciated more background of why tort reform and mandatory arbitration exist in the first place and, perhaps, even a story or two where their existence may have worked in everybody's favor.

When all was said and done, the film painted a dire situation for and effectively raised strong emotion against, tort reform and mandatory arbitration. I felt a trifle manipulated in the process.