HOT COFFEE (Susan Saladoff, U.S.). 92 minutes. Rating: NNNN
Susan Saladoff’s documentary explores the insidious ways in which American corporations work to limit their legal liability in negligence suits, using the infamous McDonald’s case as a jumping-off point. (Senior citizen Stella Liebeck received third-degree burns when she accidentally spilled her superheated beverage on her thighs McDonald’s spun her subsequent legal action as a meritless joke suit. The corporate version caught on with late-night comics and pundits.)
Advocacy documentaries are supposed to be rousing and energizing, but with its tales of deliberate misinformation, astroturfing, influence peddling and assorted other dirty tricks, Hot Coffee is more likely to send you out of the theatre with an urgent need to check the fine print on your cellphone contract.
