thenationofartists.com

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(from the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival)

Directed by: Susan Saladoff
Featuring: Jamie Leigh Jones, Connor  Gourley, Colin Gourley, Al Franken and Oliver Diaz

Expertly edited by Cindy Lee with slick visuals by Brian Oakes, “Hot Coffee” is so good that it’s difficult to believe it was helmed by a first-time filmmaker. Executive producer Sheila Nevins and the HBO hierarchy usually have enough on their own production and development plates, but it’s no surprise that they picked up this provocative and potentially game-changing documentary; one would also not be surprised to see this film continue on its way into end-of-season awards discussions.

Like “GasLand,” “The Last Mountain” and “Inside Job,” “Hot Coffee” will knock you backward and change your perception of what you thought you knew. The film tackles the corporate demolition of this country’s civil rights system and the constitutional pretzel-twisting taking place to favor big business over those the system is supposed to protect.

Stepping off with a scene from that episode of “Seinfeld” in which Kramer spills hot coffee down his pants and sues for punitive damages, director Susan Saladoff uses the well-known but little understood case brought by Stella Liebeck against McDonald’s in 1994 and illuminates the marketing machine that followed, transforming that lawsuit into the definitive case cited as evidence of “jackpot justice” and “frivolous lawsuits.” Setting the record straight, Saladoff confronts our recollections of the case and ensures we understand the facts that transpired rather than the commonly referenced fictions we’ve accepted into lore.

Did you know, for instance, that there had been more than 700 other cases of burns from hot coffee reported to the restaurant? Did you ever see the pictures of the heinous burns the victim suffered and the skin grafts necessary to address the damage?

Despite the name of the film, Saladoff presents a series of clear cases that illustrate the dire state of affairs relating to the rights of civilians in their battle for fairness against global corporate entities for whom the rules seem no longer to apply.

Saladoff, a former attorney herself, also introduces us to the seemingly soulless corporate and political media masterminds whose efforts include spinning case details, lobbying for the appointment of commerce-friendly judges to the benches of state supreme courts and courts of appeal, and advocating for damages caps and “tort reform,” all of which affect true justice for longer than any case being litigated.

Once the pinnacle of a forum in which a lone individual was able to bring his or her case against the biggest entities on the planet, the system is now so heavily stacked against consumers and commoners at both the contract and court levels that our best hope seems tied to a documentary that could lead to a demand for change, a demand for transparency, a demand for regulation and responsibility.

Without wanting to give away too many of the specifics of what you’ll learn when you see this documentary, all we can do is implore you, conservatives and liberals alike, to approach the information being presented with a fair and open mind. “Hot Coffee” and its related subjects affect each and every one of us in the United States in both places where it hurts, our pockets and our hearts.

“Hot Coffee” is one of the most important documentaries you’ll ever see. It will change your day irreversibly.

“Hot Coffee” airs on HBO on June 27, 2011. For local screening times visit http://hotcoffeethemovie.com/

Photo courtesy the Seattle International Film Festival