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Hot Coffee

Play trailer Poster for Hot Coffee 2011 1h 28m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Big business uses the "McDonald's coffee case" to promote tort reform and to stop citizens from filing frivolous lawsuits.

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Hot Coffee

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Sarah Boslaugh PopMatters Everyone knows about the woman who spilled coffee on herself and won a $3 million judgment against McDonalds, but it turns out that most of what everyone knows about this case is wrong. Rated: 6/10 Oct 5, 2012 Full Review Sarah Boslaugh Playback:stl Everyone knows about the woman who spilled coffee on herself and won a $3 million judgment against McDonalds, but it turns out that most of what everyone knows about this case is wrong. Rated: 6/10 Apr 12, 2012 Full Review Rachel Gordon Filmcritic.com provides a journey through a legal system that is incrementally being subsumed by corporate interests on a daily basis. Rated: 4/5 Feb 3, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Just a stunning/shocking documentary on the injustices of tort reform and mandatory arbitration. Big companies as usual banded together to form a powerful lobby group and tried over and over and over again to take away the rights of citizens to the benefit of the big companies, and eventually they got their way in most states. Even though Bush and Karl Rove (can you name even 1 good thing that Rove has ever done?) fought extremely hard to make the changes at the federal level, they was ultimately unsuccessful, hence they went to plan b and got their way at the state level by having their own judges run for election to different states' Supreme Courts. Because whoever spends the most in these elections wins 90% of the time, they used the deep pockets of their lobby group (comprised of big companies) to secure judicial nominations all across the country. And then whenever a case came up of a citizen vs a big company the appeal usually went in favour of the big company due to the decisions of said judges. To make it even worse, they also had laws changed (by the same lobby groups) that capped the amounts that juries could award wronged citizens to ridiculously low amounts. How is this all legal? It's asinine and so wrong. Yet that's how the American justice system works. I'm so livid and I'm not even American! Then they also get into mandatory arbitration agreements and how big companies sneak these into contracts and agreements so they can't be sued in court. And people who usually have no clue (like me) sign these contracts and now potentially put ourselves in situations whereby if we're wronged, not only can we not go to court, the company picks the arbitrator. And bc the arbitrators want repeat business they rule in favour of the big companies 90% of the time (that's a fact). And the rub, is that everything done in arbitration stays hidden from the public. It's ridiculous. It's heart breaking. I initially laughed at the McDonalds hot coffee lady for her "frivolous lawsuit, but now that I know the circumstances, it was not only not frivolous, it was the least that should've happened to McD's. I will never use the term frivolous lawsuit in the same way ever again. Everybody should have to watch this doc. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting movie about tort reform and how forced arbitration has silenced the public in wrongful injury/death suits. Of course, it started with the McDonalds coffee case where the elderly woman burned herself between her legs. Her burns were so severe she had to have skin grafts. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member A very informative documentary about how corporate interests have been taking over the legal system to make sure individual lawsuits do not get proper compensation. Definitely worth a watch, very interesting stuff. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Those with the wealth make the rules. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member A movie that'll make you want to burn down the US chamber of commerce lobbying group. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting doc. Not really about hot coffee. Ha. Beautifully shot. Great handling of archive footage. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Hot Coffee

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Big business uses the "McDonald's coffee case" to promote tort reform and to stop citizens from filing frivolous lawsuits.
Director
Susan Saladoff
Producer
Carly Hugo, Alan Oxman
Production Co
The Group Entertainment
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Runtime
1h 28m
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