Scott Lemieux reviews Hot Coffee, a documentary that centers on the old lady who sued McDonald's after scalding herself with coffee. Adam Serwer focuses on jokes about the case that obscure its true nature:
The film deals with this particularly effectively–first by asking "people on the street" if they'd heard about the case, then showing them the actual photographs. The coffee Liebeck spilled on her lap was so hot that even through her clothes, it managed to melt of significant portions of her skin. Rather than minor burns, she suffered third degree burns that required skin grafts. The pictures themselves are absolutely grotesque, and the contrast between how the "people on the street" react to the mention of the initial case, and how they react once shown the photos of Liebeck's burns, is drastic. The case suddenly stops being a punchline. It's just too bad that reversing the progress conservatives have made in preventing access to the courts isn't as easily done.
The Dish 