Take Out

This might be one of the most accurate portrayals of New York City I’ve seen. Ming travels across the city, delivering food to people from all walks of life, some living in luxury doormen building, others just barely getting by.  He hopes that braving the rain so they don’t have to leave their homes might earn him a few dollars in gratitude, money he needs to pay off the debts he owes to the people who brought him into this country. Instead, he faces microaggressions, impatient New Yorkers, and people who won’t even offer a thank you, let alone a tip. His coworker even tells him to smile, as if performing happiness might earn him a better tip. But why should he fake it? So that people can feel better about themselves, believing the person providing their underpaid service actually wants to be doing it? No one captures the low-income, immigrant experience quite like Baker. He doesn’t sugarcoat it or try to comfort the audience, because why should he? This is the reality for undocumented immigrants in this country: working tirelessly every day just to make it to the next. Going to make anyone who says they don’t tip their DoorDash driver watch this film.