Tera Wong is exhausted trying to balance college and keeping her family’s failing restaurant solvent. She quietly quits school to spend more time at the restaurant to take pressure off her mother, who has a back injury and due to her low income is unable to pay for proper medical care. One night when delivering food to a rough area of Los Angeles called “Low Bottoms,” Tera is told by the girl working front desk to take it to the back. The back is filled with a high scale drug packaging facility, as well as the local drug kingpin, Lalo. When Tera doesn’t back down from collecting money for the Chinese food, Lalo sees a familiar streak of independence. To try and keep her family in money, Tera takes on a job as a delivery girl for the drug business, with orders packaged in Chinese food bags. Tera tries to go clean and help build up the family restaurant elsewhere, but their dreams start to fall apart as she discovers you can’t just walk away from a drug kingpin. Lalo may be much closer to her than she thinks.
Take Out Girl can be a lot to take, but in the best possible way. If you’re sensitive to violence and blood, be aware this film has a great deal of it. The film focuses on the inequalities that affect low-income families, including lack of access to adequate healthcare and how easy it can be to be taken in by a fleeting promise of a better life. Hedy Wong shines as the main character Tera. She is able to come across so tough and unafraid, but inside her eyes you can see quick flickers of terror. She is entirely believable as Tera.
Take Out Girl recently premiered at the 2020 Cinequest Film Festival, with two additional showings this weekon Friday, March 13 @ 8:50pm – Century 20, Redwood City and Sunday, March 15 @ 2:45pm – Hammer Theatre, San Jose.
Take Out Girl is not yet rated.
