'The Donut King' Review

 
NRRuntime: 1 Hr and 40 MinutesProduction Companies: Distributor: N/ADirector: Alice GuCast: Ted Ngoy, Christy Ngoy, Mayly Tao, Ning Yen, Chhay Bun Ngoy, Kom Chris Ngoy, Susan Wahid, Chet Ngoy, William Mimiaga, Savy NgoyRelease Date: N/A
Ted's story is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. It's the rags to riches story of a refugee escaping Cambodia, arriving in America in 1975 and building an unlikely multi-million dollar empire baking America’s favorite pastry, the donut. Ted sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming refugees and helped them get on their feet, teaching them the ways of the donut business. By 1979 he was living the American Dream. But, in life, a great rise can come with great falls.
I have a thing where every time I visit the west coast, I always try a west coast delicacy that I’ve never tasted before. Whenever I visit LA (which, oddly enough, was rather frequently during the past year), I see these family-owned donut shops as I pass through the area via Uber and there are a plethora of them. Now, because of Alice Gu’s documentary feature The Donut King, I’ve officially put ‘Cambodian donut shop’ as #1 on my west coast to-eat list. Sorry Fatburger, you’re gonna have to wait.  From the get-go, The Donut King offers a strong personalized story from the lens of Ted Ngoy. He went from being a refugee of the Cambodian civil war of the late 20th Century to becoming one of the most iconic names in the donut industry on the west coast. The film primarily focuses on Ted Ngoy and covers every aspect of his experience as a family man/refugee from a country on the brink of destruction who gained prosperity in America. As someone who doesn’t know very much about world events prior to my own existence — in this case, the Cambodia war — it was enticing to learn about America’s Refugee Act of 1975, which issued an evacuation of Cambodia. It was nice to see that there used to be a time when this country didn’t give a shit about immigration laws, no matter the economical cost, and would come to the aid of people from Third World countries. I have to admit, it was off-putting to hear Ted’s romanticism towards America, but that’s coming from someone who truly hates the current state of this country.
That said, the strongest aspect about the doc is how Gu keeps the lens focused on Ted and the Ngoys. It’s not just about how Ted became the pioneer for the donut industry, but mostly how the Ngoy family all became the dominating force of the business. The film makes it clear that part of what made Ted’s business prosper — aside from his brilliant hustling and work ethic in his earlier years — is how he turned the donut shops into a family-only business. When the narrative expands to the rest of the Ngoys, it becomes a larger story outside of Ted. The film always feels personal and the more you learn about the family the more your heart is sweetened by them… more so than the sweet images of the delicious donuts. It isn’t all cupcake and rainbows after the success story because it does delve into the family’s trials and tribulations. The movie shows that this man is heavily flawed, but it was the power of wealth that corrupted his mind. However, his heart was always intact. The film provides a ton of insight into the donut industry and how impactful Ngoy’s donuts were. I didn’t know that a lot of famous images, such as the purple donut box, originated from them. There are other details that enhance the personalization of the stories. Provided by animation services from 1881 Animation, the film features beautiful watercolor-like illustrations that feel influenced by the art you see in those shops. At the end of the day, Alice Gu’s The Donut King is an inspiring tale of one Cambodian man’s journey to start his own business and achieve the American Dream. It features fantastic storytelling that I hope the rest of the world will be able to see soon. Now I’m just going to live out the rest of this quarantine craving glazed donuts. Rating: 4/5 | 83%