Stop! That! Train! Is! Actually! Good!

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It’s understandable if you approach “Stop! That! Train!” with hesitation. RuPaul’s last movie featuring multiple drag queens, 2021’s “The Bitch Who Stole Christmas,” wasn’t exactly a hit. While Ru’s earlier films, like the playfully silly “Starrbooty,” are fun, they don’t really hold up as big-screen experiences. Plus, acting challenges on RuPaul’s Drag Race are notoriously difficult to watch – many fans dread them! Think of it as comparable to facing a terrible punishment. If you need proof, try watching “RuMerican Horror Story: Coven Girls.” Good luck getting through it!

Adam Shankman’s Stop! That! Train! genuinely made me laugh, and I actually enjoyed watching it. That might not sound like a huge compliment, but it’s true – we haven’t seen many truly original, funny movies lately, except for the Naked Gun reboot. While RuPaul is involved, the film really feels like the work of its writers, Connor Wright and Christina Friel. It has a playful, offbeat humor that feels inspired by alternative queer comedy, rather than RuPaul’s usual style (though Wright did work on The Bitch Who Stole Christmas). It’s clear these writers are fans of things like Dicks: The Musical and the comedy duo John Early and Kate Berlant’s work on The Tonight Show.

The movie centers on Tess and DeeDee, two flight attendants working for a low-class train company, portrayed by drag queens Ginger Minj and Jujubee. They’re newly employed on the glamorous Glamazonian Express alongside their catty colleagues Amber, Ali, and Ayshleiygh – played by Brooke Lynn Heights, Marcia Marcia Marcia, and Symone. Things get wild when a government employee, Donna Dusk (Rachel Bloom), discovers the train is about to hit a dangerous storm and alerts President Gagwell (RuPaul). The president, who prioritizes fun over serious work, must then try to save everyone. While the plot is completely outlandish, it moves at such a fast pace that jokes are constantly coming – there’s something for everyone every minute! It’s essentially a gay parody of Airplane!. From President Gagwell’s plummeting approval ratings (compared to Lea Michele’s 2020 public image) to a mischievous Raggedy Ann doll and the president’s surprisingly simple campaign slogan, “She fun!”, the movie is full of quirky details. However, even amidst all the silliness, RuPaul briefly reveals a vulnerable side, admitting, “She sad.”

The movie shines whenever RuPaul appears on screen. She’s hilarious and commanding as President Gagwell, and her scenes with Matt Rogers are particularly strong – they both deliver quick dialogue with impressive emotional range. While some of the other performers, including those from Drag Race, are good, others aren’t quite as effective. Latrice Royale consistently delivers lines with perfect timing and sass, making a memorable impression without slowing things down. Ginger and Jujubee, as the co-leads, are enjoyable but lack believable chemistry. The supporting cast of ‘mean girls’ is more entertaining to watch, especially Symone who plays a character reminiscent of Gretchen Wieners, delightfully dazed. As for the non-drag queen actors, they mostly stick to their roles: deliver the jokes and move on.

Overall, Stop! That! Train! is really funny because it embraces silly humor – the kind RuPaul’s Drag Race often celebrates. It’s a drag queen film with musical numbers thrown in simply for fun, and RuPaul gets all the funniest dialogue. My main complaint? The movie only has about five references to Drag Race, which honestly, was too many. Let’s forget those acting challenges from the show ever happened!

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2026-06-13 02:01