Stop! That! Train! film review: A gloriously silly ride
Adam Shankman’s camp disaster flick throws RuPaul, drag icons and a stormaganza together aboard a doomed bullet train
It’s Airplane! meets John Waters in madcap disaster flick Stop! That! Train! which sees a cast of cult figures hurtle towards probable death aboard the Glamazonian Express. Amidst a cornucopia of delirious camp, the film’s MVP is nonother than drag icon RuPaul Charles in the role of President Judy Gagwell.
Adam Shankman (Rock Of Ages, Hairspray) directs US Drag Race alumni Ginger Minj and Jujubee as Tess and DeeDee, a pair of stewardesses who con their way onto the aforementioned bullet train after losing their jobs at Stank Rail. Unfortunately they’re heading straight into an unprecedented weather event, known as ‘stormaganza’, which has been identified by Rachel Bloom’s Donna, a transport command centre employee, whose attempts to raise the alarm are ridiculed by her male peers.
The script from Christina Friel and Connor Wright can feel hit and miss, and how hard gags land will depend heavily on your passion for puns. Nevertheless, there’s lots to like: at one point the train is diverted to a disused mining track that was closed for being ‘too haunted’; the president’s approval rating plummets to ‘Lea Michele circa 2020’ levels; while there are a couple of fun musical numbers which add razzamatazz to a safety announcement and help distract passengers in a moment of particular peril. The whole enterprise runs out of steam well before the end, yet its colourful chaos is often irresistible.
Meticulous make-up and costumes combine with unashamedly cheap effects and the inexperienced leads do well alongside the game likes of Sarah Michelle Gellar and June Diane Raphael as passengers. Forget any semblance of sanity, this screamingly silly film works best if you leave your sense at the cinema door.
Stop! That! Train! is in cinemas from Friday 21 August.