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Stop! That! Train!

By Golu
Coming out of the same studio that gave us RuPaul's Drag Race, and stacked with a whole crew of former contestants, Stop! That! Train! plays like RuPaul basically taking a bow for the entire franchise she's built. It's not really a gay film in the traditional sense, but with so many drag stars from Ru's shows popping up alongside a few cameos from well known out gay actors, I figured it earns a spot on this blog anyway. The whole thing is completely over the top, packed with GenZ slang, loud flashy visuals, and humor that's constantly winking at you knowing how ridiculous it is. Going in you'd assume it's meant to be a laugh riot, and a lot of critics online seem to be eating it up, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I've never really been someone who vibes with campy silly stuff like this, so honestly my reaction doesn't surprise me one bit. The setup follows Tess and DeeDee, two low level stewardesses who sneak onto the fancy Glamazonian E...
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You Can't Have It All [What Happens Next]

By Golu
Another film that I was excited about watching on the big screen in the Philly film festival, specially because the film has been set in Philly and I lived there. By the time the film ended, I was disappointed to the core. The film had some really bad acting and direction. There were some really funny one liners and scenes but they were so few, far and between that overall the film left very little impression on me. 

Wealthy 50ish bachelor Paul is finally retiring from work. His work was his only routine and so he has no idea and interest in either socializing or finding someone for his life. His socialite sister Elise is after his life to get married and determined to find him the perfect female companion. Elise is so interfering and disapproving of everyone else that she has lost the love and respect of her only son Brian, a buddy artist. Elsie gifts Paul a dog and now he has to take the dog for walks where he meets Andy who comes to the park to walk his own dog. Andy is comfortable with what he is and has no inhibitions in telling Paul about him. Andy slowly gets a strong liking for Paul but he knows that Paul is straight or at least he thinks so. Paul apparently has himself been struggling with is feelings. On the other hand, Elise thinks that Brian might be gay and so she is trying her best to accept that by attending PFLAG where she meets Andy. Andy's overprotective friend Roz is the best of lot who makes sure that Andy's heart does not get broken. After individual meetings when finally all of these people come together, it creates mass confusion and hysterical twists. Turns out Brian is not gay and Paul finally finds the courage to tell everyone and Andy that he loves Andy is his perfect partner. 

Except Roz, everyone was sooo bad in the acting department. They were all overacting. There was absolutely no connection amongst the characters and they way they would say the dialogues was as if someone is prompting them to say something. The first 40 minutes were so slow and were used to just show Andy and Paul meeting everyday in the park and striking a chord. It can use some serious editing. Had screenplay been better and acting good, this film could have been a funny film. (3/10)
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Comments

ILHiker said…
I remember not being impressed the first time through, but I was sleepy and it was on amazon, so turned it on. It wasn't any better this time around. The acting was so incredibly subdued, and the script tended to describe any dramatic action happening off screen rather than showing it. There was potential in the concept, but it didn't come through.
November 19, 2022 at 8:02 AM
Golu said…
And can you believe it that this film actually won the Audience award for best film in that Phialdephia LGBT film festival !!
November 19, 2022 at 3:09 PM
ILHiker said…
Holy cow, unbelievable. I did look at IMDB and some of the actors and the director do have very good pedigrees. Sometimes reputation can impact people's perception. Or maybe it was competing against Brooklyn Bizarre.
November 19, 2022 at 3:55 PM
Golu said…
Now that was one bizarre film, to say the least !!
November 20, 2022 at 10:30 AM
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