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...
Wow!! What a graph this movie had! This film is definitely an emotional roller coaster. No wonder the director very sensibly divides the film into three acts focussing on different aspects and emotions. I personally think that this was a brilliant idea because that way it kinds of set focus on energies for the act. Very few films have dealt with gays and AIDS in a very mature way and with sensitivity. This film definitely succeeds in doing that after Longtime Companion.
Sometime in 80s we see a young boy Frank who is very open about his sexuality and deals very bravely with his school mates teasing and bullying him. He is a free spirit, like to have sex and before its too late he leaves his parents house and runs to Amsterdam with his closest gal pal. When the gal pal decides to go back, he has nowhere to go. Looking for shelter, he quickly finds refuge in an all-male strip/show club called House of Boys. He gets both work and house to live in there with 3 other guys who work in this club. Madame, a drag queen is the owner of this club. He makes friends with everyone but has this huge crush on his room mate Jake. But Jake is straight and i sin club only so that he can save money to do something meaningful in life. He also acts as a hustler in the club. After a few is understanding between Jake and his girlfriend, Jake ultimately responds to Frank's love and they start sharing a very very beautiful relationship. Just when things are going fine, Jake is diagnosed with AIDS and is asked to leave the club. The final act of the story shows Jake dealing with sickness and how Frank with all his love and support remains with him through his last days and end.
The first act is very bubble, comic and fun stuff with usual gay melodrama of hot bodies, drag queens, bitchiness and all. The second act, we see love blossoming between the 2 men. The scene where they first kiss and make love actually is very sensual and has been directed very esthetically. But its the last part that you are not prepared for and it saddens you. You feel for both Jake and Frank. Both the principal characters and even others have done a great job of acting. The visuals clearly show the open-nes and joyful gay liberation in early 80s until AIDS strike and things change suddenly. This and photography with acting and sensitivity makes this film different from a regular boy meets boy and boy loses boyfriend to AIDS story.
It was little odd to see fluent English speakers in the film supposedly set in Amsterdam but I am not complaining. I liked the film. (7/10)
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Anyway, for those like me who did not know the 80's, this movie perfectly describes how life was back then, how careless people were -cause there was no reason to be- and is a reminder to everyone of us we have to protect to keep safe.
I need to slow down a little.. lol
What I really liked about this film is that you can actually see the physical deterioration that Jake is suffering through and you can also see how Frank matures. You can also see how Madame does not want to live in the world of reality and runs away from the Christmas dinner because he does not want to see Jake, whom he had personally coached in the business of hooking up for money.