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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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I Do

By Golu
Even now, while writing this review, I really can't make up my mind if I liked this movie or not. Hopefully by the time I finish writing this, I would have a clue. The story is not very novel. We have seen the premise before but this one like every film has something different to offer. The one definite good thing about this film ws that it is set in New York and being away from my city for about 2.5 months now, kit definitely made me nostalgic about the city.

Jack is a Brit gay man living in NYC. When his brother unexpectedly dies in a car accident, he starts taking care of his wife who is pregnant. Years have passed and his niece is now 6-7 years old but Jack's life still surrounds his sister-in-law and niece. He works with a photographer with his lesbian best friend Aly. When Jack finds out that his visa renewal application has been rejected, his lawyer suggests that getting married is the only option left with him. He coerces his friend Aly to marry him. Things are going ok until Mano comes in Jack's life. Mano, of Spanish origin is the perfect guy that Jack has been waiting for. The perfect marriage has now has a twist even though Jack and Ali were never in love. Mano and Jack start staying together and Mano soon becomes part of the family. Aly is always scared that immigration would catch her and put her in jail whereas Jack is not as serious. When an unexpected visit from INS happens. it freaks Aly out completely and she wants out of the marriage. Jack gives in but is depressed and now very unsure of what his future will be. Mano offers to marry him but lawyer tells them that gay marriage is not recognized at federal level so there is no point. In the meantime Mano finds out that his father is critically ill and now he would like to move back to Spain. He offers Jack to move with him but Jack doesn't want to leave his niece and refuses. When his sister-in-law puts some sense in his mind, he finally understands that its time he start thinking about himself. He decides to take the plunge and move to Spain to be with the love of his life and with a promise that his niece will visit him every few months.

The film slightly touches upon the DOMA issue but very little. It plays with emotions on very different subjects as there are several unexpected twists and turns throughout. The over-all premise is a sophisticated urbane justification for gay marriage, but it is presented as a family of friends drama with quite legitimate and compelling emotional drive. The film also brings up a few 'what would you do in that situation?' subjects, which promotes conversation with friends and family. In terms of acting Jack did an alright job. He was acting but somehow the emotional connect to his character was missing. I could hardly empathize with his character. Specially when subject is like this, you want audience to connect. Another big failure was Mano. The way his character was shown was a little shady in my opinion. There were times in the film when I got the impression that Mano was a fraud kinda person who was playing with Jack's emotions. Also the way he would look at Aly and give her the look while they were married was odd. Anyway, I might be going into too much details but thats what my observation is. Th little girl in the film was the best part.

All in all, this is still a pretty decent movie and worth a try. For an independent film, it will still satisfy you. (6/10)
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Eternal Sonata said…
I've always been a fan of indie films and especially when its centered around gay themes. Just reading about the review, it did bring up DOMA indeed but its a shame, it didn't go in that direction. I would have like to see something of it. Otherwise, I'm always a sucker for these drama type films just because you get a little tugged in the heartstring. I'd like to add this to my watch list.
August 12, 2013 at 10:32 AM
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