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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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Nate & Margaret

By Golu
First things first; this is not a comedy film. Its at best a character study of 2 very unlikely individuals who share a very unlikely friendship. our protagonist happens to be gay and him getting in to a relationship at one point leads to discord between the friends.

Margaret is 52. Nate is 19. They're neighbors in a Chicago building. They're best friends. They seem alone in the world. There is no mention of family. They like to do things together: Shop at the Goodwill store, have brunch, hang out. Margaret has never been married. Nate, who is gay, has never had a boyfriend or even been kissed. Margaret wants to become a successful stand up comedian (but truly she is pathetic) and Nate is a student at film school. He's directing his thesis film and has enlisted Margaret as his sound person. One night Nate meets James and after a couple of meetings, we see that the 2 young men start falling for each other. Margaret is not thrilled to learn about Nate's new friend, but bravely invites the two of them over for dinner. The dynamics of this scene are carefully modulated to allow the morphing of James into the jerk he really is. As Nate navigates his new relationship, Margaret begins to make real headway with her stand-up routine and their lives begin to head away from each other. The once upon a time closest buddies just grow apart, very apart.

It is a pleasant film that has a few moments of drama, but is primarily a sweet story of a unique friendship hitting a rough patch. There is no over the top drama or emotions. It feels like everyone's day-to-day existence. There’s no huge setup, no voiceover narration explaining who the characters are or how they became friends. Performance wise both Nate and Margaret do a wonderful job. The scene wen Margaret invites Nate and James for dinner is little weird to watch because James acts as a real jerk. Margaret's jealousy should not be confused for closet love. When you see losing a friend, the jealousy is obvious irrespective of age or gender.

The movie is about: friendship. The film respects that and doesn't get distracted by sex or age. (5.5/10)
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Comments

mickel said…
i love this film.
it made me cry so hard.

February 19, 2014 at 10:37 AM
Golu said…
oh Really!! I never thought of the film this way. It was ok and emotional for me. Were you connecting something personal with the film?
February 27, 2014 at 7:28 AM
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