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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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Cupcakes (Hebrew)

By Golu
Sometimes you just want to watch a film for escapism, to have a smile on your face, and to not have to think too much about the complications of life. The director Eytan Fox is known to have delivered some really hard-hitting but good gay Israeli cinema, so this film is also a huge change for him. A musical comedy, this film is charming, simple and good fun to watch.

Every year 6 friends get together to watch UniverSong contest on TV, an ode to EuroVision. This year should be no different. The group of friends include middle-aged baker Anat, whose husband has recently left her;  gay schoolteacher Ofer, who likes to entertain his kindergarten class by performing musical numbers in drag; shy blogger Keren, whose interactions with the world are primarily online;  lesbian singer/songwriter Efrat, whose career is limited to coffee shops; former beauty pageant winner turner lawyer Yael; and repressed Dana, who works as an aide to a conservative female politician. But today is the day when Anat’s husband has left her, so ti cheer her up they impromptu get into a singing gig and even make a video. When Ofer’s closet boyfriend sees the video, he jokes about why not send it to UniverSong. What starts off as a joke, becomes serious when their song gets selected to represent Israel in UniverSong. The group is initially angry with Ofer to do such a thing but when they see their friends and family make fun of them for doing this, they take it up a s challenge and now they wanna prove something for themselves. They are ‘groomed’ by the Israeli bigwigs to prepare them for the big contest in Paris but the group soon realises that in doing so they are losing their natural simple charm which got them selected in the first place. They take matters in their own hand, make a trip to Paris on their own. They don’t win, come at a second place but they prove to others and themselves that its important to be true to yourself.

As I mentioned before, this film is simple, funny and emotional at the same time. The title comes from the bakery that Anat runs. What connected me to the film was to see an unlikely group of friend, coming together for each other and themselves indulging in doing what they all love. As explained in the opening scene,  "we all want to be part of the normal world and not fight it for once." The film is colourful, jazzy and laced with good music. Friendship is given respect, relationships are treated fair and however stereotypical it may seem but i loved the gay relationship between the two guys. One who is completely openly gay while the other, in closet as ever, because he could be the head-honcho of a big business.

The film is meant to entertain and make you feel good and it does exactly that. Whats to complain then. (6/10)
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