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...
Marlo is visiting Berlin during a break from his studies. After he arrives he goes into the city to talk around. There he catches the eye of another young man, Kirill, when they both cross the road and their hands touch. There's a flicker of interest. It's the kind of thing a more experienced person might immediately pick up on and pursue, but neither of these youths has that degree of confidence. Instead, they watch one another from a distance, meet again by supposed accident, start up an awkward conversation. They hang out and decide to meet the next day. Neither man knows whats in store. On their third day, when Marlo visits Kirill’s dorm, they do end up getting physical with each other. Its a moment of awkwardness because neither of them has done this before. Once the lovemaking is over, Kirill seems more distant and odder than ever. As a viewer I cannot figure out what’s with Kirill’s behavior. Thankfully the film ends with both guys walking together in the city of Berlin.
There is a lot going on unspoken on in this movie as these two men deal with discovering their sexuality and sometimes it really is not clear what it is. It does get frustrating at times because the film is too slow; even for my liking. I liked the portions when the 2 start talking to each other and get to know the other person. There is awkwardness yet intimacy between them. It's one thing to be open to the prospect of same sex activity; it's another to confess a desire for a particular person and negotiate everything that goes with that. Acting wise, both the actors are brilliant and do full justice to their part. They have to speak through silence and their eyes. The city of Berlin is also shown in background quite well while we see our protagonists making their own connection in this city.
Largely the film remains observational and mundane in its approach. Good and short duration, however, a tad too slow, which is a pity as the two boy’s characters had great possibilities. (5.5/10)
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