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...
Syd Stone is a popular film actor, whose popularity is slowly fading. He is in a town shooting for his next film and staying in a hotel. You can see he is struggling with his career and also probably with his sexuality. He is dodging his agent and his girlfriend and is somehow consuming himself in alcohol. One night he meets a charming lawyer Matt at the hotel bar and they get to talking. Sad finds it exciting that Matt has no idea who Syd is and soon enough a torrid affair starts. Eventually Syd does tell Matt who he is, but a surprise visit from Syd's girlfriend changes things. The agent has been pushing him to do a film, which he doesn't want to do, but eventually when both Matt and his ex girlfriend leave him, he decides to do the film, where his role is that of a sexually fluid guy and expectedly the film is a hot. A year and a half later, a journalist tries to get him to open up about his sexuality. Sad is initially hesitant because he knows this could possibly end his career, but eventually he decides that this could help teens and young kids who are struggling with something similar. He comes out on national TV and hopefully things will continue to be good for Syd.
The six episodes of I Am Syd Stone explore how the star navigates the pull of desire. The show finds a fascinating study in celebrity through Syd’s self-destructiveness. Having said that the web series is not without its shortcomings. The film being shot with minimum people and hardly any crew and people in hotel seem very basic. I understand the budget might be limited and the focus was more on story than aesthetics, but that could have helped. But at least the series had something to say. A message sent that in today's day and age, not many people care about your sexuality (if you are lucky enough to live in a country like this). In fact, when you are in position of power and influence, a step like this could be huge inspiration for younger generation, which is what eventually Syd does. In his own way. Matt comes into his life to re-establish his confidence, his morale and also reiterate that Syd deserves better for himself. Shame, guilt and fear is not going to take him anywhere. Acting by everyone, especially leads actor is amazing. His pain and anguish laced with desire and love is perfectly done and best part of the show is that there is no unnecessary drama. Six short and sweet episodes make it a nice pleasurable watch. (6.5/10)
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