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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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Eastsiders: Season 4 (Web Series)

By Golu
I had already reviewed the first three seasons of this show earlier. With its fourth and final season, this Netflix show is coming to a closure, all of the characters are given an equal opportunity to bring their story to as much closure as a six episodic series can probably do justice to. Interestingly, this comedy drama deal with all of the challenges of a relationship in 21st century especially in the gay community - monogamy, polyamory, marriage, STIs, gender, bisexuality, finances, adoption, and careers. It doesn't shy away from conversations around these topics and somehow they are all so seamlessly integrated into the main story, you don't feel like you are being preached or anything.

The main story of this season is of course the continued straind relationship of our lead couple Tom and Cal and how they are navigating through their open relationship. But besides that the focus is on the upcoming wedding of Douglas and Quincy with the drag theme. We are told through a flashback episode on how and why Cal/Tom decided to open up their relationship. The duo are very much in love but something is off and they are hoping this will fix it. We also then have Cal's sister's boyfriend Ian (prominent in all seasons), who gets dumped by his girlfriend when she gets pregnant and who afterwards rediscovers his bisexuality leaning more towards a guy and in fact even ends up finding the rightt guy for himself. Of course, we also the couple Jeremy and Derrick, who are going through their own issues of being a couple. Jeremy still is pretty much unsure about everything in his life while Derrick wants to have a kid. Through a breezy six episodic format, we see a very interesting and to be honest a very realistic depiction of some of the issues that long term couples deal with.

This season is unique in showing couples navigating life and sex together over the long term. Thus, the drama is not about finding Mr. Right, but what it means to stay with Mr. Right even when things get complicated. Sex never seems forced here, it goes very well with the story. As is the story with a lot of couples who have been together for a while, gay marriage is again central to the theme of this season. What does being married mean for gay people, who are their role models and is it really important in the larger scheme of things. Douglas/Quincy go through multiple conflicts on how the wedding should actually happen; Cal/Tom ponder around monogamy and engagement, and we already have Derrick/Jeremy who fast-track their own relationship toward becoming foster parents. Each couple decides what works for them. As gay people, we know there is no straight forward formula that works for everyone. Every couple needs to decide exactly what commitment means to them, from a monogamous relationship to an open relationship. Everybody has to chart their own course. I really liked how when Ian is exploring his sexuality, the people he meets he talks to them, chats and is still nice and friendly guy that he is. Cal and Tom talk about their issues openly. And you feel the same gap between Jeremy and Derrick. Only if more couples would be able to have open and honest conversations around what they feel , life would be so much more easier.

I am surprised that I didn't realize that the last season came almost 2.5 years back. Somehow I must have missed it. Well, better late than never. Of late I haven't seen much good shows coming from US. This and Looking have been good positive shows that engage the viewers completely while also focusing on tackling some rather relevant subjects within the community. Actors are all good across the board. I have seen some of them on other shows but somehow I feel the director brought out the best in all of them in this show. Sadly the director, who also plays the lead Cal in the show is the weakest as an actor (not that he is bad by any means), but everyone else around him is quite good. Regardless, this was a good finale to an otherwise good run of a show that started its journey on Youtube. I am not going to spend some time researching on what Mr. Kit Williamson, the creator/producer and director of the show has been since unto and is he doing anything good recently. (7.5/10)
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