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...
Caz (gay) and Chris (straight) are best friend, who are DJs but they also run a pirate radio network promoting punk music. The film starts with murder of TJ at a local gay cruising park. While Caz is distraught by the death of his friend, Chris seems focused on balancing a professional career in commercial radio without selling out. During this time Chris meets his girlfriend Tracy also. Somehow Chris gets hold of the tape that was recorded during murder making him a suspect but when he calls Caz for help, he is busy with his new boyfriend Billibud. The duo even have a showdown leading to Chris to broadcast the music alone even though the radio station has been vandalized. Chris is then attacked by TJ's murderer, who turns out to be someone he and Caz had thought of as a friend. Meanwhile, Caz's boyfriend Billibud also gets attacked by local skinheads. A grand reckoning takes place at an open-air disco in the park where TJ was murdered, where his murderer falls to his death in the inferno of his own creation. The film ends with the two DJs reconciling their differences while they clean records, which is followed by a one-by-one each of the friends joining into dance together.
The film is less about gay romance but more about friendship, and the racial and sexual tensions of the 70s Britain where you have blacks, mixed, skinheads, people affiliated to different school of thought and political affiliations. You see and feel Chris' distraught when the friend is murdered. He keeps thinking that it could have been him in the cruising park. You could be harassed, or assaulted, or even killed and most of the world would just move on. And anthem interesting perspective of what cops feel about Black lives is during the interrogation scene of Chris when he is taken in for questioning fo this suspected involvement. While all this is going on, there is a certain elect of resistance that prevails throughout the film. All of the cast bounce off of each other and there’s a playfulness you see in all of them. Queer love was radical then, and it's still radical now. Interracial queer love is even more so. The way they fill the screen is not exploitative. Overall, there is a LOT happening in this movie and the makers have tried to address many issues, many of which surprisingly are still relevant even after 30 years of the film being released. The film is vibrant, political, slightly overlooked with punk music and a tiny little queer story. IF these things sound relatable to you, go for it. I understand the importance of the subject and presentation, but did I enjoy the movie while watching, Id say, just about. (5/10)
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