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...
Tadashi is a high school student struggling / figuring out his sexuality. He is in love with his best friend and is actually called names like pansy and stuff by the schoolmates which force him to go deeper in his shell. One day while he's riding the train, he sees a gay couple and he follows them just out of curiosity. While one of them goes for his job, the other goes home while Tadashi is following him and the gets in an accident. Since the couple is not officially married, the hospital calls his mother. If not for Tadashi running to inform his partner about the accident, he would never have known. There is also a plot line about the gay couple themselves, and how they feel like they are being treated by society, and their families. The gay couple also has a close friend who sleeps around and stays with different friends and often complains about not having a boyfriend. When this guy meets our boy Tadashi at hospital, he feels there is a chance. The few days Tadashi spends with the couple boosts his confidence. He becomes confident of his sexuality and tells his closest friend he is gay and proud. The film ends with the couple getting married and Tadashi and the couple's friend getting together on a date.
As you can see the story is pretty basic here. At first I felt there are some parallel stories going on because we see Tadashi's angle, the gay couple angle and then the couple's friend who is forever flirting and looking for sex and complaining about not having a partner. Its only after sometimes it all comes together. But despite a short running time, some of these scenes feels so stretched out unnecessarily. There are more than a few scenes where this friend spends time in bars or at other people's houses, which doesn't add much to the story except probably highlight that he is quite lonely. The gay couple spends a lot of time talking about job and whether or not to get married. There are also two very awkward sex scenes. I have seen in a couple other Japanese films from old school, where they would grab the other person's dick and play with it. I don't know whey but such explicit sexual scenes in this (including one scene in the beginning where Tadashi fantasizes about his best friend raping him) were so not needed in an otherwise story which is trying to make a statement. The acting was strictly ok. (4.5/10)
Comments