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...
Bai Lang is an owner of a bistro bar who is suffering from toothache but he has phobia for dentists so he keeps hiding it. When the situation gets really bad, his sister forces him to go to a dentist who also happens to be her friend and junior from college. Of course, Bai Lang resists dentists interactions during appointment but consistent persistence from the dentist leads to successful treatment. At sisters insistence, the dentist visits Bai Lang at home for follow up and in return, Bai Lang prepares a scrumptious meal for him. Slowly, the duo start meeting more regularly and you can see them having affection for each other. In fact they also flirt with one another in their own way. One day a man returns from US, who turns out to be a man that the dentist loved when he was in school but he was rejected then. Bai Lang feels they must give each other a try and pulls himself back when the dentist confesses his feelings for him. But things gets clarified slowly and the lovers are back as a full on couple. The last two episodes have a bizarre twist where suddenly dentist is too busy to meet Bai Lang, but turns out that he was busy making his parents accept of him on who he is and his love and in fact was even beaten by the father till they all accepted. There are some side stories of another bartender and a young boy's love story, the dentists assistant's love story and in a nice twist, Bai Lang's sister and the dentists former lover's story.
The fist thing that stays with me even after the show ended was how handsome and charming and beautiful actor playing Bai Lang is. OMG! More on that later. Dentistry setting for a BL show was interesting and Taiwanese shows usually do a good job of production values, good actors and direction; which is all true here as well. The initial scenes with zany humor and snappy banter between not just the leads but also including office staff and bistro staff with one another keeps the proceedings very lively and fun to watch. Bai Lang is a vivacious protagonist who exudes giddy enthusiasm. He smiles brightly, talks rapidly, and fills each scene with a powerful burst of energy. The dentist, on the other hand is more reserved and earnest and take him to mom kinda boy. But man, you will not be able to forget the Bai Lang actor. Lot more of him, please! The only problem here is lack of coherent screenplay. The story really has nothing new to offer except the setting. Essentially its just two guys meeting, start flirting, fall in love and get blessings from friends and family with some hiccups in between like any other couple. So that way, stretching this for 12 episodes felt long but I as long as it meant seeing a lot more of Bai Lang, I was ok. The show also does a great job of showing the courtship of lead actors and their flirting. You can feel and sense the slow build up from doctor-patient to acquaintance to friends to lovers. Although the relationship takes a long time to advance, they eventually have an overload of affection and intimacy. And thank god for ample kisses and intimacy, especially when it seemed genuine and real and not forced or just peck on lips like many other BL shows. The other side love stories are all decent but seemed more like fillers.
This show is not going to get any marks for originality in story and the flaws trying to create a rift between the lovers. But the show is very appealing because it features an attractive cast, vibrant chemistry, and adorable interactions. My main pleasure comes from seeing the hot guys (read Bai Lang) flirt cutely with each other. The actual narrative is an afterthought. (7/10)
Comments
Golu shame on you to enjoy a show only because you have a crush on an actor! (... now that you're all ashamed and reasonable and willing to let go of Bai Lang, he's all mine mouhahaha... Please make it my husband never reads this)
I am all in for shows that treat a subject delightfully. There are only so many permutations of a BL story, but its sometimes the actors and the execution that can make all the difference.
+1 on actors and execution!
Locations and production made the whole series feel really professional and sort of hid the clichés (luckily there were not many of those). Something felt different with the dialogue, like more impro, less memorized lines written by someone else. The text felt natural and it was clear the actors had fun while filming.
Those Asian series have a lot to look at, even when the story itself is "like watching the paint dry" :D