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...
The season starts with Sabi still reeling with two incidents: their father's death and the kiss with former boss/complicated friend Bessy. As always Sabi mean is good at keeping all of their complicated emotions bottled up and ignoring Bessy and her entire family. Life is people around them also is show in detail. We see how the father's death has changed some family dynamics. Sabi's sister decides to move out and later in the season becomes pregnant, adding more to the drama. Sabi's art club with best friend 7ven is still starting to take shape and they have their own issues. Sabi and Wolf are trying to figure out what their newfound relationship is and where it will take them. While all this is going on, Sabi also finally decides to take the plunge of gender transition and decides to tell no one. When their longtime family doctor questions their timing, they admit that it's just easier to take these steps when the person whose reaction they’d dread most is no longer around. Back to Sabi and Bessy, they try to sort out what happened, but it becomes even more awkward. Sabi's interactions with Bessy's husband, who has always been a good friend of Sabi also becomes interesting because Bessy tells him what happened. Eventually, with everything going around and Sabi going through transition, they take the biggest decision of their life and book a one way ticket ticket to Berlin to see what life has in store for them.
Sort Of has always been a show of uncertainty. Sabi was a nonbinary protagonist who could never quite commit to a decision. And so there’s something quite touching about watching Sabi make this one big decision — and to see how making this decision frees them to start making others. Also, I feel this season gives a good breathing space to all the characters that were introduced and are a part of this show. Sure, it's still primarily about the creator, actor Sabi, but the way screenplay has been written this season; it feels a lot more matured. The way some emotions and situations are handled, I absolutely loved it. Give these sub plots proper time and space to grow, both as story and as people, worked big time for me. Every single actor playing their roles does a fantastic job. I feel the big strength of show is not just the crisp writing, but also the casting person, who has mangled to assemble some perfect actors for their parts.
The series has been groundbreaking for its nonbinary representation. Beyond Sabi, many of the show’s supporting characters are also queer. The show beautifully finds the balance between showing a rich tapestry of queer characters, while also allowing each character to be more than their identities and not putting labels on them. By the end, the series leaves Sabi and all of its characters with just the right balance of having some kind of “closure,” and inching into a new chapter of their lives, with all of the uncertainty that comes with it. Only this time, they’re all better equipped to deal with that uncertainty. Isn’t that what personal growth is really about? (7.5/10)
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