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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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We Three Queens: Season 1 & 2 (Canada) (Web Series)

By Golu
Three unconventional housemates - a daycare worker, an escort and a senior widow - navigate relationships and existential crises while supporting each other through mishaps and getting high together. Apparently this was an article that occurred in a magazine based on which the film makers decided to turn this into a fun fledged series. The show has been 2 seasons of 5 and 6 episodes respectively averaging at a 10 minute duration each.

Ian, a day care worker running an after school program and his boyfriend Lamar (a nurse and a prostitute) move in with a scrappy old widow Delores in her house. The first season focuses more on the adjustments these three people are doing to be with each other, while getting to individually know them better. Ian gets berated by angry mums from the daycare he works at; Lamar meets a client he escorts for but the hookup goes sideways; and Delores has a private lesson with her choir director that gets steamy. Then pillow talk between Ian and Lamar turns into an existential crisis and the three meet for dinner, where Delores gets stoned and lifts the mood. It's only in season 2 we are told that Delores' husband died and her son left house when he saw his mom with another man. Ian is still the lost young man, who refuses to grow up and is just happy with whatever little. Lamar, Ian's boyfriend, is actually bisexual and besides being a nurse, he also does sex work and one of his biggest client is this woman Linda. Because of Lamar's job, the couple keep having issues. In season 2 we see that Delores falls in a grocery store and slowly realizes the agin process is real and how long can she be alone. She truly believes that these two boys are her family but when her sister visits her, she makes Delores see the truth. There is an awkward meeting with Linda and her husband with Ian-Lamar which eventually turns into an awkward foursome proposition by the husband. Season 2 also focuses on continued individual growths of these folks, while Ian starting to wonder if Lamar really loves him or not.

The show is an offbeat comedy of sorts that neither feels boring but also doesn't make you laugh out loud. You just watch it with stoic expression hoping something big or major should happen, but it never does. Even in the last episode when Lamar needs to tell the truth to his father, even that episodes is missing the spark that you would expect. The way Lamar balances work and sex work could have led to many funny situations but it never does. It is still not clear what is Ian's deal and why is he estranged from his family. The background stories are missing here. The show just wants tis to focus on the interpersonal relationship of these three individuals. The actors do a good job with whatever material has been provided to them and the short episodes keeps the fun alive and never lets things get boring. Having said that, the proceedings also never go very exciting either and in the end the show ends up being just another show with a promising plot but not a fully developed screenplay. (5/10)
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