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...
This one is a bit different from your typical time-travel show because the main guy actually dies and then wakes up in the past with a chance to fix everything that ruined his life. Since it’s a BL, you already know there’s going to be tons of romance and drama. The plot really moves at the beginning and the very end, but the middle is mostly just watching the two leads fall in love and dealing with some random problems to keep the show going. There are 10 episodes, and they’re pretty long—about an hour each—so it’s a bit of a time commitment.
The story starts with Armin, who’s this huge celebrity at the top of his game. But then his world falls apart: he finds out his partner is cheating, gets into a fight with a rival, and ends up dead. Turns out, someone actually poisoned him. Next thing he knows, he’s back in his early 20s as a struggling nobody. He’s wandering around confused and almost gets hit by a car, but this rich, handsome guy named Tada saves him. In his "first" life, Armin only knew Tada as a mysterious fan who went by "TD." Now, Armin is suspicious of everyone and tries to stay away from the people he thinks caused his death, but Tada keeps popping up to rescue him whenever things go wrong. Eventually, they fall for each other, and Tada uses all his millions to help Armin’s career. Armin eventually tells him the truth about coming from the future, and they have to deal with Tada’s evil stepbrother, who’s obsessed with ruining them. After one last murder attempt by the villain, they finally get their happy ending.
Tada is basically the ultimate "extra" boyfriend—he’s always doing these massive, grand gestures to win Armin over. Armin clearly loves it, and their chemistry is actually really good. It’s a mix of cheesy, sweet, and some pretty steamy moments. What I thought was cool was that the last episode shows things from Tada’s side. We find out that when Armin died in the first timeline, Tada was totally heartbroken, so when he got a second chance, he decided to stop being a secret fan and just go for it. On the flip side, the villain was so over-the-top that he was almost funny, especially in the big finale. The show is definitely predictable and felt like it had way too many characters running around at one point. Honestly, the middle felt a little slow and could’ve been cut down. It probably would’ve been way better as an 8-episode series instead of 10. Most of the "twists" aren't really surprises, but at least it’s a little more interesting than the usual fluff you see. It’s probably not a show you’ll remember for years, but if you can get past some of the slower parts, it’s a pretty decent watch for a weekend.
It's a sweet second-chance story that gets a bit bogged down in the middle, but the leads are cute enough to keep you watching. (6/10)
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