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 story centers on Nawa, a handsome and charming mixologist at a popular bar on a small Thai island. He’s secretly a merman, a fact known only to the bar owner, Phana, and his close friend. Everything changes when a flirty stranger named Phu walks into the bar, sparking some serious sexual tension. It turns out Phu is actually the new co-owner of the place. We also meet Phai, another merman who is like a brother to Nawa but is actually deeply in love with him and super protective. Phai doesn't trust humans at all because they’ve hunted mermen for years out of greed. As Nawa and Phu start falling for each other and getting intimate, Phai gets incredibly jealous. While the bar owner and Phu both try to keep Nawa safe, there’s also a side story involving a new intern named Ping. He ends up in a romance with the owner, Phana, and he’s the only one who truly wants humans and mermen to just live together in peace.
Even though the plot sounds solid, the main characters are barely developed. The biggest letdown is Phai; he’s the merman leader and clearly head-over-heels for Nawa, but he can't seem to say it and just drops hints instead. The second he sees Nawa falling for Phu, he starts picking fights and acting out. It’s only near the end that a big secret comes out: it wasn't humans who killed Nawa’s parents years ago, but a mistake made by Phai’s own father. The romance between Nawa and Phu is just a pile of clichés. Nawa is easy on the eyes, but Phu has almost no likable qualities and doesn't seem to understand the word "no." Honestly, the intern, Ping, is the only character worth watching. He’s got a real backstory, integrity, and a sense of humanity that makes him feel vulnerable and interesting. The rest of the cast spends half the time flirting and the other half drinking at a resort that strangely never has any guests. The show is just too driven by tropes and side characters that feel like carbon copies of every other Thai BL. The characters are pretty dull and lifeless, and the love scenes feel way too rehearsed and polished rather than real. There’s almost no chemistry between the couples, and the sexual tension feels light as a feather—it’s just not believable. While the actual merman scenes were actually quite good, there were so few of them that they felt like an afterthought. It’s a shame because it started with so much potential, but it drowned in a bad script and flat characters.
It’s a unique fantasy idea that unfortunately gets lost in a sea of boring BL clichés and characters you just can't bring yourself to care about. (3.5/10)
Comments