Phil Roberts 
STOP! THAT! TRAIN! is a hilarious roller coaster ride. It is literally Airplane…but gay! With eye-popping visuals, outrageous innuendo, gloriously daft antics, and larger-than-life performances, this runaway train is an absolute blast.
The spoof comedy is enjoying a resurgence in recent years. Following the release of The Naked Gun reboot, Paramount Pictures threw down the gauntlet, challenging other studios to bring the genre roaring back from the wilderness. Not every attempt has been a winner, of course. Paramount’s abysmal Scary Movie sequel failed to recapture the magic and thankfully flopped into the bargain bin. Now, Universal Pictures is stepping up to the plate with STOP! THAT! TRAIN!.
Directed by Adam Shankman, this gloriously daft comedy brings together an outrageous ensemble of drag performers, including Ginger Minj, Jujubee, and RuPaul Charles, for a campy spin on the disaster movie formula. With sequins, chaos, larger-than-life characters, and enough camp to fill a locomotive, the ingredients are certainly there for a riotous ride.
But can the world of drag deliver the goods when it’s thrown headfirst into the spoof disaster movie arena? Or is STOP! THAT! TRAIN! destined to derail before it reaches the station?
REVIEW
Fear not, dear readers, because STOP! THAT! TRAIN! is a hilarious roller coaster ride. It is literally Airplane…but gay! With eye-popping visuals, outrageous innuendo, gloriously daft antics, and larger-than-life performances, this runaway train is an absolute blast. Leading the charge are the phenomenal Ginger Minj and Jujubee, who bring enough charisma, comic timing, and sheer camp energy to power this runaway train. Their chemistry is electric, and watching them bounce off the rest of the eccentric ensemble is comedy gold.
Even Sarah Michelle Gellar gets in on the action, helping steer this gloriously chaotic train into the station with more pomp and fabulousness than a drag queen arriving in a brand-new pair of stilettos. The result is one of the best comedies of the year, and quite possibly one of the finest drag events of the decade!
IT’S AIRPLANE…BUT GAY!
When I say it’s Airplane! but gay, you probably know exactly what kind of glorious nonsense you’re signing up for. And, as a straight guy, I’ll admit I had absolutely no idea what to expect going in. A few of my gay friends offered some enthusiastic warnings beforehand, so buoyed by their enthusiasm, I decided to jump in two-footed. Thankfully, STOP! THAT! TRAIN! turned out to be an absolute breath of fresh air.
It’s outrageous, unapologetically camp, and clearly has zero interest in playing things safe. From the opening moments, the film grabs you by the collar and drags you down into a drag rabbit hole that you won’t want to come back from. Everything from the mannerisms to the clothing to the anecdotes is gloriously over-the-top, and it just works.
THE PLOT
For anyone keeping score, the plot is simple. A glam train called the Glamazonian Express, a lavish locomotive packed with some of the most glamorous people on the planet, is heading for disaster, and it’s up to a few divas, backed by the President of the United States, to save the day. The natural disaster set to derail the glam-train is a “Stormaganza,” a storm of epic proportions that threatens to derail the high-speed train and crash it into Celebration, Florida, at the end of the line.
Thankfully, after being axed from their jobs at Stank Rail, DeeDee and Tess, two glam stewardesses played by Jujubee and Ginger Minj, respectively, join the team aboard the Glamazonian Express, where only the best of the best are chosen. With the duo now stationed aboard, it’s up to them to get past some acceptance issues with their stuck-up superiors and save the day. Throw in a treasure trove of hilariously dumb men, a President suffering from PTSD, and some of the most outrageous gags since Airplane, and the film hits its stride with glee.
PERFORMANCES
I’ll admit, despite my passing familiarity with RuPaul’s Drag Race, I had never really explored RuPaul’s work beyond the show itself, so this was something of a baptism of fire. And what an introduction! Cast as the popular President of the United States, a character struggling with PTSD, RuPaul throws themselves into the madness with irresistible charisma.
Amid all the mayhem, outrageous gags, and wonderfully ridiculous situations, there’s a surprisingly sincere streak running through the performance. Beneath the camp and chaos, the character becomes an unexpected beacon of hope, and RuPaul balances it beautifully. It’s gloriously daft, of course, but there’s enough heart to give the performance something genuinely engaging to chew on.
Jujubee and Ginger Minj are equally brilliant. Carrying the film on their glamorous shoulders, the duo leads us into the chaos with seasoned brilliance, and we long for their return as soon as they’re off-screen. Latrice Royale is another absolute joy as Barbra. Throughout the film, she seemingly wears more hats than a drag queen has wigs, popping up in the most unexpected places and somehow making every appearance funnier than the last. Her comic timing is impeccable, and you never quite know where she’ll turn up next.
Then there’s Chris Parnell, who delivers a comedy masterclass as Conductor Davenport, the man tasked with keeping the Glamazonian Express on the tracks. Let’s just say that when Parnell gets behind the controls, things become wonderfully unhinged. His performance is packed with perfectly timed reactions, ridiculous situations, and side-splitting silliness that makes every journey into the locomotive’s cab an absolute delight.
MINOR NIGGLES
For all its glittering brilliance, STOP! THAT! TRAIN! isn’t completely flawless. Let’s face it, Airplane!, The Naked Gun, Top Secret! and Loaded Weapon 1 pretty much emptied the spoof-comedy toolbox decades ago. Those movies established the formula, perfected the art of the ridiculous, and left very little untouched. As a result, Shankman’s film occasionally feels like it’s riding the same rails, recycling familiar gags and leaning on the very same comedic tricks we’ve seen countless times before.
But here’s the thing: when you throw a trainload of drag performers, outrageous costumes, campy glamour, and larger-than-life personalities into the mix, even the familiar starts to feel wonderfully fresh. And that could ultimately be the film’s secret weapon. Younger audiences who haven’t grown up with the classic spoof movies may discover a whole new comedy playground here. At the same time, longtime fans can enjoy seeing the formula dressed up in an entirely different wardrobe. No matter which side of the fence you’re standing on, STOP! THAT! TRAIN! has enough hilarious antics, outrageous performances, and laugh-out-loud moments to leave audiences grinning from ear to ear. This train may be completely bonkers, but that’s precisely what makes the journey so much fun.
VERDICT
Overall, STOP! THAT! TRAIN! is a hilariously camp version of Airplane that throws caution to the wind and never looks back. With its lavish and outrageous antics, classic comedy throwbacks, glowing performances, and hilarious parody of modern trends, it’s a blast from start to finish. So, dust off your sequins, polish those stilettos, and climb aboard the Glamazonian Express with RuPaul, Jujubee, Ginger Minj, and the gang, because once this train leaves the station, there’s absolutely no stopping it—and trust me, you won’t want to get off!
Enjoy!
STOP! THAT! TRAIN! brings the mayhem to cinemas this Friday!
Meet Phil Roberts! He’s the dedicated owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. Phil is a budding novelist who turned his passion toward writing about the franchises he loves back in 2016. He’s a huge fan of all things Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Phil is a BFI-accredited journalist and a distinguished member of the Film Critics Association UK.
If he’s not catching a movie at the cinema, you can bet he’s streaming something just as awesome!
