“Stop! That! Train!” follows a duo of stewardesses who must join forces with the president to save the day as a catastrophic “Stormaganza” threatens to derail a runaway high-speed Glamazonian Express train.
Anyone viewing “Stop! That! Train!” with no prior context will likely be shocked… at just how unserious it is. The title alone gives some of its inherent silliness away, with exclamation points serving a very real purpose — emphasizing the exaggerated nature of the movie as a whole. Because that’s what it is, a spoof comedy akin to the likes of “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun.”
Everything is a joke here. It particularly focuses on the LGBTQIA+ community, with the majority of the cast consisting of drag artists. This includes Jujubee (DeeDee), Ginger Minj (Tess), RuPaul (President Gagwell), Latrice Royale (Barbra) and more. The humor within “Stop! That! Train!” is versatile, containing a mixture of running jokes, quick-witted quips and visual gags. Much like similar genre entries, this sometimes becomes overwhelming. There are instances where a remark isn’t even finished, but the movie is already on to the next. This leaves little room to breathe, growing especially taxing in moments where a string of jokes falls flat. Still, everyone is playing caricatures here, and it’s hard not to chuckle at each cliché the film executes.
With RuPaul involved, much of the humor also revolves around inside jokes about “Drag Race.” If you’re unfamiliar, the comedy may have an even lower success rate.
Outside of the constant barrage of satire, “Stop! That! Train!” focuses on character — specifically the stewardess duo of DeeDee and Tess — over the first third of its runtime. Jujubee and Minj’s characters are the heart and soul of the film, centering a classic underdog story. While the individuals themselves are stereotypical, their performances help make the protagonists likable. As individuals, these leads don’t have tremendous growth, but it’s their effortless chemistry and charisma together that generate smiles and laughs.
At a certain point, viewers may find themselves yelling “Stop!” This is because the script itself is nonsensical. When “Stop! That! Train!” attempts to actually tell a story, it falls completely flat. As a disaster comedy, the central premise is simple: stop a train before it crashes. Christina Friel and Connor Wright’s script is largely unfocused on this throughout the majority of the 92-minute runtime, however. When the final act tries to give actual answers, it ends up feeling jarring rather than satisfying. It’s challenging to actually care about the outcome when the movie itself doesn’t seem to either.
Director Adam Shankman is clearly more focused on jokes than story. While this can come across as formulaic in other films (think “Scary Movie 6”), it doesn’t here. This is because “Stop! That! Train!” goes against the grain. Rather than attacking marginalized groups, it makes them the stars of the show. In doing so, it embraces an entire community while encouraging others to do the same.
What will likely be the biggest point of debate with “Stop! That! Train!” is its visuals. There are a plethora of issues, the two biggest being poorly integrated green screens and generative AI usage. On one hand, the film falls in line with other spoofs — purposefully unrealistic imagery that adds to the goofiness. On the other hand, they’re sometimes so bad that they become distracting. Director of photography Luka Bazeli does what he can with the compact sets, but there’s little creativity within them. Another similarly silly 2026 release, “I Love Boosters,” features equally “cheesy” effects. There, they serve a purpose. Here, it more so seems like the filmmakers settled for something subpar.
“Stop! That! Train!” has enough jokes to keep the engine running, but the story itself veers off the tracks. Still, it’s a welcoming entry into a spoof genre that desperately needs diversity.
Rating: 3 out of 5
