Stop! That! Train! Review

Introduction

There are some films that take themselves incredibly seriously.

Then there is Stop! That! Train!.

This disaster movie released in 2026 by Adam Shankman is anything but serious and mixes drag performers, a luxury train, a massive storm, a presidential plotline and many outrageous things in one place.

It is meant to be this way.

The story revolves around two best friends named Tess and DeeDee. They are played by Ginger Minj and Jujubee respectively and work as coach train stewardesses at the budget company Stank Rail.

Their lives change when they get the opportunity to work aboard the much more glamorous Glamazonian Express.

Naturally, the luxury does not last.

There is a disaster storm called “Stormaganza,” which looms over the train. All of a sudden, the duo finds itself entangled in a situation way above their league.

They have to cooperate with the first class staffs and the fabulous US President Judy Gagwell. RuPaul plays Judy, introducing yet another big character into an already star-studded cast.

The film also features Brooke Lynn Hytes, Symone and Marcia Marcia Marcia. There are numerous celebrity appearances too, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Visage, Rachel Bloom, Monét X Change, Latrice Royale and Joel McHale.

It is a lot.

Sometimes, perhaps, too much.

But that is also where much of the film’s charm comes from.

A Premise That Embraces the Absurd

The premise immediately tells you what kind of movie this is. There is no way you can go into Stop! That! Train! and expect anything realistic.

The train is basically one big playground for all of the characters. Any difficulty turns into a crazy scenario.

This movie takes a classic disaster movie format and gives it a unique twist.

Instead of the passengers frantically trying to survive, we have drag queens struggling with the situation.

This shift in perspective defines the film’s uniqueness. The concept behind this story is very straightforward.

A train is in big trouble. Someone should halt the train.

The difficult part about the film is all the things that happen in between.

The script is constantly bringing up new people and events. Some of them work, while some don’t.

But what is certain is that the filmmakers definitely want to make their viewers enjoy the movie.

This is significant. It would be impossible for such a film to succeed if the actors were ashamed of their roles.

Fortunately, that is not the case.

Adam Shankman Goes All In

Adam Shankman obviously enjoys high comedy. The directing has a certain theatrical quality that is well suited for the genre.

Everything is larger than life. The performances are overdone. The situations are overblown.

The characters are very close to being cartoon and comedy characters. This is possible because the movie sets its own rules right at the beginning.

Once you accept its universe, everything is fine.

The movie also recognizes the visual potential of a luxury train.

Glamazonian Express offers a colorful backdrop where the characters can move about. This makes the movie have room for lavish costumes and increasingly ridiculous encounters.

The catastrophe itself is treated with the same level of heightened awareness. There is not much effort made to present Stormaganza as a typical natural disaster.

It turns out to be just another element of the movie’s comedic machine. That decision keeps the movie consistent.

Ginger Minj and Jujubee Make a Great Pair

One of the most significant relationships in the film is between Tess and DeeDee. The actors play their roles with distinct characteristics.

It allows the relationship to be amusing. Both actresses have an easygoing relationship.

The friendship adds something stable to the storyline while all the elements around them become more and more chaotic.

If there was no friendship, the film would be just a set of separate funny scenes. There is a duo of main characters in the film.

Tess is a character who is given plenty of personality by Ginger Minj. Confidence and attitude are evident in the performance.

Jujubee adds her own style of comedy to DeeDee. Both the performers know that their interaction helps make the comedy work better.

This chemistry is thus more important than the individual performances. This movie requires you to empathize with both these characters.

Luckily for you, both of them are very easy to hang around with. That makes the increasingly ridiculous plot easier to follow.

RuPaul’s President Judy Gagwell

Then there is RuPaul.

President Judy Gagwell is a character one could only see in such a movie. She does not appear as a regular politician.

Absolutely everything about her is a caricature. Obviously, RuPaul has understood the mood of the film.

The character allows the movie to deviate from the train when necessary. Thus, the movie gains another source of comedy.

Inherently, there is something amusing about seeing RuPaul put right in the middle of a national crisis.

The movie takes full advantage of this dichotomy. While Judy finds herself amidst the gravity of the presidency, she is still in an environment that is utterly absurd.

What adds to the charm of RuPaul’s performance is that she is not expected to be reserved. Instead, she participates in the madness.

This is what makes her performances unforgettable.

The Supporting Cast Adds Even More Personality

The film has a huge ensemble.

Brooke Lynn Hytes, Symone and Marcia Marcia Marcia all contribute to the Glamazonian Express.

Their characters add another layer to the class divide between the cheaper Stank Rail and the glamorous luxury service.

That contrast is useful because it gives the movie another source of comedy. The first-class world is deliberately exaggerated.

The characters are not simply better dressed. They act as if they were from a completely different universe altogether.

This makes it possible for the movie to toy around with vanity.

There are also the celebrity cameo appearances.

These include Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Visage, Rachel Bloom, Monét X Change, Latrice Royale, and Joel McHale.

Given such a vast cast, some actors tend to make more of an impression compared to others.

It cannot be avoided.

Nonetheless, the celebrity appearances serve to lend an element of ceremony to the film. There is always the prospect of someone else appearing out of nowhere.

The Comedy Is Very Hit and Miss

This was the place where I found the most difficulty with the movie. There were a few truly funny parts.

There were also many jokes that did not make sense to me at all. The movie bombards you with jokes.

Puns, visual gags, sexual innuendos, physical comedy, and humor about drag are part of the routine.

This results in a very quick pace. Sometimes this pace works. The joke hits its mark and the movie continues on and another joke comes along.

Sometimes, the movie just doesn’t allow the joke the breathing space it needs. It happens because the movie moves so fast that some jokes seem expendable.

This problem can be observed especially well in cases where several jokes are delivered in one scene.

The first joke may be brilliant. The second one won’t elicit any laugh. The third one comes right after that.

And this inconsistency gets tiring. I would have preferred the filmmakers to be more selective.

The movie has enough good material without needing to turn every second into another punchline.

The Visual Style Fits the Madness

In terms of visual appearance, the film is just as extravagant as its characters.

The film has a bright and somewhat artificial look. This complements the world the filmmakers created.

The Glamazonian Express seems made to be seen. The costumes are exaggerated too. Nobody appears in the film by mistake.

Everybody seems like an integral part of an artificial world. This works especially well with the drag artists in the film.

It is not even trying to mask the theater world. On the contrary, it revels in it. Sometimes the effects are not very convincing.

But I did not consider it a disaster. A film like this one does not have to be realistic.

In fact, too good effects would spoil the film. What matters is whether the visuals match the comedy.

And most of the time they do.

Where the Film Loses Its Way

The biggest problem is the screenplay. There are plenty of ideas here. Perhaps too many.

The movie wants to be a disaster comedy. It also wants to be a drag comedy. It wants to parody luxury travel. It wants to include celebrity cameos.

It wants to reference Drag Race culture. It wants to tell a story about friendship. Sometimes these elements work together.

Sometimes they feel like completely separate movies fighting for attention.

The middle section is particularly prone to this.

The plot can easily be seen as progressing from joke to joke.

This makes the seriousness that is being portrayed seem unimportant.

I also believe that this movie needs to be a bit tamer. Comedy loses its effect when every part is heightened.

A more tame scene can make jokes a lot funnier. Absurdity becomes funnier through a serious reaction.

Final Verdict

Stop! That! Train! is a highly specialized type of comedy. This movie is highly energetic, colorful, and silly.

If you like drag comedy, absurd characters and situations, this movie offers lots of entertainment.

Ginger Minj and Jujubee are the most valuable assets of the movie. Their friendship injects warmth into all this madness.

President Judy Gagwell is treated in a good spirit by RuPaul. The rest of the cast helps create energy, and the luxury train helps create a funny setting.

The biggest problem that I have is inconsistency in the humor.

While some of the jokes are excellent,

others appear to be rather forced.

Another problem with the movie is its constant attempt to bombard the viewer with jokes one after another.

This approach can turn comedy into an exhausting experience rather than a constantly amusing one. Furthermore, the plot could have been more interesting.

There is a nice friendship subplot at its core, but there is little else going on. However, I cannot say that there is no personality in Stop! That! Train!

It is not trying to be anything other than what it is: an unpretentious movie with plenty of color and charisma.