In a bizarre but undeniably delightful twist, the gloriously awful acting challenges from RuPaul’s Drag Race have inspired a feature film with the wonderfully dramatic title Stop! That! Train!. And if the newly released trailer is anything to go by, the Adam Shankman-directed comedy looks set to be just as chaotic and gloriously unhinged as the challenges that inspired it — which, frankly, is exactly the point.
Drawing on the spirit of classic Drag Race skits such as “Good God Girl, Get Out”, “Gay’s Anatomy”, and “Drag Queens in Outer Space”, the runaway-train comedy stars fan favourites Ginger Minj and Jujubee as best friends and fellow employees on the Stank Rail. Playing coach stewardesses longing for a more glamorous life aboard the high-end Glamazonian Express, the pair are thrown into action when a disastrous storm — naturally called “Stormganza” — threatens to send their train careering into Los Angeles. Setting aside their egos, at least to an extent, they join forces with a group of first-class attendants played by Symone, Brooke Lynn Hytes and Marcia Marcia Marcia, along with RuPaul’s President Gagwell, in a bid to stop the crisis spiralling out of control.
The film’s extended trailer for the 92-minute comedy reveals a packed cast that reaches well beyond the Drag Race universe, bringing together comedians, actors, stage performers and podcast personalities. Las Culturistas co-host Matt Rogers appears as the president’s trusted aide, while Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom leads mission control with Guy Branum and Charo by her side. Meanwhile, aboard the increasingly chaotic train, familiar faces, including Sarah Michelle Gellar and Lisa Rinna, also make appearances. Even in the roughly two-minute preview, the sheer number of celebrity cameos becomes part of the joke, with the trailer itself poking fun at the overload in its closing moments.
That sense of gleeful excess is matched by a stream of pop culture nods, with references ranging from spoof classics of the 1980s and 1990s such as Airplane! and Mars Attacks! to high-speed thrillers like Speed. All of it is filtered through the knowingly camp, anything-goes sensibility that Drag Race fans will instantly recognise.
Shankman, whose directing credits also include 2000s films such as A Walk to Remember and The Wedding Planner, feels like a fitting choice to steer such an over-the-top project. He has long shown a knack for blending flamboyant visuals with sharp humour, something that likely helped earn the trust of cult filmmaker John Waters when Shankman took on the 2007 remake of Hairspray. While that film was not exactly embraced as a critical triumph, Shankman has since worked with RuPaul on the Netflix series AJ and the Queen, making him a familiar figure within the wider Drag Race orbit.
At this point, whether Stop! That! Train! ends up staying on track or veering spectacularly off the rails almost feels beside the point. The real appeal may lie in its potential to become a full-blown cinema event when it arrives in June. It is hard to think of another recent release better suited to themed screenings packed with fans in full ensemble. All that seems to be missing is a branded popcorn bucket.
See the Stop! That! Train! trailer below!
