Every now and then, it’s wonderful to just leap into a film that offers a momentary escape from reality. We can all do with the occasional dose of unhinged absurdity from time to time, which can be truly liberating when done right. There’s nothing quite like a wacky, off-the-wall comedy to recontextualise everything and give us the appropriate amount of enjoyment before we have to return to the real world, and we often have to cherish our time spent with these stories, since we’re at a point in the culture where truly original humour is being overtaken by more overwrought attempts at comedy, which tend to be too focused on the same conceptual dimensions, rather than just leaning into the fact that life is sometimes just ridiculous for the sake of it. For this reason, we can appreciate the bold swings that went into the creation of Stop! That! Train!, the first narrative feature film produced by World of Wonder, the production company best known for the creation of RuPaul’s Drag Race and its multitude of spin-offs, which have taken the world by storm and become a cultural phenomenon, the likes of which we very rarely get to see nowadays. Written by Christina Friel and Connor Wright, and directed by Adam Shankman (the latter a regular creative collaborator on the show), the film follows DeeDee and Tess, two down-on-their-luck cabin crew who work for a low-budget train line – until the company shuts down, forcing them to seek employment at Glamazonian Express, which promotes travelling in luxury. However, their first journey takes a turn for the worse when it turns out that the train is headed straight for inclement weather, in what is referred to as a potentially destructive “Stormaganza”, and it is up to our heroes – as well as President Judy Gagwell – to save the day, whatever the cost. Featuring an absolutely ludicrous premise that is only made more absurd by the delightfully deranged execution, Stop! That! Train! is quite an experience – and it is up to the individual viewer to decide whether it’s a resounding success, or an absolute misfire.

Traditionally, I’d use this part of the discussion to look at the themes that anchor a particular film, exploring where it extracts meaning and how it all fits into the broader conversation being incited by the film. The problem here is that Stop! That! Train! is one of the rare films that seems to entirely lack any genuine depth, and which exists purely as a means to entertain without even beginning to ponder deeper ideas, which is perhaps entirely understandable considering it was conceived to essentially be a feature-length version of the usual acting challenges on RuPaul’s Drag Race, which are not exactly the epitome of refined theatre, to put it lightly. Instead, the function of this film was to be a modern homage to the classic disaster films that used to be extremely popular decades ago, paying tribute to both the entirely serious works like The Towering Inferno or The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (especially since these are both films set on speeding trains), and the many parodies, such as Airplane!, the most obvious analogue for this film and arguably the entire reason it exists. We often find that audiences respond exceptionally well to stories set in the throes of peril, since we’re preconditioned to be enthralled by the idea of ordinary people having to escape dangerous situations. It can sometimes be quite daunting but always very entertaining, especially since we know that there will be a positive resolution by the end, where somehow the danger is either diverted or those involved escape in a nick of time. This is about as deep as Stop! That! Train! goes, with the entire film springing from this relatively one-dimensional premise, and primarily being a series of vignettes all set around the same disastrous event, oscillating between various characters as they react to the imminent danger and the efforts to save the day.

To say Stop! That! Train! employs a colourful cast of characters is certainly putting it lightly, because the entire purpose of this film – or at least the one that we find drives most of the story – was the opportunity to place as many people into this film as possible. The result is 90 minutes of brief performances from a cavalcade of familiar faces, most of whom agree to accept a day’s wage to appear on screen, delivering the most obvious performances that you would expect and allowing the film to play into the idea of it being a star-studded affair. Ultimately, this is a common approach for these kinds of films (especially parodies), since it’s an opportunity for a wide range of actors to show off their comedic skills without having to do all that much, while also being able to let loose and play roles that would otherwise not be afforded to them in any other context. It almost seems fruitless to name everyone, or even attempt to highlight certain standouts, since no one is giving particularly challenging or daring performances, but rather playing the same note, which is mercifully a mostly very funny one. We do find the best performances actually come from those who were more active participants in the television show, particularly the contestants themselves – Jujubee, Brook Lynn Hytes, Marcia Marcia Marcia (here credited under his real name, Marty Lauder), Symone, Latrice Royale and many others deliver very fun performances, understanding what was required of them, right down to the smallest detail. However, there is one genuinely fantastic performance in the film, which obviously comes from RuPaul himself. There is an alternative reality where he pursues acting over drag as his primary form of artistic expression, and we see a glimpse of that here. His work as President Judy Gagwell is a pitch-perfect comedic performance, RuPaul juggling physical comedy, witty wordplay and a bit of surrealism to create perhaps the only truly interesting character in the film, which is likely less a result of having the more interesting part, and more that he is just a naturally gifted entertainer, and he almost makes the entire film worth it solely on the strength of this hilarious performance.

Stop! That! Train! is a film that certainly knows its audience, and panders to them almost exclusively. To enjoy this film, or at least maximise the experience, it helps to be at least somewhat familiar with RuPaul’s Drag Race, since the film is filled to the brim with references that may not be entirely essential to the plot, but still play a major role in the overall narrative process. It’s difficult to speak on how this film plays to those viewers who may not have the in-depth knowledge required to understand most of the jokes (although it does make us wonder whether there is actually a particularly large portion of the audience that sought out this film without having seen the show, which I personally doubt is very likely), since so much of it revolves around pre-existing knowledge that it actually feels like it could potentially be quite alienating, or at the very least make those outside this circle feel left out of some of the more subversive moments. Nevertheless, this is only marginal, since it is possible to enjoy a great deal of the film solely based on how committed it is to this wacky premise – even at its most ridiculous, there is an unconventional charm that drives this film and makes it so much more entertaining than it had any right to be, at least towards the beginning when it is busy establishing what it intends to do. There does come a point where the novelty does wear off, and several of the recurring jokes go from hilarious to grating simply because they are repeated ad nauseam (if there is something that even the most fervent of devotees of the show will agree on, it is that RuPaul’s Drag Race tends to wear a joke thin over time), but it eventually does circle back to being very enjoyable once we abandon any preconceived expectations and just embrace the sheer absurdity of this film.

Ultimately, what you see is what you get with Stop! That! Train!, a film that offers 90 minutes of escapism and not a second more, which is entirely to be expected from something that was evidently conceived as more of a lengthy joke rather than a fully-formed film as a whole. However, this certainly doesn’t mean that it’s without merit, since this is a film designed to appeal to a very particular group (I highly doubt anyone who wasn’t already on board with RuPaul’s Drag Race or the franchise as a whole is going to be converted to it after this, although it would be absolutely delightful if that was the case), and we certainly do get what we were expecting, even if nothing here is all that surprising. The jokes are predictable, the acting is about as broad as it could be (and some of the performances do reveal that some people are not born for this profession), and the story is extremely predictable – but it all can be forgiven by the fact that Stop! That! Train! was made by a few dozen people, on both sides of the camera, who were intent on having a good time and producing a film that replicated that same feeling. It’s far from original, and it can often be a bit too on-the-nose with what it is trying to accomplish, but it delivers what we expected, and proves that sometimes it is perfectly appropriate to just abandon logic and embrace the absurd for an hour or two. There are certainly worse ways to spend our time than with this off-the-wall, deranged film that may never be particularly inventive, but makes up for it in sheer gumption, which is more than some of us may have expected based on a cursory glance.