I caught Stop! That! Train! at the special premiere screening held and hosted by Luna Palace Cinemas in Leederville on Friday night—a Pride WA film fundraiser complete with drag performances from Connections Nightclub, RuPaul classics spinning, and those cheekily named “FLOSS! THAT! WET! PUSSY!” cocktails. The energy in the Art Deco venue was already electric before the lights went down: a packed house ready to lean into pure camp. That communal vibe made the movie land even harder. By the time the credits rolled (and the free entry to Connections kicked in), the whole place felt like it had just survived—and celebrated—a glamorous trainwreck together.
Directed by Adam Shankman and written by Christina Friel and Connor Wright, this 92-minute disaster-movie spoof follows best friends Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee), two laid-off Stank Rail stewardesses who scheme their way onto the ultra-luxe Glamazonian Express. When a catastrophic “stormaganza” turns the high-speed train into a runaway hurtling toward disaster, the pair must team up with the snobby first-class attendants (Brooke Lynn Hytes, Symone, and Marcia Marcia Marcia) and President Judy Gagwell (RuPaul, campaign slogan: “She fun!”) to save the day. Celebrity cameos fly by—Sarah Michelle Gellar, Charo, Joel McHale, Rachel Bloom, Matt Rogers, and more—while the jokes arrive faster than the bullet train itself.
The film wears its inspirations proudly on its sequined sleeve: Airplane!, The Naked Gun, a dash of Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, and the elaborate acting challenges of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Not every gag lands perfectly, but the hit rate is high enough that you’re laughing through most of the runtime. The script understands that stupid can be smart when it’s delivered with total commitment. Visual gags, rapid-fire innuendo, and pure silliness pile up so quickly that the occasional miss barely registers. Minj and Jujubee are the heart of it—their warm, chaotic best-friend chemistry keeps the whole thing grounded even as the plot gleefully derails. RuPaul, meanwhile, steals every scene she’s in, oscillating between presidential swagger, over-the-top melodrama, and that signature cackle with perfect timing.
What makes Stop! That! Train! more than just a string of sketches is its unapologetic celebration of drag culture and queer joy. It’s proudly, exuberantly gay without ever feeling exclusionary—anyone willing to meet it on its own ridiculous terms will have a blast. This is a movie that knows exactly what it is and never pretends otherwise. There’s something genuinely refreshing about a film that just wants to make you smile for 90 minutes.
Seeing it at Luna Leederville’s preview extravaganza amplified everything. The communal laughter, the pre- and post-screening drag energy, the sense that we were all in on the joke—it turned a fun movie into a proper event. If you can catch it with a lively crowd (or recreate that spirit at home), do it. Stop! That! Train! isn’t trying to reinvent cinema. It’s just here to serve looks, land jokes, and remind us that sometimes the best response to chaos is to throw on a wig, pour a strong drink, and ride the rails with style.
Screening at Luna Leederville from August 13.
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