RuPaul’s Drag Race alums bring their acting-challenge energy to the big screen in “Stop! That! Train!”, a fast-made, gag-heavy spoof that’s often shaky but repeatedly saved by its drag leads. The film arrives in theaters nationwide on June 12.
A high-speed rail. A glamorous first-class fantasy. And. right when the stakes start to feel like a real disaster. the jokes decide to either soar or stumble—sometimes in the same scene. That’s the ride “Stop!. That!. Train!” takes viewers on, as RuPaul’s Drag Race universe expands into theaters nationwide on June 12.
After 18 seasons and counting—along with All-Stars installments, international franchises, “Vs. the Worlds. ” and the “Global All-Stars” fever dream—“Drag Race” has trained fans to expect the Acting Maxi Challenge early in each season. Those sketches are often chaotic in the most pointed way: comedic. sometimes clever. but frequently underwritten and built around material that doesn’t exactly deliver. “Stop!. That!. Train!” aims for something different. borrowing the prop-heavy spoof movie energy of ’70s classics—more “The Naked Gun” than “Scary Movie”—while trying to translate the show’s drag celebration into a feature-length lark.
It’s a production created in-house by World of Wonder. and the creative credits are packed: it was developed by studio founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. with a script penned by Christina Friel and Connor Wright. who previously wrote the 2021 TV special “The Bitch Who Stole Christmas.” RuPaul herself plays the president. and director Adam Shankman—best known here for only getting a glancing chance to bring some of the verve he brought to his winning “Hairspray” adaptation—appears in the film’s measly two musical numbers.
Cameos extend the Drag Race brand feeling. with guest judges filling out an overstuffed roster ranging from funny to merely there. Sarah Michelle Geller appears as a version of herself desperately trying to get people to remember her. while Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays a mean gay who “hates pregnant women?”.
The result is a movie with sight gags. innuendos. and puns galore—plenty of the ingredients audiences will recognize from the franchise. But the humor lands unevenly. with great jokes wedged between hacky bits that drop like a botched lip sync death drop. Even with the spoof inspiration and a film-length runway for bigger set pieces. the writing sometimes feels like it’s sprinting toward the next gag instead of letting the best ones breathe.
For every misfire, though, the drag leads keep the engine running. “Stop!. That!. Train!” doesn’t just use drag as decoration; it leans on the principal cast of alums from “Drag Race. ” led by former winner Ginger Minj and fan favorite Jujubee. as the goofy heroes of the story. Their commitment turns middling jokes into something more watchable. and in moments the movie feels like it’s earnestly trying to live up to the comedy classics it’s clearly aping.
The story kicks off in a world where the most glamorous job in all of America is to be a hostess on a high-speed railway spanning the country. Best friends Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee) come from “Train Hostess Academy. ” but they’re slumming it working on the budget Stank Rail. When the poorly managed company closes, they sneak aboard the glamorous Glamazonian Express—the peak of luxury.
The train isn’t just fancy. It’s hierarchical. The hostess food chain is ruled by their school bully Amber. played by “Canada’s Drag Race” host Brooke Lynn Heights. and the duo quickly gets relegated to the commercial cabins. Then the Glamazonian Express ends up on course to hit a “Stormaganza” weather event. forcing them into the center of the crisis—“the only duo that can save the train — and. perhaps. the country?”.
What makes the movie work best is when it plays closest to the prop-heavy approach of “Airplane!”—and it does nail some early momentum. One bit has Dee Dee describing her love interest, jockish co-conductor Cal (Brian Jordan Alverez), as “voted the no. 1 conductor we want to see the dick of” from a magazine called “Conductors We Want to See the Dick Of. ” followed by a quick pan to a passenger browsing the oddly specific publication.
But when the film drifts toward the kind of boilerplate humor that often shows up in “Drag Race” sketches, it falters. Some gags rely on dated references—one depends on remembering Lea Michele’s image rehab issues from six years ago.
Even so, the cast dynamic is where the movie earns its keep. Jujubee—an endlessly beloved figure in Drag Race lore—underplays Dee Dee as a broad ditz and still keeps it charmingly sincere as a bubbly delight. Ginger Minj. as Tess. functions as the glue of the production. turning the storyline from silly into broadly coherent without sanding off the comedy.
Brooke Lynn Heights takes the withering queen bee role in a way that lands like she’s playing it effortlessly. Marcia Marcia Marcia and Symoné appear as amusingly bitchy lackies. Latrice Royale shows up as the sarcastic dispatcher Barbra and can “read a phone book and make it compelling.”
The film’s broader cast includes performers in non-drag roles who either get clearer character footing or feel less integrated. Rachel Bloom plays the control tower monitor trying to organize a response to the disaster. and she’s given the most defined “put-upon straight man” job. Chris Parnell plays Conductor Davenport—whose character name references one of the reality TV show’s most well-known drag families—and steals scenes before being disposed of for plot reasons.
Alvarez, though, is a problem both in believability and in the uncomfortable way he’s positioned. He’s never believable as a dull-witted straight bro. and the source material specifically points out that his presence comes “in addition to serving as an uncomfortable screen presence following several sexual harassment and assault allegations.” Matt Rogers also lands less warmly than the others. coming off more grating than lovable as the president’s right-hand gay.
That contrast matters because the scenes involving RuPaul’s President Judy Gagwell are where the film gets closest to something sharper. Gagwell is an ex-veteran of the “railway branch” of the U.S. armed forces, and her administration runs on pure vibes. Her campaign slogan is “She Fun,” and she spends afternoons joking to her staff about plans to bomb Russia. After years where she was more widely known as a TV personality than a performer in her own right, “Stop!. That!. Train!” treats RuPaul like she’s meant to anchor the comedy. and she does—bringing a gravitas that anchors some of the film’s funniest scenes with her signature cackle and rubbery facial comedy.
There’s also the sense of speed in the finish. Filmed in just 19 days, “Stop!. That!. Train!” shows its quick production schedule around the edges. The movie often feels like a series of first takes that could have used more polishing to hit harder. and Shankman only occasionally merges the spoof approach with quick. sharp filmmaking. Musical numbers—disco pastiches—are fun, but they feel constrained, especially by the film’s small, narrow sets.
The visual effects. meanwhile. are described as looking about as expensive as the green screens the show makes heavy use of. Even the lighting is called out as washed-out and sometimes ugly, likened to a particularly tragic “Drag Race” runway. In the weeks before release. the film faced several accusations of using generative AI in its special effects. which various members of the production have denied. Regardless of whether AI was used. the existence of suspicions is treated as part of what makes the visual side fall short.
For a movie that’s meant to be fluffy—something best enjoyed about three margaritas deep—it’s also too much discourse to keep up with. It isn’t as disposable as an average acting challenge sketch from the show. but it doesn’t seem built to be endlessly revisited either. The film lands as a platform for some great drag artists to get leading lady glory during Pride Month. and the piece frames that as worth celebrating—especially as the art form continues to face conservative attacks.
“Stop! That! Train!” earns a B- grade. Bleeker Street will release it in theaters nationwide on June 12.
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