Critic Reviews

With the same kind of sweetness and heightened stylization that he brought to “Hairspray,” the director Adam Shankman balances jokes for an in-crowd with the pleasures of spoofs like “Airplane!” and “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” plus the appeal of seeing Joel McHale in a harness (one of the better star cameos, which also include Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charo).

The heart of this action-comedy that’s really a high-concept girlfriend movie is Ginger Minj and Jujubee, their characterizations in perfect sync, their rapport endearing and their triumph-of-the-underdog arc something worth rooting for.

Ladykins, Stop! That! Train! is a winner. Perhaps that’s unsurprising seeing as many recent Drag Race challenges have felt like mini movie sets themselves, with elaborate scripts and costumes. And while recent gay movies like Pillion and Blue Film have focused on uncomfortable home truths about queer life, Stop! That! Train! offers refreshingly rosy escapism. See it with as rowdy – and gay – an audience as possible.

Stop! That! Train! handles the dumbest things with just the right amount of seriousness, and it’s more than self-aware of its own silliness.

Whatever the secret ingredient is, the result is a movie that is non-stop hilarious and unapologetically goofy. It may not be deep, it may not be compelling, but it is silly enough to be great.

More than their civilian counterparts, viewers familiar with “Drag Race,” its superstars and its lore will likely get much out of watching the cast trade on or tweak the personae for which they’re known on stage. But notwithstanding its queer-friendly lexicon (much of which has infiltrated social media anyway), Shankman’s film is an easily accessible, unexpectedly ingratiating experience.

Filled with sight gags, innuendos, and puns galore, Stop! That! Train! has a shaky hit or miss ratio in its humor, with great jokes wedged between hacky bits that land like a botched lip sync death drop. And it’s unmistakably a fan only affair.

This raucous runaway choo-choo comedy starring RuPaul as the POTUS we need right now is perfect fun for Pride month. Even when the jokes miss more than land, this fan valentine never laughs at the drag queens, always with them. And that counts.

The gags never stop. Not every one of them soars, but enough do that you’ll likely just be giggling for 90 minutes.

Ultimately, the success of Stop! That! Train! comes down to one simple question: Is it funny? And the answer is, mostly, yes. With the high ratio of jokes per minute, not all of them are destined to land, and some gags linger too long, slowing down what should be a breakneck pace. But the bits that do work are genuinely hilarious.