Come on baby. See the Locomotion picture.
“Stop! That! Train!” plays almost like a drag queen locomotive version of “Airplane,” and I think it may have been the comedy people were hoping for when they went to see “Scary Movie” (2026) and streamed “Office Romance” last week. It’s R-rated and chooses to be as offensive and stupid funny as it pleases, and yet, it has a certain kind of energy and style that delivers.
We meet two train stewardess DeeDee (Jujubee) and Tess (Ginger Minj), who are preparing for their last ride on the low rent Stank Rail, but they’re given another chance to work on the popular Glamazonian Express. Unlike the NJ Transit, it looks like a 5-star hotel crossed with a luxurious airplane with hot tubs, indoor trees, each cabin in a different color, the quiet car has the guests meditating, shirtless men washing the train like they’re in a Chippendales show, and other guests who waste champagne and cigars because they’re rich. Even the stewardess Amber (Brock Hayhoe), Ayshleiygh (Symone), and Alli (Marty Lauter) are snooty to the newbies.
And since the train acts like an airplane, the train department’s nerdy tech girl (Rachel Bloom) is worried about a major storm coming. “Stormagonza” sounds like a stupid name to her superiors, but the newbies and even the President (RuPaul) have to get involved to save the passengers and staff. Now, I’m pretty sure this may also be the better version of “Ladies First,” which had a fantasy world where the women were dominant and the men were subservient, and overall played like a minstrel show for both genders. RuPaul knows how to play the transgender president with attitude here, and he’s a producer here. And I like how the Oval Office has some more colors in this movie world.
The movie has a long list of cameos from Jerry O’Connell, Nicole Sullivan, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Joel McHale, Paul Scheer, Charo, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Missi Pyle, Nicole Richie, Chris Parnell, Raven Symone, Natasha Leggero, and June Diane Raphael. And how Gellar is greeted by fans is sharper than the Ed Sheeran cameo in “Bridget Jones’ Baby,” and that was a decade ago, so it feels like it was just yesterday since I’ve seen it.
Given the film’s over-the-top humor, SNL tone, and lampooning, I’m surprised Will Ferrell wasn’t a producer of “Stop! That! Train!” Instead, the director is Adam Shankman in his first entry since “Disenchanted.” Sometimes, it can be a little crass, corny and predictable, and the outside of the train unfortunately looks like it was done by A.I. when it’s moving, but the movie still knows how to be flamboyant, silly, and colorful as much as it can be. And I like how Jujubee and Minj play like a real life cartoon characters with a lot of personalities and timing.
Like last week’s “Office Romance,” I didn’t watch a trailer for “Stop! That! Train!,” but I had better judgement because the poster looked like a drag queen train movie. But unlike that film, this one honors the poster by being another live-action cartoon. This is a spoof that knows the targets, refuses to condescend anyone, and chugga chugga choo choos its way to laughs.