As a kid when old style disaster epics like “Airport ’75,” and “The Towering Inferno” would make their way to late night TV, I was always glued to the small screen. In my young adult years I crossed paths with drag performer RuPaul in Atlanta and NYC, usually through mutual friends at various clubs and parties.
I never expected years later I’d find the opportunity to experience a love of vintage disaster flicks updated and infused with a huge cast of drag queens and a friendly acquaintance I had chatted with over drinks and interviewed for various publications on more than a few occasions.
“Stop! That! Train!” is a comedic spoof starring RuPaul as American President Judy Gagwell and a host of actors, personalities and performers that include a bevy of “Rupaul’s Drag Race” winners (among them Ginger Ming, JuJu Bee and Marcia Marcia Marcia) as well as some veteran mainstream Hollywood names like Charo, Jerry O’Connell, Nicole Richie, Sarah Michelle Geller and Raven Symone.
Directed by Adam Shankman (“Hairspray: The Musical”), the comic storyline focuses on a collection of lovable crazies stuck on a runaway mega train headed for an out of control “stormaganza” in Los Angeles.
The hook? President Gagwell and the cast of drag queen train stewardesses have to fight for their own lives and the passengers against all odds.
There’s an old saying that some of the most comedic and creative forms of art and expression are born during times of cultural and political stress and oppression. This movie might just be a good answer to all of the bad stuff that’s ailing us! In Charlotte, it opens at Northlake Cinemas, AMC Carolina Pavillion and Regal Stonecrest, among others, on June 12.
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx2YuoAnwlQ
