Stop! That! Train! is a future cult classic with a star-studded cast—and an AI scandal.

The drag-queen led movie opens with best friends Dee Dee (Jujubee) and Tess (Ginger Minj), who have been laid off from their hostess jobs at Stank Rail and immediately find work at the upscale Glamazonian Express. From the get-go, the film’s humour is deeply over the top and hits you over the head in its unsubtlety. On the Glamazonian Express, they are relegated to serving the cramped economy carriages instead of luxe first class suites after meeting the other hostesses, the mean girls they knew at Train Hostess Academy.

As the train takes off, we learn from Donna (Rachel Bloom), a dowdy worker at Train HQ, that they are headed into a ‘Stormaganza’, and that there is no way to stop the train before it crashes into a nuclear site in Florida. Dee Dee and Tess are the ones who hear Donna’s alert, and it is their job to warn idiot conductors and keep passengers calm. The movie relies heavily on gay slang that wouldn’t be out of place on an episode of Drag Race, but paired with over-the-top performances and deeply unsubtle humour, turns the film into something so tastefully camp.

We are then introduced to President Judy Gagwell (Rupaul)—a fun-loving, pink-pantsuit-wearing leader who prides herself on her public perception and approval ratings, and comes with the tagline “she fun”. Upon learning about the situation (told to her both straight… and gay), she holds a press conference that is derailed by Gagwell’s flashbacks to her background in the United Train Force, a now obsolete branch of the US army. Gagwell is the pinnacle of this gay utopia, and perhaps a reflection of what the gays want out of their politicians (tax breaks and implementation of high speed rail services).

Back on the Glamazonian Express, Dee Dee is helping sexy train conductor Cal (Brian Jordan Alvarez) (voted ‘number one conductor we want to see the dick of’ in Conductors We Want to See the Dick of Magazine) keep the train on route, while Tess is becoming friends with the girls working first class. This causes a rift in their friendship, quickly repaired after a voodoo-style catfight. President Gagwell manages to board the train and lead it to safety, stopping it just before it runs into a make-a-wish child in a wheelchair.

While the marketing relies heavily on the casting of Rupaul as fun-loving Gagwell, it is not without good reason. Rupaul’s acting stood out among the sea of unmoving, heavily botoxed faces, and delivered lines with such conviction that you really believed the US army did utilise trains as weaponry. The random assortment of celebrity cameos are another strong point—in keeping with the gay utopia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lisa Rinna and Matt Rogers are among the gay-famous stars that pepper the cast list and stun in their two-second cameos.

However, this movie can’t be discussed without talking about its AI scandal. Months before the movie’s release, accusations about the use of generative AI in creating background shots began to circulate, which director Adam Shankman categorically denied on social media, before the VFX companies and Shankman admitted to its use in background shots. This initial denial felt in bad taste, and deserves a larger conversation about both the role of generative AI in the arts and the necessity of honesty and disclosure. As someone surrounded by the creative arts, the idea of using generative AI in your own art is baffling, and while it’s possible Shankman was initially unaware of the VFX companies’ use of this tech, it’s frustrating that a movie that platforms the physical artform of drag would want to engage with these companies (although one post on X slyly reminded the world that Rupaul is not the poster child for environmentalism).

Hypocritically, I still enjoyed this movie, and think that in an era where queer and trans rights are being stripped away, a fun drag-queen led movie occupying a position in mainstream pop culture is still something to celebrate. While the AI use and denial was an odd choice, Stop! That! Train! is a future cult classic, and a movie that I will keep recommending to all my friends.