RuPaul

Film Review: Stop! That! Train!; it’s camp, crude, sweet, knowingly ridiculous and occasionally so stupid that resistance becomes futile

There’s something almost rebellious about a comedy as proudly, aggressively stupid as Stop! That! Train! In an era where even the lightest studio entertainment can feel burdened by franchise mythology or the need to justify its own existence, Adam Shankman’s disaster-movie spoof has a refreshingly uncomplicated ambition: make people laugh. Preferably with a dirty joke,…

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Interview: Director Adam Shankman talks Stop! That! Train!, the art of “good old-fashioned stupid”, and his place in queer cinema

From The Wedding Planner and Bringing Down the House to the gloriously larger-than-life musicality of Hairspray, Adam Shankman has spent decades making studio comedies designed, above all else, to entertain. But for his latest film, Stop! That! Train!, the director traded the machinery of a major Hollywood production for a 19-day independent shoot, a train…

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Interview: Brooke Lynn Hytes on unleashing in Stop! That! Train!; “We all have a little villain inside of us.”

If there was ever a role designed to weaponise Brooke Lynn Hytes’ statuesque presence, impeccable posture and bone-dry delivery, it’s Amber, the gloriously condescending first-class attendant she plays in Stop! That! Train! Directed by Hairspray filmmaker Adam Shankman and produced by the team behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, the unabashedly camp disaster-movie spoof takes its cues…

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God Save the Queens; what it lacks in biting humour, it makes up for in beating heart: Tribeca Film Festival Review

The cultural phenomenon that is RuPaul’s Drag Race has made way for otherwise niche performers to breakthrough in a mainstream fashion.  Whilst it’s still more likely that queer audiences will recognise their presence in a stronger manner, it must be said that the program knows how to unearth the type of talent that deserves to…

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Interview: RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under winner Kita Mean on snatching the crown and learning about herself

You’re a winner, baby! The anticipated first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under has sashayed away but not before crowning its rightful winner – New Zealand drag queen, Kita Mean. Along with the crown, Kita Mean secured herself a one year’s supply of Revolutions Beauty Cosmetics and a cash prize of $30,000. Having victoriously…

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Film Review: Show Dogs (USA, 2018) is a big “bark-you” to the audience

“Live-action family movies are somewhat of an endangered species these days as most family entertainment is now animated.” That is a line that is spoken by the director of the film Show Dogs, Raja Gosnell, who has a long pedigree (pun intended) of films that involve canines, as well as family entertainment. Starting off with…

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