Stop! That! Train! is the best kind of silly film

By Piotr Cieplak, Professor of Creative Practice and Visual Cultures (Media, Arts and Humanities), University of Sussex

Stop! That! Train! is a very silly film – in the best possible way. It’s a disaster-action movie parody in the vein of The Naked Gun (1988), Hot Shots! (1991) and Airplane! (1980). In fact, Stop! That! Train!’s relationship to the latter is a little bit like a drag queen lip synching to their favourite diva’s famous belter: there’s space for interpretation, but the lyrics and the voice are pretty much set in stone.

Consequently, quite a few gags, not to mention the main narrative thrust of the plucky underdogs saving the day, are virtually lifted (with updates and variations) from…

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