Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway

It’s the 1970s (or thereabouts) and diminutive agent DT Gagano and Palmer Eldritch guinea pigs in a virtual reality experiment. Charged with killing a computer virus called “Stalin”, Gagano is wounded by enemy agents and can no longer be brought back to life. With his plans to settle down with kickboxing wife Malin and open a pizza joint now in pieces, can Gagano ever find his way back to reality and more importantly will Malin be there for him?

… an unrepentantly daft way to spend 83 minutes.

Well, studying the beautifully rendered Blu-ray release that director Miguel Llanso‘s second feature has come in, I’d say there’s a fair chance. This is because Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway could never be described as a film that takes itself too seriously. Knowingly stealing the best bits of films like The Matrix and the James Coburn spy thriller In Like Flint, this movie feels like a student film mashed up with a very never-say-die attitude when it comes to its scripting. Changing scenes in a blink of an eye, each character’s regional accents slide sideways as they enter “The Psycho Book” (aka The Matrix). Chased by the “Stalin virus” (who has a very distinctive Ulster sounding lilt), it is Daniel Tadesse‘s Gagano who is tasked with keeping not only the drama but the plot afloat. Shuffling between fight scenes and only pausing for breath when Gerda-Annette Allikas as Malin impressively begs him to give up the super-spy life, Tadesse‘s acting chops are nonetheless impressive. 

However, the real appeal of Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway is in its throw-away characters. Whether it’s Solomon Tashe‘s BatFro or the permanently hysterical Carlo Pironti as Mr Sophistication and his ninja band of assassins (Spaghetti, Ravioli and Balthazar), the film’s most rewarding elements are always to be found on the edge of the main plot. 

More of a movie that you introduce to your friends just so can study their open mouths, Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway is an unrepentantly daft way to spend 83 minutes. Tonally similar to the similarly-plotted Terence Hill and Bud Spencer movies, director Miguel Llanso‘s second feature is best enjoyed with many beers, much pizza and even lower expectations. If you’re expecting anything approaching seriousness, then this is not your film. However, taken on its own merits, I would venture that this soft-hearted descent into parody with all the professionalism of a kid’s play, will live long in your memory as will its catchphrases.

Where some seek cult status, others have it thrust upon them. Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway has both.