Mangus Spedgewick [Ryan Boggus] is a typical high schooler living with his war veteran father and his neglectful stepmother Raquel [Deborah Theaker] in River City, Texas. In their small town, it’s a long-running family tradition for the male Spedgewicks to portray Jesus in the yearly Jesus Christ Spectacular, and Mangus is buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming auditions.
During the auditions, he competes with a talented and flamboyant classmate named Farrell Williamson, who is the mayor’s son. Mangus lands the coveted role, but that night, when he rides in a limo with his friends Timmy and Kimmy, tragedy strikes: a severe car accident leaves Timmy and Kimmy cut in half and Mangus with a devastating loss of leg mobility.
Farrell’s mother starts a campaign to remove Mangus from the performance so Farrell can take the part. The School District ultimately rules that Mangus cannot play Jesus. Play director Bruce [Leslie Jordan] is deeply distressed by the decision but must deliver the disappointing news to Mangus.
Meanwhile, Mangus’s father is injured in the war and returns home in a wheelchair, and he decides to remarry Cookie Richardson [Jennifer Coolidge], who lives with Mangus and his half-sister Jessica Simpson [Heather Matarazzo] in a trailer with Cookie’s boyfriend, Buddy. Mangus spends time with his half-sister Jessica and with Buddy, who is nearly as young as Mangus himself. Jessica reveals she is a lesbian and introduces him to Bobbie, a Black woman who sells ice cream from a truck; the two share a moment in the truck as children wait to buy a treat.
Buddy takes Mangus to a strip club, where Mangus experiences a hallucinatory moment in which he meets Jesus Christ [John Waters], who encourages him to fight for the role. Reinvigorated, Mangus vows to reclaim the part, even if it means confronting Farrell, who demonstrates his routine but then suffers a traumatic accident—he falls through a coffee table, and his fate isn’t revealed until later.
As the story unfolds, Mangus’s father is injured and returns home in a wheelchair, deciding to remarry Cookie. Believing Farrell is dead, Mangus plans to leave town for Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming a singer and a disabled dancer. He ends up in Hollywood, Florida by mistake with Jessica, but a telegram soon offers him the role again despite his disability. With little money, the two siblings are helped by a compassionate Greyhound employee and eventually make their way back home.
Back at school, Bruce explains that because Mangus didn’t return until now, the part had been offered to Harry. When Mangus asks for the role, Harry steps aside, and Mangus is reinstated. During the performance, Raquel and Buddy sneak a hookup, only to stumble onto the stage with Buddy’s pants down, adding chaos to the show.
In keeping with the quirky mood of the production, the opening number is performed by Santa, while the rest of the cast dresses in hippie-inspired outfits reminiscent of Jesus Christ Superstar. Near the end, Mangus endures the cross in his wheelchair as part of the finale, a stark image that ties together his perseverance and the town’s unusual tradition.
After the curtain falls, Mangus’s parents reconcile, and the whole family heads out for ice cream, ending the story with a quiet, hopeful note about chosen family, resilience, and the enduring pull of tradition.
