The Best Two Years

The real difference in LDS Films seems to be two things:

1. Acting. Many LDS films have had poor acting. This film had superb acting. My wife and I were shocked at how good the acting was. We kept waiting for sophomoric acting, and only saw minor glimpses of it a couple times. What a treat!

2. Budget for marketing. It seems at least 1/3 to 1/2 the money raised for these low-cost films has to go towards marketing. Not sure this one did that, but hopefully word-of-mouth will spread and build up a decent return for the investors/makers.

I think this film surpasses God's Army because the acting was much more consistent. Many will not agree with me. I still place "Charly" as the #1 LDS film because it had romance (a theme all of these need more of; and not the cynicsim the often have) and a knock-out performance by the title lead, Beery (is that her name?). The actor playing Sam was not as strong, but he held his own most of the time.

Kudos to an unexpectedly good film with "The Two Best Year" just when many people were about to give up on LDS film after the abysmal BoM movie and Pride & Prejudice, which has simply horrible acting.

I didn't expect much from this movie when I first bought this movie. I had seen "The Home Teachers" and although it was funny (for a Mormon like me), it was totally corny and stupid. But when I watch "The Best Two Years", "The Home Teachers" was erased from my memory. I enjoyed the movie that much.

It was way better than any other Mormon movie I had seen before. The spirit was still strong in it, the characters were interesting, and overall, it was hilarious. I especially enjoyed Elder Calhoun and his nerdy antics. And even better was Elder Rodgers sarcastic remarks and dry, yet witty humor. I don't think any other Mormon movie comes close to this film.

I saw this last night with my wife while we were down visiting her family in Cedar City and I was moved by the acting and by the touching messages. It was more of a serious, realistic storyline with still a lot of great humor. Unlike Singles Ward and RM (where if you aren't LDS, you might not get the one liners and jokes) this is something for a non-LDS audience to enjoy and be touched deep inside as well. I think that BEST TWO YEARS rivals GOD'S ARMY as far as warm human emotions. All four Elders were great as well as the "convert" I think that the producers have shown in this film, while they're still getting off of the ground, and maybe a bit rough around the edges, that they are trying to have versatility, versatility that they need to continue to succeed. The Comedies (HM Teachers, RM, and SIngles Ward) and the more serious and touching (Best Two Years and God's Army). I hope that they continue to make more LDS films-practice makes perfect.

I've read the other reviews and I agree that when viewing this movie from the perspective of being native to the Netherlands it appears cliché. Don't feel bad though because the four Missionaries were composites of many Mormon clichés and stereotypes.

But this movie isn't about a country or region. It could have been in any number of the many countries Mormon Missionaries serve.

This movie is about personal growth and the experience that 60,000+ current missionaries and the hundreds of thousands who have came before.

I saw this movie the day it opened in St. George, Utah 9:35pm on a Friday night and it was almost sold out.

I thought the movie was hilarious and the room was full of laughter almost the whole way through.

In addition to teaching the Gospel, missions serve as a time of personal growth. You can see this clearly in three of the Missionaries. Growing in spirituality and maturity is often a bumpy ride, but there's a lot of fun along the way too.

I think that's the point of the movie. Christianity should bring people joy and happiness.

Now here's a "SPECIAL EDITION" DVD that really is "SPECIAL"! Not only is "THE BEST TWO YEARS" one of the finest movies made by LDS filmmakers to date, but the DVD has some nice "Extras" that make it a true "Special Edition".

The film is based on director Scott S. Anderson's personal experiences as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while serving in Holland. Some years after his mission he wrote it into play form. A version of that play (as performed at the Promised Valley Playhouse in downtown Salt Lake City) is included as part of this DVD. You can watch it all my itself or in conjunction with the movie itself.

The DVD also includes a Filmmakers Commentary and an Actors Commentary track as well as a Making of Documentary, Outtakes & Deleted Scenes, Production Gallery and Trailers. Now that's quite a package.

The film itself is very well done, with nice location photography shot in Holland. The performances are first-rate and the directing and script sharp. Watching the film and then seeing the play version makes for an insightful look at how something personal makes it to film.

Note: If you have trouble locating a seller of this DVD, then you might want to try Deseret Book Company or Seagull Book & Tape. This one is worth tracking down. A special "Thank You" to HaleStorm Distribution for doing such a nice job on this DVD release.