The best thing about The Best Two Years is that it pretty clearly shows that the two years of an LDS mission really aren’t the best two years of life. The Best Two Years provides a surprisingly accurate depiction of missionary life that thoroughly captures both the joys and struggles of the ups and downs of living as a full-time missionary in a foreign country.

The Best Two Years revolves around four American missionaries in Holland. Elder Johnson (David Nibley), who appears to be the district leader, is a generally good missionary who is obsesses over a girlfriend from home. His companion, Elder Van Pelt (Cameron Hopkin), has been out for six months and plays the role of the classically obnoxious companion. Another companionship is made up of Elder Rogers (K. C. Clyde), who is depressed and apathetic about work as a missionary and his brand new companion, Elder Calhoun (Kirby Heyborne), is a nerdy southerner who is hyper and idealistic about converting souls.

The larger part of the story comes as Elder Calhoon’s optimism affects Elder Roger’s attitude about being a missionary. Elder Rogers is lethargic about doing any work because he hasn’t baptized anyone during his entire mission and doesn’t think that anything he does in his last few months is going to change that. When, through Calhoun’s efforts, they finally come upon a prospect, Rogers does a 180 overnight and starts working hard. Elder Roger’s change of heart, though you can see it coming a mile down the road, happens too quickly. I would have liked to see him struggle some more and to see more of his progress as he changes.

But the story is honestly sweet. It avoids many chances to go heavy handed and manages to be affecting without getting schmaltzy. Even though The Best Two Years advertises itself as a comedy, it’s really more of a drama that includes humor. There aren’t as many laughs as in most films that call themselves a comedy, but the laughs we do get are sincere and well earned.

The technical side is fine, for the most part. There were a few scenes that seemed stylized or where they should’ve taken a few more takes to get it right, but it wasn’t too much of a problem. The camera work was competently done and we do get some really nice pictures of Holland. The music consisted of a very “Christian rock” type of sound that didn’t always work for me, but it was never annoying or distracting.

The Best Two Years is perhaps best at simply showing us what missionary life is like. We get all the trials and mistakes of trying to communicate in a language you don’t know as well as all of the other surprises that a fresh new missionary experiences when getting out into the field. The joy at getting mail, the drudgery of giving bad numbers to the leaders, the fact that the house is falling apart and no one really cares, the little rules that are secretly broken, the guys who want nothing but to impress the zone leaders, the gloom that comes from long periods of time without success as well as the euphoria that comes from finally getting a baptism are all aptly portrayed. The Best Two Years candidly shows us that though the mission may not be the very best two years of your life, they’re very likely the best two year for you.