THOUGH IT OFTEN betrays a lack of sophistication in plotting and directing, this story of four American Mormon missionaries in Holland ultimately rises above its flaws, thanks in particular to moving performances by K.C. Clyde as a disillusioned proselytizer and Kyle Harrison as a convert.
Elder John Rogers (Clyde) is in a deep funk ever since he got word that his girlfriend back home married his best friend. Having lost his motivation, he's simply waiting for his two-year stint to end. His roommates have almost given up on him, hoping that newcomer Elder Hezekiah Calhoun (Kirby Heyborne) will reignite Rogers' zeal.
Heyborne's portrayal of the hickish Calhoun swings between hilarious and grating, and when his naïve drive sucks Rogers in, it's as unsurprising as when we learn that the proud Elder Emmit Johnson's stateside girlfriend has also dumped him. But all is redeemed when we witness the simultaneous conversion and rediscovery of faith between Rogers and Scott Christopher (Harrison).
Otherwise, The Best Two Years is an enjoyable enough romp, with plenty of lighthearted laughs and insights into the world of Mormon missionaries. Writer-director Scott S. Anderson makes excellent use of his locations, filling the screen with vast fields of Technicolor tulips time and again. And the tale ends on a gentle, surprisingly polished note; a lesson many big-time, secular moviemakers would do well to learn.