The Best Two Years
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Plot Summary:
Story of four LDS missionaries serving in the Netherlands and their personal struggles while they share the gospel with others. Much tracting ensues...Opinion:
"B2Y" shares the same subject matter (and grade) with "God's Army", yet the two movies couldn't be more different--which goes to show just how wide ranging a subject missionary work can be. "B2Y" isn't as ambitious or challenging as "God's Army", but aims to be simple and endearing--with a few laughs along the way. From the fact that the majority of the dialogue is between four main characters taking place within a single apartment you might guess (correctly) that "B2Y" was originally a play. As with most plays, the focus is on character and dialogue, not dramatic action. The four missionaries are all compelling characters and the banter between them is subtle and humorous. Elders Calhoun and Van Pelt are written with pretty broad characterizations--as is common with play characters--but the actors portray them well and they avoid being oversimplistic.
"B2Y" does a couple of things specifically well which deserve mention. It doesn't fall into the trap of making the entire movie only about the companionship of Elder Rogers and Calhoun with the other companionship there just as supporting characters. Elder Johnson in particular has a direct--and personal--involvement in key events near the end of the movie which properly treats him as a main character--in fact, turning around some of the plot items in the earlier parts of the movie.Also, the film doesn't neuter the doctrinal and spiritual aspect of missionary work (like "The Other Side of Heaven"), but doesn't overwhelm the viewer with information that a non-Church member wouldn't understand, either. Of course, having served a mission yourself will help make some of the jokes funnier, but nothing in "B2Y" would be incomprehensible for non-members who watched it either. I don't know if many non-Church members would have a particular interest in watching "B2Y" at all, but since the film focuses on human characters and their universal trials and emotions the film is certainly accessible to everyone (and doesn't come across as a two hour commercial for the Church).
In short, "B2Y" is a simple and effective film that won't break new ground in LDS cinema, but still represents one of the best films involving Latter-Day Saints the industry has to offer.
Content Analysis: (PG--nothing objectionable)
There are many who found "God's Army" objectionable from a non-sex/profanity/violence standpoint, and for them "B2Y" will probably be just what they're looking for--laughter and poignancy about missionary work without delving too deeply into the 'darker' side."B2Y", like "God's Army" though, has a small and subtle message about blindly assuming someone who has completed a two-year mission 'honorably' is a hard worker, has high moral standards, and is fit to be a good husband and father. Elder Rogers initially has lost all interest in working and is just taking up space. True, he has a change of heart in the end, but (in real life) it's quite likely that he would have just quietly finished out the last few months without doing anything. Ask anyone who served a mission and they can tell you that there are elders (and sisters, too) who after a certain point in their missions--sometimes right from the beginning--lose interest in doing anything and just idle away the time. They don't do anything 'wrong' which is why most mission presidents (like the one in "B2Y") won't send them home, but instead try to help them anyway they can. (And just like in "B2Y", sometimes it works and they have a change of heart.) Some girls say they can 'tell' if the missionary was a faithful hard worker--but from what I've seen, many cannot (or perhaps don't care...)
[Side note: A non-member who watches this movie might be surprised at how often LDS girls seem to get engaged to guys they've just met for a few weeks. 'Do Mormon girls really do this in real life?' they might ask, 'And are they really that stupid?' Unfortunately, the answer is 'yes' and 'yes'. I'm always amazed at how many girls spend more time and thought picking out the wedding dress they're going to take to the temple than they do picking the guy they're going to take...]In-depth Analysis:
D&C 18:10: Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.
In our mission we had one elder about whom it was obvious almost from the very beginning that his primary distinguishing characteristic was his sense of humor. It didn't take too long before he became known as the mission 'joker'--someone who would always have a funny (often irreverent) comment for any situation, and could be counted on to perform a practical joke on someone else that would have the whole mission laughing within a month. As you might guess, he wasn't a 'good' missionary (although he didn't do anything outright 'wicked') but just one of those elders that makes the mission president sigh and say 'Okay...what am I going to do with him this month?'
My mission president brought this elder up in one of my personal interviews and had some interesting things to say. He said--admitting that every elder is still personally responsible for how his mission turns out in the end--in a lot of ways this elder doesn't deserve all of the 'blame'. He said this elder probably knew early on in his mission that he was never going to be one of the best leaders, or one of the most spiritual, or one of the hardest workers, or have the best Chinese, but what he could be known for among all the other homogenous missionaries with identical suits and ties was being the 'joker'--and since it's natural for people to enjoy and want to attract other people's attention, it became his accepted 'role' in the mission.
But that might not have happened--he went on--if this 'role' hadn't also been simultaneously accepted and encouraged by everyone else in the mission as well. Everyone thought this elder was funny--and that was part of the problem, because this encouraged this elder to continue to be funny. In a way, this elder was trapped--because after he became known as the 'joker', everyone else treated him like the 'joker' and even if perhaps there came a time afterwards where he had the desire to be an effective, serious missionary, he probably felt he couldn't get away with it, because no one would take him seriously. ("Is this another one of your jokes, Elder?")
My president made the important and truthful point that in a lot of ways, our roles in life are shaped by how others treat us, and if one or more elders had been willing to treat this elder as a 'serious' missionary, instead of constantly giving him subtle encouragement to continue the 'joker' persona ("You're moving to [place X]? They'd better watch out! You'll be wreaking havoc there in no time, huh?"), things might have been different.This came to mind, because at the beginning, Elder Rogers is a lazy missionary--no question--and Elders Johnson and Van Pelt treat him that way. Yet, when his new companion arrives, Johnson and Van Pelt tell him to treat Elder Rogers as if he was one of the best missionaries in the mission--and, you know what? That was one of the keys towards Elder Rogers actually becoming one of the best missionaries in the mission at the end.
1 John 4:19: We love him, because he first loved us.The Lord loves us and treats us not as who we are now, but who we may become--and by doing the same to others--even if we have to pretend--we can have an influence on other people's behavior. By treating them as if they are a good person, they are more likely to become a good person. It's not easy, certainly--but it's part of being Christ-like.
