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The Best Two Years

228 statements
44 feature instances
1 referencing feature instances

The Best Two Years	type	TVTItem
The Best Two Years	label	The Best Two Years
The Best Two Years	page	TheBestTwoYears
The Best Two Years	comment	The Best Two Years is a 2003 comedy-drama film, written and directed by Scott S. Anderson, about the various experiences of four Mormon missionaries in the Netherlands. The story addresses one missionary's crisis of faith, along with the rather universal themes of annoying roommates, frustration at one's job, being the new person, and public embarrassment.The movie opens with a brand-new missionary, Elder Calhoun (Kirby Heyborne), arriving in Holland on a train. He is a very gung-ho cowboy/nerd from Oklahoma who can't speak a word of intelligible Dutch and understands little more. His companion is Elder Rogers (K.C. Clyde), a rather lazy missionary who likes photography. Rogers used to be a hard worker, but news from home about his girlfriend's abandoning him for another man has made him wonder just what he's doing.The other set of missionaries are Elder Johnson (David Nibley) and Elder Van Pelt (Cameron Hopkin). Elder Johnson is the righteous one who keeps the other guys in check, but in a nice way. Elder Van Pelt is a snob who wears silky pajamas and has a funny exercise tape to which he jazzercises every morning.
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The Best Two Years / int_14beeefd	type	Darker and Edgier
The Best Two Years / int_14beeefd	comment	Darker and Edgier: Compared to Halestorm Entertainment's previous films, The Best Two Years focuses less on comedy and explores more thoroughly (and seriously) the topic of Crises of Faith.
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The Best Two Years / int_15b2cab3	type	Tempting Fate
The Best Two Years / int_15b2cab3	comment	Tempting Fate: During an argument, Elder Johnson tells Elder Rogers that if his girlfriend dumped him, he'd get over it. Johnson gets his chance to find out for real later in the movie.
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The Best Two Years / int_24321e44	type	Only Sane Man
The Best Two Years / int_24321e44	comment	Only Sane Man: Elder Rogers likes to think he is this, but for most of the movie it's Elder Johnson. He's the only elder who isn't comically inexperienced and naive (like Calhoun), brown-nosing and snooty (like Van Pelt), or pessimistic and moody (like Rogers).
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The Best Two Years / int_298b1a12	type	Knocking on Heathens' Door
The Best Two Years / int_298b1a12	comment	Knocking on Heathens' Door: After Elders Rogers and Calhoun decide to break the mission record on handing out copies of the Book of Mormon, they go from door to door, at first with little success, but they soon catch on.
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The Best Two Years / int_2e8875f0	type	Misplaced Retribution
The Best Two Years / int_2e8875f0	comment	Misplaced Retribution: An unintentional example. When Elder Johnson snaps at Elder Van Pelt for hitting him one too many times, Van Pelt hides in the apartment. Johnson follows, catching Kyle behind the door. Rogers hurriedly tells Johnson, "He's behind the door," but Johnson misunderstands "he" to mean Van Pelt and slams the door on Kyle multiple times before Rogers and Calhoun can clarify and rescue Kyle.
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The Best Two Years / int_322426f8	type	Not Good with Rejection
The Best Two Years / int_322426f8	comment	Not Good with Rejection: Elder Rogers started slacking off on his mission after his girlfriend married his former mission companion Elder Richardson. Elder Johnson also has a hard time when his girlfriend sends him a "Dear John" tape.
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The Best Two Years / int_40bb59d0	type	Blatant Lies
The Best Two Years / int_40bb59d0	comment	Blatant Lies: Elder Van Pelt is seen rocking out to music in his headphones while shining shoes. When asked what he's listening to, he says it's the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
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The Best Two Years / int_49d59be9	type	Scenery Porn
The Best Two Years / int_49d59be9	comment	Scenery Porn: Shots of Dutch fields and windmills.
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The Best Two Years / int_5027a6d5	type	The Swear Jar
The Best Two Years / int_5027a6d5	comment	The Swear Jar: Elder Johnson tells his companion Elder Van Pelt to hit him each time he uses the word "flip". Van Pelt kind of gets carried away with the hitting, at one point almost hitting the mission president for saying "flipping".
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The Best Two Years / int_50f66629	type	Crazy-Prepared
The Best Two Years / int_50f66629	comment	Crazy-Prepared: Elder Van Pelt wants to impress mission leadership, so in a pinch his three girlfriend pictures can be flipped over to show photos of the at-the-time First Presidency of the LDS Church.note Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, and James E. Faust. When President Sandberg visits the apartment, he picks up the Hinckley picture and is about to see the girlfriend on the other side. Van Pelt then shows he's even more crazy prepared: underneath the girlfriend picture (which he hides down his pants) is a photo of him with President Sandberg.
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The Best Two Years / int_5313c266	type	Bookends
The Best Two Years / int_5313c266	comment	Book Ends: The movie begins with Elder Calhoun arriving on a train and ends with Elder Rogers leaving on a train.
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The Best Two Years / int_58b70952	type	Failure Montage
The Best Two Years / int_58b70952	comment	Failure Montage: The "Falling" sequence. We see Elders Calhoun and Rogers knocking on multiple doors without success, and Elder Calhoun ultimately sits down on the ground in discouragement, which prompts Elder Rogers to help him up.
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The Best Two Years / int_65bc92fc	type	Four-Temperament Ensemble
The Best Two Years / int_65bc92fc	comment	Four-Temperament Ensemble: The four elders. Elder Calhoun is Sanguine: enthusiastic, gullible, and optimistic. Elder Van Pelt is Choleric: ambitious, vain, and cynical. Elder Rogers is Melancholic: brooding, standoffish, and apathetic. Elder Johnson is Phlegmatic: modest, realistic, and reasonable. (Mostly.)
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The Best Two Years / int_7043a964	type	Grammar Nazi
The Best Two Years / int_7043a964	comment	Grammar Nazi: Elder Van Pelt insists others use "Books of Mormon" instead of "Book of Mormons".note The official plural is actually "copies of the Book of Mormon". He's also annoyed by Elder Calhoun's dangled participles.
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The Best Two Years / int_7b6e47a5	type	Armor-Piercing Question
The Best Two Years / int_7b6e47a5	comment	Armor-Piercing Question: Elder Rogers says Elder Johnson only works hard because of support he's getting from home and would mope around like Rogers if he got dumped by his girlfriend. Johnson doesn't deny it, but says he'd get over it:
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The Best Two Years / int_7e081ea0	type	Slice of Life
The Best Two Years / int_7e081ea0	comment	Slice of Life: The film is a glimpse into the life of turn-of-the-millennium LDS missionaries, focusing on their daily activities, hardships, and successes.
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The Best Two Years / int_84249fbc	type	Nerd Glasses
The Best Two Years / int_84249fbc	comment	Nerd Glasses: Elder Calhoun wears a pair, until the end when Elder Rogers gives him less conspicuous glasses as a parting gift.
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The Best Two Years / int_8797239c	type	Bait-and-Switch
The Best Two Years / int_8797239c	comment	Bait-and-Switch: Near the end of the film, Kyle asks to meet with Elders Rogers and Calhoun. He's quiet and solemn, so the elders expect he's about to tell them he doesn't want to meet with them anymore. Instead, he asks to get baptized.
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The Best Two Years / int_8d612fe6	type	Swapped Roles
The Best Two Years / int_8d612fe6	comment	Swapped Roles: Briefly near the end of the film, Elder Johnson becomes the missionary who's lost his drive while Elder Rogers becomes the motivated hard worker.
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The Best Two Years / int_93c7525e	type	Cue Card
The Best Two Years / int_93c7525e	comment	Cue Card: During Elder Calhoun's first discussion, he holds up cue cards so Kyle Harrison answers "yes". Calhoun soon gets the cards mixed up, showing the seventh commandment.note "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
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The Best Two Years / int_96cc4848	type	"Dear John" Letter
The Best Two Years / int_96cc4848	comment	Elder Johnson also has a hard time when his girlfriend sends him a "Dear John" tape.
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The Best Two Years / int_984ef9ef	type	"Not So Different" Remark
The Best Two Years / int_984ef9ef	comment	"Not So Different" Remark: Rogers claims Johnson would lose his desire to work if his girlfriend dumped him. Johnson doesn't deny it, and it's later proven right when it actually happens.
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The Best Two Years / int_9da6354b	type	Reality Has No Subtitles
The Best Two Years / int_9da6354b	comment	Reality Has No Subtitles: A few lines of Dutch get subtitles, but for much of the movie it goes untranslated for the audience.
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The Best Two Years / int_a1b27125	type	Nervous Wreck
The Best Two Years / int_a1b27125	comment	Nervous Wreck: Elder Calhoun really wants to talk to passing strangers, but at first he's nearly scared to death to do so (it also doesn't help that he doesn't really know Dutch.)
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The Best Two Years / int_acecb17d	type	Chekhov's Skill
The Best Two Years / int_acecb17d	comment	Chekhov's Skill: A Deleted Scene shows Elder Calhoun teaching Elder Johnson how to tie up a calf, explaining how Elder Johnson knows how to tie up Elder Van Pelt later.
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The Best Two Years / int_ae3d6438	type	Deadpan Snarker
The Best Two Years / int_ae3d6438	comment	Deadpan Snarker: Elder Rogers and Elder Van Pelt.
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The Best Two Years / int_b9b5af3e	type	The Film of the Play
The Best Two Years / int_b9b5af3e	comment	The Film of the Play: Anderson based the movie on his stage play The Best Two Years of My Life.
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The Best Two Years / int_be617752	type	Ring-Ring-CRUNCH!
The Best Two Years / int_be617752	comment	Ring-Ring-CRUNCH!: One of the elders apparently smashes his alarm clock when it wakes him up.
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The Best Two Years / int_be977433	type	Good-Times Montage
The Best Two Years / int_be977433	comment	Good-Times Montage: The "Don't You Know" sequence. It includes Elders Calhoun and Rogers setting mission records and Kyle Harrison getting baptized.
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The Best Two Years / int_c5ef2d50	type	Cringe Comedy
The Best Two Years / int_c5ef2d50	comment	Cringe Comedy: Elder Calhoun is extremely awkward, clueless, and bad at Dutch, so a good chunk of the movie is laughing at all the embarrassing things that happen to him.
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The Best Two Years / int_c819533b	type	Rage Breaking Point
The Best Two Years / int_c819533b	comment	Rage Breaking Point: Eventually Elder Johnson's patience with Elder Van Pelt punching him wears thin and he decides to get some payback.
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The Best Two Years / int_ce1d78bc	type	Foreign Queasine
The Best Two Years / int_ce1d78bc	comment	Foreign Queasine: Shown in a montage, where Elder Calhoun eats some stinky fish thing. On the other hand, those Stroopwafels they keep eating look really good.
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The Best Two Years / int_d0b60f23	type	GoshDangItToHeck
The Best Two Years / int_d0b60f23	comment	Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Elder Johnson keeps using the word "flip" as a mild expletive, much to the annoyance of Elder Van Pelt. President Sandburg uses it, too.
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The Best Two Years / int_d129e13e	type	"Eureka!" Moment
The Best Two Years / int_d129e13e	comment	"Eureka!" Moment: While teaching the first discussion to Kyle, Elder Rogers remembers why he's a missionary at all, snapping him out of his funk for the rest of the movie. This is a Call-Back to the Armor-Piercing Question Elder Johnson asked him earlier in the movie.
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The Best Two Years / int_d5dfb30a	type	Professional Butt-Kisser
The Best Two Years / int_d5dfb30a	comment	Professional Butt-Kisser: Elder Van Pelt wants to be a district leader like Elder Johnson, so he constantly tries to impress or flatter the zone leaders and assistants when they call. He also keeps a photo of himself shaking hands with President Sandburg in order to impress him.
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The Best Two Years / int_dca70c44	type	Reasonable Authority Figure
The Best Two Years / int_dca70c44	comment	Reasonable Authority Figure: President Sandburg. In a few minutes he's able to diagnose and set straight many of the problems the four elders are facing.
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The Best Two Years / int_e0aed924	type	No Antagonist
The Best Two Years / int_e0aed924	comment	No Antagonist: The movie has no villain. The elders' own struggles—not knowing the language, testimony issues, incompatibility with companions—and the general difficulties of missionary life are the sources of conflict.
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The Best Two Years / int_e34400ab	type	Ambiguously Gay
The Best Two Years / int_e34400ab	comment	Ambiguously Gay: Elder Van Pelt, with his silky pajamas and morning exercise routine. On the other hand, he is writing three different girlfriends.
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The Best Two Years / int_ed05cfee	type	NaÃ¯ve Newcomer
The Best Two Years / int_ed05cfee	comment	NaÃ¯ve Newcomer: Elder Calhoun arrives in the mission field ready to preach (but having no real idea how.) His companion, Elder Rogers, isn't as enthusiastic.
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The Best Two Years / int_f0089082	type	Early-Bird Cameo
The Best Two Years / int_f0089082	comment	Early-Bird Cameo: Both President Sandberg and Kyle Harrison are briefly seen in the opening sequence where Elder Calhoun gets on the train, long before they're named or spoken with.
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The Best Two Years / int_fab3235a	type	Easy Evangelism
The Best Two Years / int_fab3235a	comment	Easy Evangelism: Kyle Harrison is Elders Rogers and Calhoun's "golden investigator." Despite an awkward first meeting, a cringey second encounter in a local grocer, and getting smashed behind a door by an angry Elder Johnson who thinks he's Elder Van Pelt, on the whole he is incredibly receptive. He's moved to tears by Elder Roger's testimony during the first discussion, readily attends church afterward, and asks the missionaries on his own if he can get baptized.
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The Best Two Years / int_fad7b727	type	Fun with Foreign Languages
The Best Two Years / int_fad7b727	comment	Fun with Foreign Languages: Elder Calhoun hardly knows Dutch when he gets to the mission field, but he tries really hard to speak it. For example, at the bakery he tries to ask for a cut loaf, but instead asks for a circumcised loaf.
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The Best Two Years / int_fd86da63	type	Crisis of Faith
The Best Two Years / int_fd86da63	comment	Crisis of Faith: Elder Rogers, as signified by his unwillingness to pray in the morning.
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The Best Two Years

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The Missionary / int_c1902745

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