Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) is an English professor at a small, New England college. Although his students love and learn from him, his possible tenure is in doubt. This is because of the "publish or perish" unwritten law that is prevalent in American academia. So far, Charlie is having trouble getting his essays into an admired journal. To complicate things, his father is in an extended care facility nearby, due to early dementia, but, Charlie is not visiting him often enough. This has angered his sister and upset his dad, who was also a prof and likes to converse with his son. A colleague, Jay (David Koechner), an unorthodox science instructor in search of a bigfoot-type local monster, is also up for tenure. Now, the dean lures a Yale-educated English academic, Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol) to the department, further complicating Charlie's quest for tenure. Jay suggests that the two males mildly "sabotage" Elaine's adjustment to the school, by arranging to make her look bad in front of others, especially the dean. This involves everything from implicating her in a "cola" theft in the staff room to questioning her school loyalty at the college basketball game, where Elaine inadvertently sat on the opposing team's side. But, wait, does Charlie really want to drive Elaine away, since she's so smart and pretty and he's single? For those who love comedy-romance, here is another sweet view. Wilson's dry, understated humor is always welcome while Mol is a lovely romantic interest. The rest of the cast, including Koechner, are wonderfully supportive. The beautiful east coast college campus will surely bring sighs of admiration and the costumes, script, photography, and steady direction are quite fine as well. Get Tenure, therefore, all you usual fan suspects.
34 Reviews
Not a bad movie...
tburick25 August 2010
I am not going to bash this movie as many have done... I saw the movie, and was think I set the bar too high. Without giving away too much of the movie, I found that the acting was good, the story was different from a "bottled, formulaic, Animal House-ish" rewrite college comedy.
It was smart, clever, and told a good tale, there was only a small amount of unanswered questions I had in my mind when it ended... I stared at the screen and said... "OK...it wasn't awful, it was .... well OK"
The bottom line is, I am not going to say it was a horrible movie, because it was not... I found that I was entertained by the movie, and they did not try to market it as a blockbuster.. A decent film, and not too far removed from what it was about.. trying to get tenure at a College.
It was smart, clever, and told a good tale, there was only a small amount of unanswered questions I had in my mind when it ended... I stared at the screen and said... "OK...it wasn't awful, it was .... well OK"
The bottom line is, I am not going to say it was a horrible movie, because it was not... I found that I was entertained by the movie, and they did not try to market it as a blockbuster.. A decent film, and not too far removed from what it was about.. trying to get tenure at a College.
"Tenure" has its faults, but it's still OK
napierslogs18 June 2010
"Tenure" is a comedy about college professors. It has its fair share of problems, mainly that it has a really weak (in some cases false) description of college life for professors. And its hard to call this a comedy.
The jokes are very sophomoric, you may laugh a little bit, but these jokes are for the lowest common denominator. I found it a very odd mix, since generally movies about academic professors are supposed to be more intelligent. Do not mistake this movie as intelligent. David Koechner (who I am generally not a big fan of) is in the main comedic role, he crosses the line from professor to student, and his jokes cross the line from decent to unacceptable.
That aside, the rest of the movie is a pretty good exploration of a smart, but insecure, 30-something guy. Luke Wilson is his usual, likable self, and I looked forward to the resolution for his character.
"Tenture" is not the smart, funny academic film that I was expecting (and that I think it was supposed to be), but I found a bit of myself in Luke Wilson's character and I was smiling at the end. If you ignore the promise of high comedy, this film can be enjoyed.
The jokes are very sophomoric, you may laugh a little bit, but these jokes are for the lowest common denominator. I found it a very odd mix, since generally movies about academic professors are supposed to be more intelligent. Do not mistake this movie as intelligent. David Koechner (who I am generally not a big fan of) is in the main comedic role, he crosses the line from professor to student, and his jokes cross the line from decent to unacceptable.
That aside, the rest of the movie is a pretty good exploration of a smart, but insecure, 30-something guy. Luke Wilson is his usual, likable self, and I looked forward to the resolution for his character.
"Tenture" is not the smart, funny academic film that I was expecting (and that I think it was supposed to be), but I found a bit of myself in Luke Wilson's character and I was smiling at the end. If you ignore the promise of high comedy, this film can be enjoyed.
Entertaining
ctomvelu12 April 2012
Smart little film about a college teacher (Wilson) facing tenure review. He's a great teacher but has barely been published and is not enough of a politician. Along comes a new assistant professor (Mol) from Yale of all places, and now he's facing competition. His best buddy, a slightly deranged anthropology teacher (Koechner), convinces him to sabotage the new arrival at every turn. Problem is, the new arrival is unsure of herself and the two "competitors" become friends. Wilson is perfect in his role, and Koechner is wonderfully daffy as a Sasquatch worshiper. Mol is pretty, but truthfully isn't given that much to do. There's a nice ongoing bit about Wilson's character and his aging dad (Gunton), who unhappily resides in a nursing home. Filmed on the campus of Bryn Mawr. Very relaxed, nothing artificial, nothing forced, to the very end.
The Good Old "Losers Turn Winners" Feel...
McDozer7 March 2010
You know those movies featuring a total loser who's doing so bad that it actually becomes embarrassing? They're probably aimed at making us feel better about ourselves, the real losers, out there in that strange dimension called reality-land, trying to cheer us up that every loser can strike a happy ending and somehow, thanks to Hollywood magic, turn winner again... Well, "Tenure" is one of those, with the relatively fresh twist that our "hero" is a college teacher. He's great at teaching, but not really good at anything else. His students love him, but his colleagues hate him. Plus, his best friend falls into the category of "With friends like that, who needs enemies?" It's got heart, though, and though this film is by no means guaranteed to knock your socks off, if the same thing can be said of you, I mean, the "heart" thing, then you might like it. Especially if you've ever been in a situation trying to figure out how to get through to members of the younger generation, or you believe in Bigfoot, or you happen to like Gretchen Mol...
In search of bigfoot
chelano16 November 2010
This film was a delight to watch, but did get slow at parts. At parts you did feel a little bored, but something would come up to get your attention back for a bit. It had light humor, but it was a nice chuckle and relaxing. The cast in the film was pretty good. Luke Wilson was decent, but not his best role. Now they needed an actor to play a off the wall weird teacher who is obsessed with bigfoot. So they picked David Koechner, who at first I thought wouldn't fit, but he proved me wrong. Gretchen Mol played the main female role and she did a good job. The film is all about a teacher trying to get tenure. That in itself sounds like a boring piece of work, but luckily they did put some humor in the film. That is basically what David Koechner was for. Some scenes were a bit out of the ordinary, but it really fit with the film. This independent film didn't rely on anything crazy like special effects. Just nice dialog and a decent cast. This would be one of those nice Sunday afternoon movies to watch.
Enjoyable, but could be better
giantjoebot26 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The movie was enjoyable. It had a good storyline, and I could relate to the characters for the most part. The problem that I had with this movie is that Charlie Thurber (played by Luke Wilson) is such a straight man that it seems unrealistic, and kind of annoying. The only time that he does anything immoral is when he is coaxed by his friend Jay Hadley (played by David Koechner). I think if the main character had done some more immoral things on his own, he would have seemed more human and real. I feel like several of the characters as they are seem to innocent, and unrealistic. There was a perfect opportunity for this with the female student that had a huge crush on him, Robin (played by Hilary Pingle). So below are my thoughts on what they could have done with this story.
If Charlie, the main character, with everything going on in his life, had eventually given into Robins desire for him it would have made his character seem more realistic. Personally I think that I would have. It also would have added a bit of sex that I think the movie would have benefited from. I felt a lot of sexual tension in the movie, probably to much. I think they could have used her character to expand on the teacher characters. She could have given her view of some of the various faculty from a students point of view, showing some of the flaws and short comings of the other professors. Like one being a bit perverted, and another drinking during work hours. He could have then taken her to dinner instead of the PBS lady, and Elaine Grasso (played by Gretchen Mol) could have showed some jealousy for the young attractive student, which I think would make her character seem more real and human as well. I just think this would have added some much needed depth to the movie
If Charlie, the main character, with everything going on in his life, had eventually given into Robins desire for him it would have made his character seem more realistic. Personally I think that I would have. It also would have added a bit of sex that I think the movie would have benefited from. I felt a lot of sexual tension in the movie, probably to much. I think they could have used her character to expand on the teacher characters. She could have given her view of some of the various faculty from a students point of view, showing some of the flaws and short comings of the other professors. Like one being a bit perverted, and another drinking during work hours. He could have then taken her to dinner instead of the PBS lady, and Elaine Grasso (played by Gretchen Mol) could have showed some jealousy for the young attractive student, which I think would make her character seem more real and human as well. I just think this would have added some much needed depth to the movie
Beg to differ with the festival viewers
petkanasw20 February 2010
Maybe it's the air at film festivals, but I just watched it on DVD last night (it was released at Blockbuster early)and though I was looking forward to it, found it dull, lifeless, bland, and worst of all, wrong.
I should admit I am a college professor and thought I would enjoy a film which was supposed to be a comedy about college professors. This was no _Groves of Academe_ or anything close. In the film, the writing professor urges his students to "write about what you know" (and old and tired chestnut, to be sure, but not bad advice) and yet Mike Million seems to know nothing about the academic life, tenure, publications, etc., and in fact, seems to have learned about academic life from watching television shows about high school teachers (including the faculty lounge, old deans with bow ties, etc.) Then again, I've never taught at Bowdoin or Bryn Mawr, so maybe it's really like that there... but I doubt it.
Not to say there aren't internecine battles and personal squabbles among faculty, there certainly are, but they don't look like this. Admittedly, there are a few chuckles here and there (much of it from an extended gag about Bigfoot) but when the film deliberately tries to be funny (e.g., erotic poetry club) it falls flat. Overall, it has a quiet, dignified tone to it, which may help it appear to be artsy, and the use of beautiful, Hollywood versions of college (all stone buildings and oak paneled interiors) give it a sense of class, I would give it a miss.
Unless herbal erectile pills strike you as absolutely hilarious.
I should admit I am a college professor and thought I would enjoy a film which was supposed to be a comedy about college professors. This was no _Groves of Academe_ or anything close. In the film, the writing professor urges his students to "write about what you know" (and old and tired chestnut, to be sure, but not bad advice) and yet Mike Million seems to know nothing about the academic life, tenure, publications, etc., and in fact, seems to have learned about academic life from watching television shows about high school teachers (including the faculty lounge, old deans with bow ties, etc.) Then again, I've never taught at Bowdoin or Bryn Mawr, so maybe it's really like that there... but I doubt it.
Not to say there aren't internecine battles and personal squabbles among faculty, there certainly are, but they don't look like this. Admittedly, there are a few chuckles here and there (much of it from an extended gag about Bigfoot) but when the film deliberately tries to be funny (e.g., erotic poetry club) it falls flat. Overall, it has a quiet, dignified tone to it, which may help it appear to be artsy, and the use of beautiful, Hollywood versions of college (all stone buildings and oak paneled interiors) give it a sense of class, I would give it a miss.
Unless herbal erectile pills strike you as absolutely hilarious.
War of the Teachers
Chrysanthepop4 December 2011
Mike Million's 'Tenure' gives the impression that it's a university campus comedy. I found the premise refreshing and appealing. The problem is that the comedy parts are just not that funny and Million tries too much to make it quirky funny to the point that it backfires as he goes way over the top and tumbles down.
I found the Jay Hadley character very annoying and not to be a very believable professor. The Rosemarie DeWitt track also felt out-of-place. The movie should have just stayed focused on the key character Charlie Thurber. Many people of his age would be able to relate to what he's going through. I liked the Million avoids clichés in places. For example, the Teacher's pet sequence was well done.
On the technical side, the score is pretty good and the camera captures the simplicity and beauty of the location. The woods and countryside are nice to look at. The pacing is very slow, especially at the beginning. Luke Wilson is terrific. His restrained performance as Charlie makes the character all the more real. And if this film is worth watching then it's mostly because of him. David Koechner does his best with an ill-written character. Gretchen Mol is cute and likable. Sasha Alexander is wasted.
Overall, it's not as bad as many reviewers have made it out to be but it could have easily been a lot better.
I found the Jay Hadley character very annoying and not to be a very believable professor. The Rosemarie DeWitt track also felt out-of-place. The movie should have just stayed focused on the key character Charlie Thurber. Many people of his age would be able to relate to what he's going through. I liked the Million avoids clichés in places. For example, the Teacher's pet sequence was well done.
On the technical side, the score is pretty good and the camera captures the simplicity and beauty of the location. The woods and countryside are nice to look at. The pacing is very slow, especially at the beginning. Luke Wilson is terrific. His restrained performance as Charlie makes the character all the more real. And if this film is worth watching then it's mostly because of him. David Koechner does his best with an ill-written character. Gretchen Mol is cute and likable. Sasha Alexander is wasted.
Overall, it's not as bad as many reviewers have made it out to be but it could have easily been a lot better.
Wants to be Rushmore but it's not by a long shot..
MdlndeHond25 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Maybe it's the Wilson factor or maybe it's the music that made me think of Wes Anderson right away. It wants to be Rushmore but it's not as quirky, bitterly funny and brilliant. The characters are trying to be odd but they are more cliché than anything else: a bigfoot hunting professor on xtc is almost childish and would fit in a highschool flick. I am fairly surprised this movie made it to any film festival at all. There was hardly anything entertaining about it and in the end i found it hard to stay engaged. Too bad, the storyline has potential for a whoppin' comedy. I wonder what Anderson would have made out of this one.
An Unfunny Comedy
claudio_carvalho21 August 2010
The lonely professor Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) is seeking to grant tenure in the Grey College. Charlie is loved by his students but has not published any article for a long time. His best friend is the anthropologist Jay Hadley (David Koechner) that researches evidences of the existence of the Sasquatch and his father was interned by his sister in an expensive rest home. When the Dean Leakey (William Bogert) hires the Yale's English Professor Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol), Charlie is threatened by the competition for tenure and Jay declares Elaine as their enemy and sabotages her in school. Charlie tries to publish a work but has difficulties.
"Tenure" is an unfunny comedy with pathetic lead characters: Charlie is a complete imbecile, but a good teacher and Jay is an unscrupulous crackers. Their attitudes against the lovely Elaine are stupid, unethical and absolutely inadequate for college professors and after 89 minutes running time, I have not laughed any time. I found stranger how a viewer could "love" this flick and I discover that there are many fake reviews in IMDb of people with only one review promoting this flick to lure the readers. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "Um Professor em Apuros" ("A Teacher in Trouble")
"Tenure" is an unfunny comedy with pathetic lead characters: Charlie is a complete imbecile, but a good teacher and Jay is an unscrupulous crackers. Their attitudes against the lovely Elaine are stupid, unethical and absolutely inadequate for college professors and after 89 minutes running time, I have not laughed any time. I found stranger how a viewer could "love" this flick and I discover that there are many fake reviews in IMDb of people with only one review promoting this flick to lure the readers. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "Um Professor em Apuros" ("A Teacher in Trouble")
A great comedy with some serious stuff inside
elivbg121 December 2010
I was actually pleasantly surprised. For some reason, I find many comedies produced lately virtually painful to watch. I was wondering if this movie would be the same... I found it to be completely refreshing; great cast, quirky characters. May be not so over-the-top impressive characters but the main characters were very likable. Luke Wilson seems like a decent actor, in this movie I felt that I was seeing a person, so I felt more connected to his role than some of his other roles. I loved the "Bigfoot" characters. And I liked the ending, too-- good but not too good to be true. I also like to comment on the theme, getting tenure. I am a university assistant professor and the process is all that and more. It is a nerve-racking process. I will stop here because there is too much detail that goes into this, which would be of no interest to the general reader. The movie did do a decent job of showing some aspects of the system yet with a great sense of humor.
Tenure, it ain't a bad movie.
likelinus028 July 2014
This is a melo-dramatic comedy, 2009 flick starring Luke Wilson as our main protagonist and also featuring Gretchen Mol, David Koechner, Sasha Alexander and Bob Gunton. It is written and directed by Mike Million. Rated R if you're interested by ratings or if you want to supervise what your kids are listening. I've heard the F word a few times and other sexual references words, so that is where you'll get your R rating. No images to support the words. It's all speaking "R".
This is not the flagship of Luke Wilson's filmography. It is an independent movie produced by Blowtorch Entertainment, that you may not heard of, unless you're into the underground movie scene. Like I said, it's not a blockbuster movie, not action-packed and it wasn't a movie that you saw any publicity about it, at least not that I know of. But, somehow, when I looked at cover and read the synopsis, I was, I could say a little bit intrigued. So I sat on the couch and I was ready to be Well I wasn't ready for anything. I didn't come with lots of expectations for this movie. I thought to myself, well let's just watch this and see what comes out of it. So anyway, there you go! Charlie Thurber is in his mid-thirty and an English teacher at Grey's College. Charlie's struggling to get his tenureship, which to us is the thing that he'd like to get so bad. To obtain this, he's get to be elect by his fellow teacher partners and his essays need to be publish in a journal or anything that releases a publication. This is the main plot of the film.
Here comes Charlie's best friend, Dr. Jay Hadley(David Koechner), who's an anthropologist and die-hard believer of the existence of the Big Foot. Jay is a 42 years old that I've never seem to grow up. The best example I could tell for this is that Jay tried to get his tenureship and got denied so to replicate at one person who didn't get him his vote he "T-P'ed" that particular man's tree. You see the picture.
Charlie's got to put on his A-game when Elaine Grasso(Gretchen Mol), a new teacher from Yale adds herself up in the mix. On top of this, he has to deal with his father(Bob Gunton), who's in a nursing home but doesn't feel like being in it.
The movie's main theme is about trying to get what you want and the ways you choose to get it. It's an easy-listening movie, it does not revolutionize the movie "genre", but in my opinion this kind of film doesn't need to change that much anyway.
On a scale of 10, I'd give Tenure a 6/10 rating. It made me laugh at times, not out loud laughs but okay laughs. If you like Luke Wilson and/or Gretchen Mol, then I suggest you this flick.
This is not the flagship of Luke Wilson's filmography. It is an independent movie produced by Blowtorch Entertainment, that you may not heard of, unless you're into the underground movie scene. Like I said, it's not a blockbuster movie, not action-packed and it wasn't a movie that you saw any publicity about it, at least not that I know of. But, somehow, when I looked at cover and read the synopsis, I was, I could say a little bit intrigued. So I sat on the couch and I was ready to be Well I wasn't ready for anything. I didn't come with lots of expectations for this movie. I thought to myself, well let's just watch this and see what comes out of it. So anyway, there you go! Charlie Thurber is in his mid-thirty and an English teacher at Grey's College. Charlie's struggling to get his tenureship, which to us is the thing that he'd like to get so bad. To obtain this, he's get to be elect by his fellow teacher partners and his essays need to be publish in a journal or anything that releases a publication. This is the main plot of the film.
Here comes Charlie's best friend, Dr. Jay Hadley(David Koechner), who's an anthropologist and die-hard believer of the existence of the Big Foot. Jay is a 42 years old that I've never seem to grow up. The best example I could tell for this is that Jay tried to get his tenureship and got denied so to replicate at one person who didn't get him his vote he "T-P'ed" that particular man's tree. You see the picture.
Charlie's got to put on his A-game when Elaine Grasso(Gretchen Mol), a new teacher from Yale adds herself up in the mix. On top of this, he has to deal with his father(Bob Gunton), who's in a nursing home but doesn't feel like being in it.
The movie's main theme is about trying to get what you want and the ways you choose to get it. It's an easy-listening movie, it does not revolutionize the movie "genre", but in my opinion this kind of film doesn't need to change that much anyway.
On a scale of 10, I'd give Tenure a 6/10 rating. It made me laugh at times, not out loud laughs but okay laughs. If you like Luke Wilson and/or Gretchen Mol, then I suggest you this flick.
A very weak movie that shows no signs of knowing what college life is like for a professor
richard-178723 May 2010
I picked this movie up at Blockbusters strictly for the title. Having been a professor myself for the last 33 years, I'm always curious to see how movies portray the life of a college professor. Even otherwise good movies usually show no knowledge of what goes on in the professional life of an academic. This movie, which is one of the weakest I have seen in years, is totally clueless in that regard.
It deals with the tenure problems of an untenured assistant professor in some New England private college. The other professors are all portrayed as idiots, of course, but then the protagonist isn't presented as a bright light either. We are led to believe that his students think he is a great teacher, but that is just stated; we never see any good teaching on his part. In fact, what little we do see of him in the classroom looks pretty lame.
Tenure hinges on publication here. The protagonist needs a few articles. So he keeps sending one off, and it keeps getting rejected - in a matter of a few days every time. Where, I would love to know, is an academic journal with turn-around time like that?
I could go on about the other aspects of the movie, but it's really not worth it, nor is it worth renting. This movie demonstrates no knowledge of what a college professor's academic and professional life is like. I will let others speak to its qualities as entertainment.
It deals with the tenure problems of an untenured assistant professor in some New England private college. The other professors are all portrayed as idiots, of course, but then the protagonist isn't presented as a bright light either. We are led to believe that his students think he is a great teacher, but that is just stated; we never see any good teaching on his part. In fact, what little we do see of him in the classroom looks pretty lame.
Tenure hinges on publication here. The protagonist needs a few articles. So he keeps sending one off, and it keeps getting rejected - in a matter of a few days every time. Where, I would love to know, is an academic journal with turn-around time like that?
I could go on about the other aspects of the movie, but it's really not worth it, nor is it worth renting. This movie demonstrates no knowledge of what a college professor's academic and professional life is like. I will let others speak to its qualities as entertainment.
There is something almost touching about a comedy that fails to make you laugh.
fedor824 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Nicholas Cage and La Lopez? Gwynneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck? Or perhaps Vince Vaughn and Julia Roberts? Nick Cage and Gwynneth Paltrow? Maybe Ben Affleck and Kate Hudson? Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts? (a bit of a height problem there, perhaps) George Clooney and La Lopez? Matt Damon and Jennifer Aniston? This IS a dumb romantic comedy, but thank God, it's none of those pairings this time around, none of those people. This is one of those extremely rare occasion when a romantic comedy is cast well: the likable Luke Wilson and the stunningly beautiful Gretchen Mol. But what is the script like? Do you even have to ask? It stinks, of course.
Romantic comedies are aimed at women, naturally, hence the kind of effort that is put into such scripts is, well... practically non-existent. "Tenure" contains Hollywood's almost century-old "safe comedy", also known as "cute comedy" aka "tee-hee-hee comedy" aka "makes-male-viewers-vomit comedy"; the kind of humour that is only one step above the kind of crap that poor, defenseless babies get when their sadistic parents switch on the "Teletubbies", gearing up their kids from an early age towards reaching the kind of low expectations and non-critical attitudes that will one day help them to appreciate bottom-of-the-barrel material such as "Friends". ("Friends": Teletubbies for adults.)
The gags are truly pathetic, and the characters who stumble over these hilarious jokes are painfully goofy, unrealistic people who clown around in all the wrong ways. For example, Wilson's terminally unfunny sidekick is a Sasqwatch-obsessed anthropology professor; he spends his time looking for Bigfoot in the woods, and takes fake acid pills now and again. Yes, that's the kind of embarrassing-to-watch trash we've got here. On the upside, there is no laugh-track; this is the one great thing about bad big-screen comedies.
But just because the humour is "safe" doesn't mean it doesn't get raunchy, or at least desperately tries to be, and this is where "Tenure" gets abysmal. A sub-plot revolves around a retirement home in which Luke's father has sex with very old women. In the final scene, Luke distributes free erection aids to the occupants of the nursing home. Painfully, painfully unfunny. Similarly shame-happy were the scenes with his students' "sex poetry". Even Wes Anderson wouldn't pull something this bad out of his talentless ass.
Luke lies about having a girlfriend, then predictably gets a paid stand-in to join him in the kind of scene we've seen in at least 5,000 sitcoms.
The only ace the movie ever had up its sleeve was Gretchen Mol. Yet(i), she makes her first appearance after about 25 minutes or so. After that, she is featured in about a handful of scenes. I don't think she has more than 20 lines in the whole movie. And she is Luke's romantic interest. You figure it out...
Romantic comedies are aimed at women, naturally, hence the kind of effort that is put into such scripts is, well... practically non-existent. "Tenure" contains Hollywood's almost century-old "safe comedy", also known as "cute comedy" aka "tee-hee-hee comedy" aka "makes-male-viewers-vomit comedy"; the kind of humour that is only one step above the kind of crap that poor, defenseless babies get when their sadistic parents switch on the "Teletubbies", gearing up their kids from an early age towards reaching the kind of low expectations and non-critical attitudes that will one day help them to appreciate bottom-of-the-barrel material such as "Friends". ("Friends": Teletubbies for adults.)
The gags are truly pathetic, and the characters who stumble over these hilarious jokes are painfully goofy, unrealistic people who clown around in all the wrong ways. For example, Wilson's terminally unfunny sidekick is a Sasqwatch-obsessed anthropology professor; he spends his time looking for Bigfoot in the woods, and takes fake acid pills now and again. Yes, that's the kind of embarrassing-to-watch trash we've got here. On the upside, there is no laugh-track; this is the one great thing about bad big-screen comedies.
But just because the humour is "safe" doesn't mean it doesn't get raunchy, or at least desperately tries to be, and this is where "Tenure" gets abysmal. A sub-plot revolves around a retirement home in which Luke's father has sex with very old women. In the final scene, Luke distributes free erection aids to the occupants of the nursing home. Painfully, painfully unfunny. Similarly shame-happy were the scenes with his students' "sex poetry". Even Wes Anderson wouldn't pull something this bad out of his talentless ass.
Luke lies about having a girlfriend, then predictably gets a paid stand-in to join him in the kind of scene we've seen in at least 5,000 sitcoms.
The only ace the movie ever had up its sleeve was Gretchen Mol. Yet(i), she makes her first appearance after about 25 minutes or so. After that, she is featured in about a handful of scenes. I don't think she has more than 20 lines in the whole movie. And she is Luke's romantic interest. You figure it out...
Why is tenure a thing?
Kamurai2520 April 2020
Good watch, would watch again, and can recommend.
I love "chaos" tropes with Luke Wilson; he always seems like a victim who is above it all, like he's indignant of the situation: always makes it funnier for me.
The writing and use of the supporting cast seems almost perfectly balanced, but the mediocre, nearly non fiction account of a professor seeking tenure just isn't all that exciting.
The most interesting part of the movie is the ending which turns the entire movie into an odd setup to a message.
I love "chaos" tropes with Luke Wilson; he always seems like a victim who is above it all, like he's indignant of the situation: always makes it funnier for me.
The writing and use of the supporting cast seems almost perfectly balanced, but the mediocre, nearly non fiction account of a professor seeking tenure just isn't all that exciting.
The most interesting part of the movie is the ending which turns the entire movie into an odd setup to a message.
Stupid, awful - don't believe fake reviews on IMDb
oarch21 May 2010
This movie is plain stupid. I don't know if you can call this a "comedy" if there's not a single funny thing in it.
It's more like a tragedy. Jokes are, without exception, awful. Whoever wrote this dross is a hopeless case.
Nothing makes any sense, characters go squarely against their own stated interests for absolutely no reason - all the time. Characters do completely unreasonable things for no reason other to make the storyline amusing, but it backfires every single time.
It's really a mystery how a movie written so badly can be made. I mean, have these actors and producers even read the script before making the decision to participate in it? I find it hard to believe that an educated, intelligent person could find this script good enough.
Once you see the movie, it will be VERY obvious that the positive reviews on IMDb were written exclusively by people associated with this hopeless movie. "Fantastic!!!", says one of them. Yeah, right. Fantastically awful.
It's more like a tragedy. Jokes are, without exception, awful. Whoever wrote this dross is a hopeless case.
Nothing makes any sense, characters go squarely against their own stated interests for absolutely no reason - all the time. Characters do completely unreasonable things for no reason other to make the storyline amusing, but it backfires every single time.
It's really a mystery how a movie written so badly can be made. I mean, have these actors and producers even read the script before making the decision to participate in it? I find it hard to believe that an educated, intelligent person could find this script good enough.
Once you see the movie, it will be VERY obvious that the positive reviews on IMDb were written exclusively by people associated with this hopeless movie. "Fantastic!!!", says one of them. Yeah, right. Fantastically awful.
A nothing movie
collier31 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Entropy is increasing, the physicists say. Eventually the universe will run down. Nothing will happen since the energy level will be uniformly constant throughout the universe. For a preview of what life will then be like watch this movie.
Bob Gunton and Rosemary DeWitt are fun to watch. The rest of the cast might as well have been represented by cardboard cutouts.
Multiple plot lines start and then are left hanging.
One character is searching for Sasquatch; a furry man-like creature is seen several times, but then . . . nothing.
Someone accuses Charlie of not lifting the toilet seat. This is not funny, but you expect it to pay off later, but then . . . nothing.
Charlie is suspected of being gay, though he isn't, and this seems possibly a set up for Charlie's getting tenure based on his mistakenly being thought gay, but then . . . nothing.
Someone is selling a drug to cure E.D. A small truckload of the stuff is delivered to an old folks home. You expect something raunchy and hilarious. The only thing that happens is some of the old timers fight over the boxes.
Previously I thought of movies as "good" or "bad". Tenure requires a new category. This is a "nothing" movie.
Bob Gunton and Rosemary DeWitt are fun to watch. The rest of the cast might as well have been represented by cardboard cutouts.
Multiple plot lines start and then are left hanging.
One character is searching for Sasquatch; a furry man-like creature is seen several times, but then . . . nothing.
Someone accuses Charlie of not lifting the toilet seat. This is not funny, but you expect it to pay off later, but then . . . nothing.
Charlie is suspected of being gay, though he isn't, and this seems possibly a set up for Charlie's getting tenure based on his mistakenly being thought gay, but then . . . nothing.
Someone is selling a drug to cure E.D. A small truckload of the stuff is delivered to an old folks home. You expect something raunchy and hilarious. The only thing that happens is some of the old timers fight over the boxes.
Previously I thought of movies as "good" or "bad". Tenure requires a new category. This is a "nothing" movie.
Well Written, Directed, Acted and Scored. A Gem!
sartor02317 July 2010
This movie was not written for a mass market. It was and is a labor of love. It's narrow cast audience will know who they are. I say, Give this movie a chance, and you may end up laughing out loud a number times as I did, along with a good number of knowing chuckles.
I felt the movie overall, was very well done in many aspects of film making. In all, a joy for me. I'd say anyone remotely affiliated with University life, and an open mind, will have a lot of fun watching this movie, and an enjoyable experience.
I'm sorry I'm not as erudite describing the movie from a technical perspective, as some of the other reviewers, but I just had to write out my feelings about this Gem of a movie.
Thanks to the producers, to MIke Million, and the well cast actors for making this movie! Thanks to ALL who were involved in making it!! Thank You!
I felt the movie overall, was very well done in many aspects of film making. In all, a joy for me. I'd say anyone remotely affiliated with University life, and an open mind, will have a lot of fun watching this movie, and an enjoyable experience.
I'm sorry I'm not as erudite describing the movie from a technical perspective, as some of the other reviewers, but I just had to write out my feelings about this Gem of a movie.
Thanks to the producers, to MIke Million, and the well cast actors for making this movie! Thanks to ALL who were involved in making it!! Thank You!
This Movie Should Never Get Tenure
robert_kirschten12 June 2011
If there is an academy award category for the most tedious movie ever written, "Tenure" should win in a landslide. The story centers on a boring, nontenured professor at a small college, coming up for promotion, who can't get his articles published. I understand why. This man has no discernible talent of any kind--no wit, no intellectual skills, no insight into much of anything. Why we should find him interesting is beyond me. The movie "says" he is a good teacher, but after more than a quarter of a century of teaching, I can't find anything he does in class that illuminates either students or subject matter. A few moments in the movie are droll: the goofy Bigfoot stuff, the crazy woman professor's complaint about the toilet seat, and the professor's father in the retirement home. The love story--is there one?-- between the prof and the new hire is undeveloped and shallow. The main character is passive, depressing, and utterly without passion. Even the secondary characters are dull. Does the professor get tenure in the end? Who cares? Acting is fine. Script = D+.
Wake me up when its over
kenno769 March 2010
Im usually reluctant to watch a movie that was aired at a film festival they always seem to be boring, but i thought id give this movie a go. The main reason i thought id give it a go was because its a comedy, i never expect much of comedies just the odd laugh and it turns out all i got was depressed.
This movie was not one bit funny, i did see the parts i was supposed to laugh at but i could not even smile at them, it was a very long and painful 90 minutes and the movie just turned into back ground noise. The actors and acting was fine but the story and the way it was filmed was average, this movie is not at all interesting and certainly is no Comedy!
I honestly have no idea of what type of person finds this remotely funny.
This movie was not one bit funny, i did see the parts i was supposed to laugh at but i could not even smile at them, it was a very long and painful 90 minutes and the movie just turned into back ground noise. The actors and acting was fine but the story and the way it was filmed was average, this movie is not at all interesting and certainly is no Comedy!
I honestly have no idea of what type of person finds this remotely funny.
Low key academia dramedy ruined by protagonist's obnoxious professor pal
Turfseer8 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Tenure stars Luke Wilson who was the protagonist in one of my favorite comedies, Idiocracy. So, what went wrong here? The answer is simple: there's a secondary character here who is awful. We'll get to that in a moment.
Wilson plays Charlie Thurber an unmarried English professor at the fictional Grey College in Pennsylvania. The film begins with Charlie waiting outside to find out whether college officials will grant him tenure. Then we flashback three months to see what his life is like and whether there's any chance he'll make it through.
Charlie is beloved by his students, but his personal life is a mess. One of his big bugaboos is his lack of success with women. The main comic bit involving the beleaguered professor is when he arranges a date with a stranger who he gets to know by talking with her while she's manning a telephone during a televised PBS fundraiser.
The talented Gretchen Mol plays the love interest here (if you can call it that)-Elaine Grasso, the sharp Yale professor recently hired by Grey who seeks advice from Charlie as she has trouble relating to her students.
Nonetheless, Elaine wins points with the college administrators publishing academic papers in contrast to the hopeless Charlie who can only get his academic work posted on an obscure website.
The film is ruined by the part of Jay Hadley (David Koechner), Charlie's fellow (anthropology) professor and supposed best friend. Charlie's friendship with Jay makes no sense as he is an obnoxious and smug character.
Jay not only comes off as foolish (he's obsessed with Bigfoot) but he's a peeping Tom, setting up a surveillance camera to catch Elaine in her moments of undress. Charlies naturally is nonplussed and completely uncomfortable with his friend's behavior.
There are additional unfunny moments including Jay's involvement with a multilevel marketing company that sells herbal concoctions to counter erectile dysfunction (naturally he takes too many and you can guess what kind of joke is made of that).
The coup de grace is Jay accusing Elaine of stealing a can of Coke from the refrigerator in the faculty dining room. The paranoid Jay believes he's helping Charlie as he's convinced himself that Elaine is out to undermine his pal.
Tenure wraps up after the dean offers Charlie a one year probationary period of tenure provided he take off from teaching and devote himself to research and publishing academic papers.
Charlies chooses to resign and teach at a local high school. He also takes his dad out of a retirement home where he was unhappy and proves to us that he's not completely ineffectual-that he's actually a good guy (and may end up with Elaine as she now declares she's single).
Tenure is edited and shot seamlessly and its low key humor might have worked had a different tack been taken with the role of Charlie's odious professor pal.
Wilson plays Charlie Thurber an unmarried English professor at the fictional Grey College in Pennsylvania. The film begins with Charlie waiting outside to find out whether college officials will grant him tenure. Then we flashback three months to see what his life is like and whether there's any chance he'll make it through.
Charlie is beloved by his students, but his personal life is a mess. One of his big bugaboos is his lack of success with women. The main comic bit involving the beleaguered professor is when he arranges a date with a stranger who he gets to know by talking with her while she's manning a telephone during a televised PBS fundraiser.
The talented Gretchen Mol plays the love interest here (if you can call it that)-Elaine Grasso, the sharp Yale professor recently hired by Grey who seeks advice from Charlie as she has trouble relating to her students.
Nonetheless, Elaine wins points with the college administrators publishing academic papers in contrast to the hopeless Charlie who can only get his academic work posted on an obscure website.
The film is ruined by the part of Jay Hadley (David Koechner), Charlie's fellow (anthropology) professor and supposed best friend. Charlie's friendship with Jay makes no sense as he is an obnoxious and smug character.
Jay not only comes off as foolish (he's obsessed with Bigfoot) but he's a peeping Tom, setting up a surveillance camera to catch Elaine in her moments of undress. Charlies naturally is nonplussed and completely uncomfortable with his friend's behavior.
There are additional unfunny moments including Jay's involvement with a multilevel marketing company that sells herbal concoctions to counter erectile dysfunction (naturally he takes too many and you can guess what kind of joke is made of that).
The coup de grace is Jay accusing Elaine of stealing a can of Coke from the refrigerator in the faculty dining room. The paranoid Jay believes he's helping Charlie as he's convinced himself that Elaine is out to undermine his pal.
Tenure wraps up after the dean offers Charlie a one year probationary period of tenure provided he take off from teaching and devote himself to research and publishing academic papers.
Charlies chooses to resign and teach at a local high school. He also takes his dad out of a retirement home where he was unhappy and proves to us that he's not completely ineffectual-that he's actually a good guy (and may end up with Elaine as she now declares she's single).
Tenure is edited and shot seamlessly and its low key humor might have worked had a different tack been taken with the role of Charlie's odious professor pal.
Very funny movie
candigale10 June 2011
I found this movie hilarious. I came across it on Cinemax. I had never heard of it; but I found myself laughing all the way through. Whoever wrote it is a genius. The boyfriend from Yale always plays funny parts; i.e. Reno 911 & Eastbound and Down. Whenever I see him in anything, I start laughing before he speaks. I know he is going to be funny. I haven't seen Luke Wilson in anything lately, and I know he is a funny actor. He is very monotonous, but the looks on his face are what kill me. And David Koechner acting like an idiot is also something you can always count on. He is crazy. I saw him on Funny or Die in skits called Men of unquiet desperation, or something like that. He played a parking attendant, and I could not stop laughing. He is also someone who makes me laugh before he even starts speaking.
Tenure leaves some lessons unlearned
rqwjmhzn15 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Tenure had a somewhat weak opening that initially made me skeptical, but as the story progressed, it managed to captivate me enough to keep me engaged till the end. However, the final moments of the film left me feeling disappointed. The film failed to provide a clear explanation for why the English professor decided to abruptly quit his job and transition into becoming a high school teacher. The lack of a solid motivation left a significant gap in the narrative.
One aspect that didn't quite make sense was the portrayal of the rival character. She was apparently fired from another department, yet it seemed strange that no one had heard about her story...The lack of consistency and explanation surrounding her character weakened the plot. Also, the character of the father was not developed enough. It would have been better to have more backstory and exploration of their relationship to add depth and context to the protagonist's decisions.
Despite these flaws, there were some redeeming qualities in the film. I found the performance of Wilson, the professor, to be commendable. His portrayal elicited empathy, and I could relate to his character's struggles and aspirations. However, I was less impressed with Mol's acting in this particular film. It felt lackluster and failed to resonate with me, making it difficult to fully connect with her character.
One aspect that didn't quite make sense was the portrayal of the rival character. She was apparently fired from another department, yet it seemed strange that no one had heard about her story...The lack of consistency and explanation surrounding her character weakened the plot. Also, the character of the father was not developed enough. It would have been better to have more backstory and exploration of their relationship to add depth and context to the protagonist's decisions.
Despite these flaws, there were some redeeming qualities in the film. I found the performance of Wilson, the professor, to be commendable. His portrayal elicited empathy, and I could relate to his character's struggles and aspirations. However, I was less impressed with Mol's acting in this particular film. It felt lackluster and failed to resonate with me, making it difficult to fully connect with her character.
needs to be funnier
SnoopyStyle19 January 2016
Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) is a teacher at Grey College looking to get tenure in a few months. His students like him but he needs to publish. His Bigfoot-obsessed friend Jay Hadley (David Koechner) fails to get tenure. He's a disappointment to his Princeton professor father (Bob Gunton) in retirement living. His sister Margaret (Sasha Alexander) wants him to pay his share for their father. He calls Beth (Rosemarie DeWitt) on a TV charity drive trying to start a relationship over the phone. Then the school hires Yale English grad Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol) to be on the same tract as Charlie.
Charlie is a bit too pathetic which gets a little tiresome. He would be funnier if he's darker. Luke Wilson needs to get some edge. Koechner is trying to be funny. The students don't have any big standout. This comedy feels a little incomplete. It's not dark enough to be a black comedy. It's not odd enough to be quirky. It's just not quite funny enough.
Charlie is a bit too pathetic which gets a little tiresome. He would be funnier if he's darker. Luke Wilson needs to get some edge. Koechner is trying to be funny. The students don't have any big standout. This comedy feels a little incomplete. It's not dark enough to be a black comedy. It's not odd enough to be quirky. It's just not quite funny enough.
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