''Tenure'' is a 2009 American

dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by Mike Million and starring Luke Wilson,

David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the ''Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's ''The Office''. Koechner first became involved in perf ...

and

Gretchen Mol Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Gillian Darmody in the HBO series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). She also appeared in the films ''Rounders'' (1998), ''Celebrity'' ...

. The film was produced by

Paul Schiff Paul Schiff is an American film producer. Early life and education Schiff was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, one of three sons of Charlotte, a television and publishing executive, and Edward Schiff, a real estate lawyer. He graduated in film stud ...

and released by

Blowtorch Entertainment Blowtorch Entertainment is a new media company that was co-founded by Kelly Rodriques and Paul Schiff (producer of ''My Cousin Vinny'', '' Rushmore'', and ''Date Movie''). In November 2007, multiple Hollywood trades reported that Blowtorch Entertain ...

as their first original production. After being screened at several

film festivals A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

and independent theaters, ''Tenure'' was first released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

exclusively at

Blockbuster Video Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: * Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Blo ...

stores on February 19, 2010. A national release followed in April 2010.

Plot

Charlie Thurber ( Luke Wilson) is a beleaguered English professor at fictional Grey College (a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania) who competes for

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

against an impressive new hire from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, Elaine Grasso (

). Jay Hadley (

) is an anthropology professor at Grey who tries to convince Thurber to sabotage Grasso’s career – while being simultaneously obsessed with trying to prove the authenticity of

Bigfoot Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...

. Thurber's articles are rejected by a series of academic journals and he worries about becoming a victim of the "

publish or perish "Publish or perish" is an aphorism describing the pressure to publish academic work in order to succeed in an academic career. Such institutional pressure is generally strongest at research universities. Some researchers have identified the pub ...

" pressures of professorship. And despite competing for the same job, Thurber and Grasso begin developing a friendship after she flounders as a classroom teacher and asks him for advice. Meanwhile, Thurber struggles with a series of personal problems: his sister pesters him for money to pay for their father's retirement home; a smitten female student is aggressively flirtatious; and rather than admit he's single, Thurber hires a woman of questionable sanity to act as his girlfriend for a dinner with Grasso and her snobbish boyfriend. Thurber's tenure review with college officials seems to be a disaster until the dean casts a tie-breaking vote, noting that Thurber's students gave him exemplary reviews and clearly adore him. Thurber is offered probational tenure, with the caveat that his classroom teaching will be severely reduced so that he can devote more time to publishing in respectable academic outlets. The film concludes with Thurber inviting his ailing father to move in with him, Grasso dumping her boyfriend and hinting that she would like to pursue a relationship with Thurber, and Thurber quitting Grey College to teach at a high school so that he can remain in the classroom with students.

Cast

* Luke Wilson as Charlie Thurber *

as Jay Hadley *

as Elaine Grasso *

Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ...

as William Thurber *

Sasha Alexander Sasha Alexander (born Suzana Drobnjakovic on May 17, 1973), is an American actress and TV director. She played Gretchen Witter in ''Dawson's Creek'' and has acted in films including '' Yes Man'' (2008) and ''He's Just Not That Into You'' (20 ...

as Margarette *

Andrew Daly Andrew J. Daly (born April 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series ''Review'', and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series '' Eastbound & Down'' as Terrence Cutler. ...

as Warren *

Michael Cudlitz Michael Cudlitz (born December 29, 1964) is an American actor known for portraying John Cooper in the NBC/ TNT drama series '' Southland'' for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2013 ...

as Tim * Rosemarie DeWitt as Beth * Lily Holleman as Blaire * Lyman Chen as Steve Kim *

Zach Selwyn Zachariah "Zach" Selwyn (born April 23, 1975), also known as simply Zachariah, is an American singer-songwriter, actor, host and writer best known for hosting the series ''America's Secret Slang'', '' Guinness World Records Gone Wild!'', ''Att ...

as Buck * Keith Adams as Goth *

William Bogert William Bogert (January 24, 1936 – January 12, 2020) was an American character actor best known for his roles as Brandon Brindle on the TV series ''Small Wonder'' from 1985 to 1989, Kent Wallace, the host of ''Chappelle's Show''s '' Frontline' ...

as Dean Leakey * Hillary Pingle as Robin * Nathan Pham as Stan

Production

''Tenure'' was filmed using

locations In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

in Pennsylvania, including:

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

Lower Merion High School Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, a community in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves both Lo ...

Rosemont College , mottoeng = I will lift my eyes up to the hills , established = 1921 , type = Private college , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Society of the Holy Child Jesus) , president = J ...

(including the historic

Joseph Sinnott Mansion Joseph Sinnott Mansion, also known in Gaelic as "Rathalla," meaning "home of the chieftain on the highest hill" is the Main Building at Rosemont College. It is a historic home located on the campus of Rosemont College at Rosemont, Montgomery Co ...

), and the

Garrett Hill Garrett Hill (born January 16, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Career Hill attended Analy High School in Sebastopol, California and played ...

section of Radnor Township. The film was shot in 25 days on a budget of $5 million.

Reception

Belinda Acosta, film critic at ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'', gave the film a favorable review, writing, "Wilson’s performance is as warm as a cardigan sweater. So, when a perky new hire (Gretchen Mol) threatens Charlie’s already shaky position, instead of swerving into high anxiety Wilson plays it close to the chest... The even-handedness of the film (directed by Mike Million) is part of its charm. And while it’s clear what’s coming long before the end of the film, the journey to the obvious conclusion is no less satisfying."Acosta, Belinda
''The Austin Chronicle,'' film review, October 28, 2009.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenure 2009 films 2009 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Films about academia Films shot in Pennsylvania Films set in universities and colleges Films scored by John Frizzell (composer) 2000s English-language films 2000s American films