Tenure

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.

Luke Wilson does a very good job here. He makes us like him and we want him to succeed in all areas of his life. That seems to be the main point of the movie and the main reason to enjoy it.

I know David Koechner from several roles, but mainly as the likable loser on "Superior Donuts". Here, he is a loser, but I wouldn't say likable. I suppose we want him to succeed but almost know for certain he never will.

Gretchen Mol is adorable and intelligent, and while her character's failure would be good for Charlie, she just makes Elaine too nice and pleasant for us to really want that. Seeing her and Wilson together is one of the best things about the movie.

Sasha Alexander is nothing but unpleasant. That's it. Margaret has no redeeming qualities except she's a looker. That's how Jay described Elaine, but I didn't see it myself.

Bob Gunton does a good job (though there are no challenges connected with his character's apparent problems) and I found myself wanting the film to focus more on him and the relationship between William and Charlie. I didn't care if the movie wasn't always funny.

William Bogert as the dean is sort of the absent-minded professor and makes us sort of like him, though not always.

The actors playing three of the students also made us like them. Even Ben, sort of the class clown, who doesn't have nearly enough lines.

Some of the music is classical and nice to listen to. But I particularly liked the "a capella" sound that was so much a part of the background music of the TV series "Glee" and a big part of the "Pitch Perfect" movies. This style was played at the movie's start.

Is this family friendly? In version I saw part of the sign for the presentation of a product is blurry, and every time the product name is mentioned it is bleeped. Let's just say it helps men who are having trouble with women. Later, this product is the subject of a hilarious scene in ... I'd better let you find out. Also, I have reason to suspect the F-word was used a lot. Cleaned up for TV, it's not really too bad.

I enjoyed this, though I have seen better.

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.

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.

"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.