Tenure (film)
Encyclopedia
Tenure is a 2009 American comedy film
written and directed by Mike Million and starring Luke Wilson
, David Koechner
and Gretchen Mol
. The film was produced by Paul Schiff
and released by Blowtorch Entertainment
as their first original production.
After being screened at several film festivals and independent theaters, Tenure was first released on DVD
exclusively at Blockbuster Video stores on February 19, 2010. A national release followed in April 2010.
) is a beleaguered English professor at fictitious Grey College who competes for tenure
against an impressive new hire from Yale
, Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol
). Jay Hadley (David Koechner
) 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
.
in Pennsylvania, including: Bryn Mawr College
, Lower Merion High School
, Rosemont College
, and the Garrett Hill
section of Radnor Township. The film was shot in 25 days on a budget of $5 million.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Mike Million and starring Luke Wilson
Luke Wilson
Luke Cunningham Wilson is an American film actor known for his roles in Old School, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, Idiocracy and Death at a Funeral.-Early life:...
, David Koechner
David Koechner
David Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...
and Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol is an American actress and former model. She is known for her roles in films like Rounders, Celebrity, 3:10 to Yuma, The Thirteenth Floor,and The Notorious Bettie Page, where she played the title character...
. The film was produced by Paul Schiff
Paul Schiff
Paul Schiff is a film producer. His films include Mona Lisa Smile, Young Guns and its sequel Young Guns II, Epic Movie, and My Cousin Vinny....
and released by Blowtorch Entertainment
Blowtorch Entertainment
Blowtorch Entertainment is a new media company that was co-founded by Kelly Rodriques and Paul Schiff...
as their first original production.
After being screened at several film festivals and independent theaters, Tenure was first released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
exclusively at Blockbuster Video stores on February 19, 2010. A national release followed in April 2010.
Plot
Charlie Thurber (Luke WilsonLuke Wilson
Luke Cunningham Wilson is an American film actor known for his roles in Old School, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, Idiocracy and Death at a Funeral.-Early life:...
) is a beleaguered English professor at fictitious Grey College who competes for tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
against an impressive new hire from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol is an American actress and former model. She is known for her roles in films like Rounders, Celebrity, 3:10 to Yuma, The Thirteenth Floor,and The Notorious Bettie Page, where she played the title character...
). Jay Hadley (David Koechner
David Koechner
David Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...
) 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
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
.
Cast
- Luke WilsonLuke WilsonLuke Cunningham Wilson is an American film actor known for his roles in Old School, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, Idiocracy and Death at a Funeral.-Early life:...
as Charlie Thurber - David KoechnerDavid KoechnerDavid Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...
as Jay Hadley - Gretchen MolGretchen MolGretchen Mol is an American actress and former model. She is known for her roles in films like Rounders, Celebrity, 3:10 to Yuma, The Thirteenth Floor,and The Notorious Bettie Page, where she played the title character...
as Elaine Grasso - Bob GuntonBob GuntonRobert Patrick "Bob" Gunton, Jr. is an American actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters, with his best known roles as Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption, Chief George Earle in 1993's Demolition Man, and President Juan Peron in the original...
as William Thurber - Sasha AlexanderSasha AlexanderSasha Alexander is an American actress. She is best known for several roles, including Gretchen Witter, the sister of Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek; NCIS Special Agent Kate Todd in the first two seasons of NCIS; as Lucy in Yes Man ; and as Catherine in He's Just Not That Into You .She currently...
as Margarette - Andrew DalyAndrew DalyAndrew "Andy" Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for playing Principal Terrence Cutler in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down.-Early life:Daly was born in Mount Kisco, New York and raised in New Jersey...
as Warren - Michael CudlitzMichael CudlitzMichael Cudlitz is an American actor. He can be seen in the TNT drama Southland, starring as John Cooper, and the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers as Sgt. Denver "Bull" Randleman.-Life and career:...
as Tim - Rosemarie DeWittRosemarie DeWittRosemarie DeWitt is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series Standoff, co-starring her now husband Ron Livingston, from 2006 through 2007, and played Charmaine Craine on Showtime's acclaimed original series, United States of Tara...
as Beth - Lily Holleman as Blaire
- Lyman Chen as Steve Kim
- Zach Selwyn as Buck
- Keith Adams as Goth
- William BogertWilliam BogertWilliam Bogert is an American character actor best known for his semi-regular role of Brandon Brindle on Small Wonder from 1985 to 1989. He also portrayed Kent Wallace, the host of Chappelle's Shows Frontline spoofs...
as Dean Leakey - Hillary Pingle as Robin
Production
Tenure was filmed using locationsFilming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
in Pennsylvania, including: Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
, Lower Merion High School
Lower Merion High School
Lower Merion High School, is an American public high school in Ardmore, a community on the Pennsylvania Main Line.It is the larger of the two high schools in Lower Merion School District, which serves both Lower Merion Township and the Borough of Narberth. It was ranked among the top 60 U.S. high...
, Rosemont College
Rosemont College
Rosemont College is a coeducational college located in Rosemont in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It was originally founded as a women's college. A Catholic college, it is operated by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus...
, and the Garrett Hill
Garrett Hill, Pennsylvania
Garrett Hill is a community in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania approximately 10 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The geographic area is located in the portion of the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania zip code that comprises Rosemont. The community is bounded by Lancaster Avenue, Conestoga Road, Garrett...
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, 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.External links
- Tenure film trailer at You Tube