Austin Film Festival Capsule Review: Tenure

At first glance, Tenure seems like one of those “same old, same old” kinds of movies that we certainly wouldn’t want to waste time on at a film festival. It’s a comedy that takes places in a college setting, where Luke Wilson plays an affable, loser-ish guy just trying to get ahead. He has a zany best friend with odd interests and crazy plans, and when a pretty girl appears somewhere along the way, conflict ensues. We’ve seen it all before, we thought, but ended up deciding to give it a chance anyway.

Happily, Mike Million’s script shows innovation and admirable restraint, resulting in a charming film that only vaguely resembles a standard commercial comedy. Charlie Thurber (played by Wilson) is trying his best to earn tenure at Grey College, where he is a well-liked but professionally underachieving English instructor. When a whip-smart new hire from Yale (Gretchen Mol) enters the mix, threatening his chances at a job for life, Charlie’s pal, anthropology professor Jay Hadley ( David Koechner) eagerly steps in to help sabotage her career.

Because it focuses on the perspective of professors rather than students or Van Wilder types, Tenure is able to mine the college campus for comedy while sidestepping tired keg party clichés. The film also benefits from an array of strong supporting actors, including Bob Gunton, Sasha Alexander and the surprisingly hilarious Rosemary Dewitt (Rachel Getting Married). And as you'd expect, hard-working comic Koechner brings consistent laughs as Wilson’s well-meaning, Oakley-wearing friend and catalyst for storyline insanity; Professor Hadley has been denied tenure so has decided to devote his time to searching for Bigfoot and trying to score ecstasy from his students.

A comedy about competition, disappointment and finding the right place to be, Tenure is just unpredictable enough to succeed. It was shown last week at the Austin Film Festival and will screen again tonight at 7 p.m. at the Arbor cinema.