An American actor in Tokyo struggling to find purpose lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. He rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the beauty of human connection.
In the dark, cynical world we live in, it’s refreshing when a movie comes along with a moving message that pulls at your heartstrings and leaves you with a smile on your face and your soul cleansed.
From director and co-writer Hikari (Netflix’s “Beef”), “Rental Family” is a touching comedy-drama about empathy and the universal longing for human connection.
Set in Japan, Brendan Fraser plays Phillip Vandarploeug, an actor who lands a job at a rental family service, run by Shinji (“Shogun”’s Takehiro Hira), that assigns trained performers to play stand-in roles in customer’s lives. At first, finding success as the “token American man” at staged events and other family gatherings, Phillip’s perspective changes when he’s assigned to play the long-lost American father of Mia, a young girl whose mother will stop at nothing to see her enrolled at a prestigious private school.
Fraser is perfectly cast as Phillip thanks to the depth of his sensitivity and warmth. Portrayed by anyone else, this could easily veer into mean-spiritedness or exploitation, but Phillip is genuinely moved by every family or situation he finds himself in.
Director Hikari has an eye for beauty, whether it be the breathtaking backdrop of Mt. Fuji or in the interactions between the lost souls centered around the rental family firm, both the customers and the employees, there’s not a moment of this movie that isn’t beautiful.
“Rental Famil” is a film so tastefully told that even the predictable parts are moving. Fraser is backed up by an immensely talented supporting cast, especially Mari Yamamoto as Aiko, his coworker at the agency. Aiko often is hired for the “apology package,” where she will pose as the mistress for a cheating spouse caught having an affair and apologize to the wife, sequences which provide some of the biggest laughs in the movie.
This film walks the tightrope of sentimentality without stepping into saccharine territory. It will remind you that in this disconnected world, we’re all just human beings looking for connection.
In Theaters Friday, November 21st
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