Rental Family Trailer, Fun Facts & Review
Rental Family Synopsis:
A struggling American actor (Brendan Fraser) living in Tokyo takes a job with a Japanese "rental family" agency, where he plays various stand-in roles for clients. As he forms surprising and genuine connections with the people he helps, he discovers a new sense of purpose and belonging, blurring the line between his performance and his true self.
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Release Date: In theaters November 21st, 2025
Rental Family Fun Facts:
Based on a Real-Life Industry:
The concept of the movie is based on a real-life service in Japan where individuals can hire performers to act as relatives or friends for different events.
First Leading Role:
Rental Family is Brendan Fraser's first leading role since winning the Oscar for Best Actor in The Whale (2022).
Directed by Hikari:
The movie is directed by Mitsuyo Miyazaki, better known mononymously as Hikari. She is known for directing a few episodes of the HBO series Tokyo Vice (2022) and the Netflix series Beef (2023).
Co-wrote Screenplay:
Hikari, serving as director, also co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Blahut.
Festival Premieres:
The movie is set to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6th, 2025, and is planned for release in the United States by Searchlight Pictures on November 21st, 2025.
Filming Location:
The main filming started in Japan in March 2024 and finished in late May.
Rental Family Review:
Rental Family is the latest movie from director Hikari (who wrote the script with Stephen Blahut). It is based on a very real idea in Japan, where people hire actors to play family members or friends to fill missing emotional roles in their lives. The movie uses this idea to look closely at modern loneliness and what it means to have a real connection with someone. The film is held together by a beautifully sensitive and gentle performance from Brendan Fraser. Overall, the movie is a sweet, warm, and often touching journey. The only slight issue is that it sometimes doesn't fully explore the more complicated moral questions about hiring people for emotional support.
Brendan Fraser plays the lead character, Phillip Vandarploeug, an American actor struggling to find success in Tokyo. He is well known for his funny, but silly, toothpaste commercial. Phillip feeling lost like an outsider, by chance, he finds a job with a "Rental Family" agency run by Shinji (Takehiro Hira). At this agency, actors are sent out to play different roles for people ranging from a loving fiancé for a small event to a professional mourner at a fake funeral.
Phillip soon finds purpose in these unusual acting roles in which he uses his gentle, kind demeanor to comfort strangers. Initially, his assignments are light and funny, but they get morally complicated when he takes on two long-term assignments: He pretends to be a journalist interviewing Kikuo (Akira Emoto), an old actor who is losing his memory and worries everyone has forgotten him. Most importantly, he pretends to be the American father who has been missing for a long time to a young girl named Mia.
The relationship between Phillip and Mia is where the movie gets its deepest emotional core and its most difficult moral dilemma. Mia's mother hires Phillip to act like a real, convincing family unit so Mia can get into a prestigious private school. The connection that grows between Phillip and Mia is incredibly touching, and it proves that even fake affection can start to feel real. Fraser is perfect for this role; his genuine vulnerability makes him a trustworthy person, even though his actions are dangerously close to being irresponsible.
Director Hikari's style is visually rich and beautiful. She contrasts the quiet sadness of Phillip's life with the bright, colorful city scenes of Tokyo. The movie uses both English and Japanese dialogues very skillfully. The supporting cast, including Mari Yamamoto, add welcome depth and understanding to the story. Yamamoto plays Aiko, Phillip's coworker who is very practical and handles the company's tougher and more emotionally difficult assignments.
However, critics have pointed out that the movie often shies away from fully dealing with the darker, more difficult side of hiring people to fill emotional roles. The film hints at how this kind of paid affection might hurt people psychologically, but it always chooses to focus on the sweet and tender moments. This makes the viewing experience safe and satisfying, rather than truly making you question the issue. Even so, thanks to Fraser's sincere performance and the real questions the movie raises about our human need to feel noticed and connected, Rental Family is a lovely and well-made drama that is absolutely worth watching.