December 17, 2025
FILM: RENTAL FAMILY
DIRECTED BY: HIKARI
STARRING: BRENDAN FRASER, TAKEHIRO HIRA, MARI YAMAMOTO
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There’s a concept in Japan whereby one can hire an actor to stand in for someone or something that is missing in their life such as a deceased parent, a girlfriend, a date, etc. In the film Rental Family, Brendan Fraser plays just such an actor named Phillip Vanderploeg. He’s been living in the country for seven years and finding that his jobs are drying up until he meets Shinji Tada (Takehiro Hira) who owns a business called “Rental Family” and puts Phillip to work. Some of the first jobs include posing as the new “husband” of a woman who is secretly involved in a same-sex relationship and acting as a journalist to interview a fading actor. The real challenge for Phillip comes when he is asked to play the father of a young girl, Mia, whose real dad has “been away.” Phillip and Mia develop a strong connection which turns his role into something more personal than a job.
It's not hard to see where some of this story is going from the start. Phillip is lonely without a father himself. He lives in a Tokyo high-rise where he looks out at people in other windows (much like James Stewart did in Rear Window.) With this new job, he is clearly getting his own needs met by playing these various roles, especially as father to Mia. Complications set in involving not only the effects such posing has on Mia but also Phillip, the actor who brings his own emotional baggage to this and other roles.
As a character, Fraser initially plays Phillip as a bit timid and nervous. He even sports a slight crack in his voice as if he is less than assured about what he is doing. However, there is a spark to Phillip that pulls him out of the roles he is asked to play. He has a conscience and questions the ethics of what he and others are doing. He recognizes the confusion of what is real and what isn’t to the company’s customers. He’s empathetic and worries about young Mia who needs a father even though what she is experiencing with Phillip is ultimately false. He also questions why one would take the risk of hiring an actor to play a crucial role in a family. What if they find out the truth?
Writer/director Hikari, who may be most known for directing episodes of the series Beef and Tokyo Vice, does a nice job of balancing the various emotional tones of the story and allows us to care about the outcomes of the characters’ decisions. Her focus is primarily on Phillip’s connection to Mia as well as his interest in the previously mentioned older actor whom he is to interview. However, there are other stories, such as the same-sex narrative, which is only given brief screen time, and another involving a man who hires one of Phillip’s colleagues to play his mistress and apologize to his wife for his infidelity, that could have been developed a bit more. Such expanded stories may have made the plot a bit too scattered for its own good though. So, Hikari’s choices are ultimately effective and well-developed, leave us wanting more.
Given that Phillip is American and some of the characters speak English, the constant switch in language to and from Japanese might be a challenge for some viewers but it is realistic within this particular mix of characters and cultures. Fraser impressively speaks Japanese during periodic intervals and generally seems to have a command of the language after only a few months of language immersion to prepare for the role.
The film is ultimately sweet and a bit sentimental which potentially makes it more accessible to a wider audience, but it doesn’t quite reach the emotional levels of other Oscar-bound films this year. Its intentions and ideas are solid though.
Rental Family is currently playing in limited theatrical release.
FILM: RENTAL FAMILY
DIRECTED BY: HIKARI
STARRING: BRENDAN FRASER, TAKEHIRO HIRA, MARI YAMAMOTO
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There’s a concept in Japan whereby one can hire an actor to stand in for someone or something that is missing in their life such as a deceased parent, a girlfriend, a date, etc. In the film Rental Family, Brendan Fraser plays just such an actor named Phillip Vanderploeg. He’s been living in the country for seven years and finding that his jobs are drying up until he meets Shinji Tada (Takehiro Hira) who owns a business called “Rental Family” and puts Phillip to work. Some of the first jobs include posing as the new “husband” of a woman who is secretly involved in a same-sex relationship and acting as a journalist to interview a fading actor. The real challenge for Phillip comes when he is asked to play the father of a young girl, Mia, whose real dad has “been away.” Phillip and Mia develop a strong connection which turns his role into something more personal than a job.
It's not hard to see where some of this story is going from the start. Phillip is lonely without a father himself. He lives in a Tokyo high-rise where he looks out at people in other windows (much like James Stewart did in Rear Window.) With this new job, he is clearly getting his own needs met by playing these various roles, especially as father to Mia. Complications set in involving not only the effects such posing has on Mia but also Phillip, the actor who brings his own emotional baggage to this and other roles.
As a character, Fraser initially plays Phillip as a bit timid and nervous. He even sports a slight crack in his voice as if he is less than assured about what he is doing. However, there is a spark to Phillip that pulls him out of the roles he is asked to play. He has a conscience and questions the ethics of what he and others are doing. He recognizes the confusion of what is real and what isn’t to the company’s customers. He’s empathetic and worries about young Mia who needs a father even though what she is experiencing with Phillip is ultimately false. He also questions why one would take the risk of hiring an actor to play a crucial role in a family. What if they find out the truth?
Writer/director Hikari, who may be most known for directing episodes of the series Beef and Tokyo Vice, does a nice job of balancing the various emotional tones of the story and allows us to care about the outcomes of the characters’ decisions. Her focus is primarily on Phillip’s connection to Mia as well as his interest in the previously mentioned older actor whom he is to interview. However, there are other stories, such as the same-sex narrative, which is only given brief screen time, and another involving a man who hires one of Phillip’s colleagues to play his mistress and apologize to his wife for his infidelity, that could have been developed a bit more. Such expanded stories may have made the plot a bit too scattered for its own good though. So, Hikari’s choices are ultimately effective and well-developed, leave us wanting more.
Given that Phillip is American and some of the characters speak English, the constant switch in language to and from Japanese might be a challenge for some viewers but it is realistic within this particular mix of characters and cultures. Fraser impressively speaks Japanese during periodic intervals and generally seems to have a command of the language after only a few months of language immersion to prepare for the role.
The film is ultimately sweet and a bit sentimental which potentially makes it more accessible to a wider audience, but it doesn’t quite reach the emotional levels of other Oscar-bound films this year. Its intentions and ideas are solid though.
Rental Family is currently playing in limited theatrical release.