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Go behind the scenes of Rental Family with star Brendan Fraser and director Hikari
Featurette: Searchlight Pictures

Rental Family
Directed by Hikari
Rated PG-13
Rented 21 November 2025
#RentalFamily

Rental Family offers legitimate emotions and thought-provoking ideas.

EZ Talent

Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Fraser, The Whale) is an American actor who’s been living in Japan for seven years. Maybe you’re familiar with his work. He’s played the role of "sad American at a ‘performance’ funeral." He’s been a tree. He’s played a father. But, perhaps most famously, he’s known for playing the "token white guy" and he’s thrilled audiences all over Japan as "Toothpaste Man" in TV commercials promoting dental health.

Legend has it Lana Turner was discovered at Schwab’s drug store in Hollywood. It’s not true, but it’s a nice fairy tale that served Schwab’s well for decades. Harrison Ford caught a break while doing carpentry work for the likes of Sergio Mendes before another client, George Lucas, saw something in him that would eventually bring Han Solo and Indiana Jones to life. Charlize Theron was throwing a fit in a bank; an agent liked what he saw – and heard.

So, for Phillip to be "discovered" at a performance funeral – a ceremony in which the guy in the coffin isn’t actually dead while relatives and loved ones mourn his loss – isn’t all that strange. That’s where Phillip meets Shinji Tada (Takehiro Hira, Shogun), the owner of a talent agency called Rental Family.

Shinji offers actors roles with some real meat, roles that have an immediate real-world impact. Depending on the job, rates can pull in 7,000-10,000 yen/hour. It’s not Hollywood bank; it’s roughly 45-65 USD/hour. But it pays the bills while sharpening the chops.

Is it just a strange idea for a heartwarming comedy/drama?

Nope.

It’s real.

Check out this article in Afar magazine: The Incredibly True Story of Renting a Friend in Tokyo. It’s an article from February 2016 about Miyabi, a young woman whose job it is to be a friend to strangers. The tales of various clients and scenarios branch out from the basics of friendship to other social challenges in a cold world.

So, it’s not so odd. Consider also the humor behind the reality of Good Fortune, in which Aziz Ansari plays a Los Angeles-based gig worker who’s tasked with waiting in line for some fresh-baked buns.

In a world increasingly "powered" by artificial intelligence and a society being shredded by its dissociative impacts (goodbye, independent thought), this channel of social connection beyond the artifice of technology seems destined to grow in popularity – and necessity.

Ronin of Hiroshima

Rental Family is a disarming and charming movie that fascinates even as it legitimately earns its tugs on the heart strings.

From the very beginning, it’s noted mental health issues are a taboo topic in Japan. The stock in trade, then, for the crew at the Rental Family agency is emotion, providing a safe place for people to unpack some of their mental and emotional baggage. Counter that with the subtle introduction of one of Phillip’s Japanese friends. She’s an escort who sells the physical aspects of relationships and she is Phillip’s semi-steady companion.

Director and co-writer Hikari is likely best known to American audiences as the director of a couple episodes of the HBO Max series Tokyo Vice, starring Ansel Elgort. Here, she provides a sort of healing movie experience that is a rarity in modern Hollywood, where theatrical releases are increasingly dependent on pre-existing "intellectual property" (IP) and loads of CGI. To your recent industry comments, Bob Iger, thanks – and no thanks.

Phillip’s first gig for Shinji is as the fiancé to a younger woman. He’s conflicted with the job. He’s uncomfortable with living a lie and presenting himself to her parents as a person he is decidedly not. What could possibly be the endgame for such a role?

Well, as it turns out, it’s her cover so can discreetly move to Canada with her real wife.

Shinji sells it not as a lie, but as an "opportunity." Without Phillip’s help, this young woman’s life would be ruined.

With that experience as his "onboarding" assignment, Rental Family focuses on Phillip’s next two roles.

One is as the father to a little girl, Mia Kawasaki (Shannon Gorman in a remarkably impressive debut) looking to get into a top-tier school. The mother will trust the decisions made by the school that will influence and pave the way for the rest of the girl’s life.

The other is as a journalist interviewing an 80-year-old actor, Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto, Shin Godzilla), looking to prop up his legacy. But the actor has an ulterior mission.

Mysterious Ways

Rental Family is the kind of movie that is sure to reward repeat viewings. The dialogue is sharp, but gentle. The observations are keen. There’s a refreshing mindfulness and spirituality to this movie.

Phillip is told an outsider could live in Japan for 100 years and still not understand it all. And he’s advised to show some emotion but cautioned to not become emotional. The danger is in getting attached to his clients, which is a distinctly more personal spin on the modern-world danger of getting to attached to any given job.

In stark contrast to his roles, a colleague, Aiko Nakajima (Mari Yamamoto, Pachinko), is assigned the unenviable role of "apologist" in multiple cases wherein an unfaithful husband hires Rental Family to present Aiko as his mistress. She takes the berating from the betrayed wife while the husband protects the real mistress and, presumably, keeps the illicit relationship going.

Through Phillips’ experiences in offering fatherly support to Mia and a wholly different type of protection to Kikuo, Phillip can start to see himself becoming something more. In these "roles" he finds a powerful relevance.

Kikuo offers a great interpretation of the old expression, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." It’s all about becoming more than yourself.

As presented in Rental Family, none of this is trite or flippant. And all the storylines manage to get wrapped up in a nice bow of good-natured humor and legitimate heart.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.