In Hikari’s Rental Family, Brendan Fraser plays a lonely actor who discovers connections in the most unexpected roles.
For struggling actor Philip (Fraser), the role of a lifetime all begins with a funeral. Cast as a “sad American”, he shows up for an acting gig that ends up being a mock funeral arranged by a rental family service. You see, the company provides actors as stand-ins in elaborate setups, whether it’s a mistress or a boss to apologize profusely to, or a buddy to play video games with in a faux friendship. In Philip’s case, he has unexpectedly landed two pivotal roles as the company’s “token white guy”: one, as a father to a young girl, and two, as a journalist interviewing a fading Japanese actor.
Director Hikari takes this premise and runs with it, placing Philip and the rental family’s employees in humorous and heartwarming positions. He begins as the groom for a bride-to-be, eager to appease her parents with a wedding. Unconvinced at first, when he learns the reasons why people hire the rental family actors for various deceptions, he begins to see he’s helping others. It seems to be the perfect fit for the lonely Philip, who, despite seven years in Tokyo, still sticks out like a sore thumb. The Japanese culture singles out the “other,” which Hikari showcases via shots of Philip ambling around Tokyo, the large foreigner in a crowd amid customs that will always remain foreign to him. Companionship escapes him as he gazes longingly out his small apartment window, witnessing his neighbours’ daily rituals as an outsider in search of a place to belong.
His next role as dad to the precocious Mia (Shannon Gorman) begins to cross some unexpected boundaries. The girl, who has never known her real father, forms a tight bond with Philip as he poses as her faux dad. It’s an uncomfortable situation to lead a child on, but Hikari and co-writer Stephen Blahut hope to evoke more warm and fuzzy feelings than icky ones. No one sees how deep their bond has become until Mia’s mom decides it’s time to come clean.
Less egregious is Philip’s role as an interviewer for a magazine ostensibly writing a final in-depth interview on the life and career of famous film star Hasagawa Kikuo (Emoto Akira). Slipping into dementia, Kikuo’s daughter wants to reassure her father that he won’t be forgotten by the public, and contracts Philip to give the old man one last vestige of fame. It’s this relationship that is the strongest in the film and provides the emotional core of the story. While Philip’s relationship with Mia can be cloyingly sweet, his friendship and care for Kikuo feels genuine. But even in the most dramatic moments when Philip’s charade is about to be exposed, the barely-there tension never rises above a gentle simmer.
The cinematography by Takuro Ishizaka is stunning. Beautiful shots of the bustling Tokyo metropolis are counterbalanced with serene shots of nature and modern, wide-open spaces. There are some unique, and perhaps absurd Japanese customs to North American viewers here, just as many Western traditions seem foreign to the Japanese characters in the film. The differences are plumbed well for laughs and though the film makes light of some peculiarities, it never does so at the expense of the custom itself, but through Philip’s experience with it. It is a shame the supporting characters of the rental agency, played by Yamamoto Mari and Hira Takehiro aren’t given slightly more to do outside of assuming the roles they play in the company as the “other woman” and the boss, respectively.
While it never pushes beyond comfort viewing, Rental Family works best as a sweet, soft-edged tale about belonging, anchored by Brendan Fraser’s easy-going, warm performance.
Rental Family screened as part of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It opens in theatres on November 21.
Head here to get all our That Shelf TIFF coverage.
