RENTAL FAMILY
Review by Rose Finlay
© WALT DISNEY GERMANY
RENTAL FAMILY
USA, JAPAN 2025 OPENING JANUARY 8, 2025 DIRECTED BY HIKARI
WRITING CREDITS: HIKARI, STEPHEN BLAHUT
PRINCIPAL ACTORS: BRENDAN FRASER, TAKEHIRO HIRA, MARI YAMAMOTO, AKIRA EMOTO, SHANNON GORMAN
Phillip( Brendan Fraser) is a struggling American actor living in Tokyo. A few years ago, he did a very successful commercial, which led him to believe that he could have a career in Japan. However, as the years have dragged on, he still struggles to book jobs and is living a lonely life in a small, bleak apartment. He books a last-minute job and finds himself in a bizarre situation; he is attending a fake funeral as a token American mourner. After the funeral finishes, he is offered a unique job at a company that rents family members to the Japanese public. Soon he finds himself playing all sorts of roles, but when he is rented to pretend to be a father for the young child of a single mother, he starts to come head-to-head with the moral and ethical implications of what he is doing.
Rental Family is at once both a light comedy and also a thought-provoking examination of Japanese culture. Director / screenwriter Hikari does an excellent job of creating a film that, while eminently accessible to Western audiences, also manages to provide insight into some of the unique cultural challenges the Japanese face in their society. From a Western perspective, the idea of a rental family seems absurd, but within the context of a culture with sometimes rigidly traditional expectations, it makes sense. A lesbian needs to rent a groom to marry so that her family can stop bothering her but also stop worrying about her future; a mother rents a father to give her daughter a chance at being accepted into a prestigious private school that values traditional family models. It is easy to say that society should change to make such elaborate illusions no longer necessary, but the reality is much more difficult and complex. Of course, even though it may be understandable, Hikari does not ignore the ethical issues that come along with such deception, with Phillip’ s struggles leading to many comedic and heartfelt moments. An understated comedy with surprising depth and a heartfelt and charming performance by Brendan Fraser makes Rental Family a perfect cozy film.
56 HAMBURG HAPPENINGS