Rental Family | The Deight Night Review
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| Rental Family (2026, Hikari, Searchlight Pictures) |
Only two years after his Oscar win for The Whale, Brendan Fraser is making another go at getting another trophy for his cabinet with his lead performance in the heartfelt comedy drama, Rental Family, directed by Hikari. Brendan Fraser stars as Phillip Vandarpleog, a struggling American actor who's made his home in Tokyo, Japan. When he's sent by his agent to play a part in a fake funeral service as a "Sad American", he's approached by the organiser of the event, Shinji (Takehrio Hira). He offers Phillip more full time work at his company, Rental Family, where they provide actors to play any parts in people's lives that clients request. Whilst he has some reservations about the ethics of some of the jobs he'd be doing, Phillip is eventually convinced to start the work. Though when he's hired to play the part of an absent father of a young girl and a journalist interviewing an aging actor, Phillip learns that he might be getting more fulfilment out of this job than he first thought and the lines between role and reality become blurred.
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| Rental Family (2026, Hikari, Searchlight Pictures) |
In any film, it's always fun to think about who else could have played a part and potential castings are often some of the best what-ifs in cinema history, but for Phillip Vandarpleog in Rental Family, the only result of any alternate casting is a lesser film. Brendan Fraser is perfect and is given a role that plays to all of his strengths. The largest of these is his ability to be a warm and friendly presence, there are several scenes that are very tender and they're made all the more so by Fraser's infectious smile. His performance is also vulnerable and leads to a lot of heart warming moments as the film tackles a whole variety of emotional themes. The rest of the cast is made up of entirely Japanese actors, fittingly for the film's setting, and the dialogue bounces between English and Japanese a lot as a result. The entire cast are great, with highlights being Mari Yamamoto as Phillip's colleague, Aiko and Shannon Mahina Gorman as Phillip's surrogate daughter, Mia. The heart of the film, though, very much resides in Fraser's central performance as he struggles with loneliness and the morals of "fake" connections.
From the moment the story starts to get going in Rental Family, anyone who's seen a tearjerker or two in their lives will know exactly where the plot is headed. This feeling comes to a gut punching head when Phillip is introduced to his fake daughter (who's under the impression he's her real father) and she forces him to pinkie promise that he'll never leave her. The emotional roller coaster that is Rental Family, never gives you a moment to breathe as it constantly attacks you with beautiful happiness, bittersweet tragedy and, of course, heart-breaking goodbyes. Many will say that the film is almost manipulative in the way it tugs at audience's heartstrings but, really, manipulating your emotions is sort of what good films are meant to do. It's also hard to prevent the lumps in your throat when you're confronted with a story that so emphatically tackles themes of isolation and the importance of connection.
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| Rental Family (2026, Hikari, Searchlight Pictures) |
Though unlike a lot of tearjerkers, Rental Family does prefer to keep it lighter. For one thing, the humour is very charming and while the film definitely won't be anyone's comedy of the year, the jokes in fact, add to the warm feeling the film gives throughout its runtime. Many of the workplace politics of the company, Rental Family, are the source of the jokes but Phillip playing the part of Mia's father often provides a very tender chuckle accompanied by a soft smile. Indeed, the film also tends to move away from tragedy and focuses on the positive side of emotional connections and the effects they have on Phillip's isolation in this foreign land. This makes for a comedy drama that's sometimes bitter sweet but other times a feel good, life affirming treat.
Hikari has crafted a film that encapsulates the cure to loneliness and debates the morals of where people can go to get that cure. Centring its plot in one of the world's most isolated countries only adds to the film's thematic depth and gives Brendan Fraser's moving and stirring performance all the more weight as he struggles to find connection himself. There's no chance audience members will leave the cinema without wet tissues after Rental Family, but they won't be left feeling cold and empty as it's entirely a warm embrace of a bittersweet yet uplifting cinematic experience.
★★★★
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