Rental Family review by Bobby Blakey
In 2022 Brendan Fraser had a career resurgence in his Oscar winning performance The Whale. Since then, he has been getting more well-deserved high-profile work, but his latest film Rental Family looks to be another return to form. The film co-stars Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman, and Akira Emoto with director Hikari at the helm. Could this film be yet another powerful performance once again showcasing Fraser’s leading man status or will it be a performance not worthy of family?
Rental Family follows an American actor who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese "rental family" agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.
I have never been happier than when Fraser won the Oscar and Hollywood began seeing him in the light he deserved once again. I have also been upset that I wasn’t getting more of him to shine on screen like only he can so seeing the trailer for this movie made it instantly a must see for me. Now that I have finally gotten to sit down and see the film, I am happy to say that it not only lived up to my expectations, but once again proves what a true powerhouse actor Fraser is.
The story is simple and deals with so many themes in a unique way. You can see all the benefits to the service this company provides but also makes you question the truth and connections it creates and how to deal with it knowing it can never end well in most of these cases. It could have easily fallen into just focusing on these elements via the company and the coldness of the performers but the
addition to an American in this culture in Japan gave them a catalyst for diving deeper into it all.
There is a lot of culture here with the film taking place in Japan so the fish out of water aspect could have been overplayed but having him already engrained into this country lets it put its focus elsewhere. They American sentiments have a different effect than that of the Japanese mindset here and causes and uproar to the entire idea right out of the gate. I love that they give us so many different options to how the service is used to show how it can bring about positivity to people along with the deeper aspects.
Fraser is outstanding at every turn in this film. He brings an everyman approach that screams struggle, heart and emotion without ever saying a word. He says so much with his eyes and facial expressions that you believe his every word and feel for everything he is going through. The entire cast is great around him with Akira Emoto being the only one to really steal the spotlight from Fraser. When they are on screen together it is pure brilliance and power.
I loved this movie even more than I had expected to. While more uplifting than The Whale it is just as powerful as a performance in a different way. This is once again showing the world who Fraser is and his long overdo recognition. There are some interesting twists that you will never see coming along with laughs, love, tears, heartbreak and everything else you can possibly manage to feel in this brilliant piece of cinema.
Decide for yourself and check out Rental Family in theaters now.