Title – Rental Family (2025)

Director – Hikari (37 Seconds)

Cast – Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, Akira Emoto

Plot – Struggling American born actor Phillip Vanderploeg (Fraser) is lost in his new home country of Japan but finds potential solace and meaning in his new role at a local “rental family” agency ran by Shinji Tada (Hira).

“Sometimes the story we tell ourselves becomes the truth”

Review by Eddie on 28/01/2026

A star of Hollywood in the 90’s and early 2000’s, the recent Oscar winning career revival of beloved actor Brendan Fraser is one of the most heartwarming and surprising stories to come out of the industry in the modern era and after the resounding success of The Whale, Rental Family proves Fraser’s redemption story is not a short-lived one.

A joint collaboration between American and Japanese film companies, Family finds rising Japanese director Hikari jumping back behind the camera for the first time since she worked on multiple episodes of hit Netflix series Beef to comically and dramatically explore Japan’s “Rental Family” agencies, here through the eyes and experiences of Fraser’s American ex-pat actor Phillip Vanderploeg who takes up a gig as a paid performer for a company overseen by Takehiro Hira’s Shinji.

A wonderful ode to Japanese culture and the sights and sounds that make the country so unique and captivating, Hikari’s gentle and heartfelt film may sometimes ere too far into the saccharine, but those ventures aren’t enough to take away from the fact Family is a lovable and well-intentioned feature film experience that once more allows for Fraser to ply his trade and remind us why he became one of the most popular Hollywood actors of the modern era.

A very different role to his all-encompassing and make-up clad performance as The Whale’s unfortunate Charlie, Fraser’s Phillip gives the actor a great chance to showcase his comedic chops around his dramatic prowess and as Phillip’s rather isolated world is expanded as he takes on various performing roles for his agency, Fraser’s interactions with the likes of Shannon Mahina Gorman’s young Mia or Akira Emoto’s aging acting icon Kikuo ensure that Family is an engaging, uplifting and heartfelt experience that is sure to find a much larger audience on the home market than it did in the middle of the end of year awards rush in the tail-end of 2025.

Accompanied by a notable score from composers Jon Thor Birgisson and Alex Somers, Family is a polished dramedy in all departments and a great new addition to the growing repertoire of Hikari and the comeback story we are all here for as Fraser continues to take on meaningful roles after years in the acting doldrums and industry wilderness.

Likely to bring a smile to even the hardest to please and cold-hearted of viewers, it’s impossible not to fall for this familiar but entirely unique humanly focussed slice of life tale.

Final Say –

For the majority balancing the right way between being too sentimental and over the top, Rental Family is a joyously optimistic feature that meaningfully continues Brendan Fraser’s comeback period.

4 funeral surprises out of 5