Winter Film Festival - Rental Family

Set in Tokyo, “Rental Family” follows an American actor who struggles to find purpose until he finds 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.

The Winter Fest selection “Rental Family” is a heartfelt, sentimental story that explores loneliness and human connection with a tender, feel-good tone. This film also delivers another great performance from Brendan Fraser and also dives into some Japanese culture.

Not only is Brendan Fraser’s performance in this film heartwarming and tender, it’s also a great continuation of his career resurgence (after winning Best Actor for “The Whale” and finally doing “The Mummy 4”!). Throughout the film, Fraser has a calm and loving presence and he also has the ability to anchor the film’s emotional weight. He also has an ability to evoke trust and safety on screen, making it very believable that the Rental Family clients would trust him with their most fragile moments.

“Rental Family” also provides us with some endearing moments that are quite touching and great to watch. There’s a sequence in the film where Phillip (Fraser) helps an elderly client, Kikuo, “break out” of his home to return to his roots in the Japanese countryside.

Up to this point, Phillip has been in a sort of “numb mode,” treating his life as a series of disconnected fake performances. By facilitating this “jailbreak” as they call it, Phillip chooses to act on his empathy rather than his “part,” while risking his job in the process. This little journey allows Kikuo, a former actor suffering from dementia, to reconnect with his past and find old photos of his first love.

There’s also another moving plot point in the film where Phillip portrays a long-lost father for this young girl, Mia. The relationship between Mia and Philip is actually the heart of the film as it’s a truly moving part of the overall story.

“Rental Family” generally focuses on themes of profound loneliness, the search for authentic connection, and the ethical complexities of performative relationships. The actual Rental Family industry began in the 1990s, where individuals hire actors to fulfill roles to avoid social stigma or to cope with isolation. I honestly had no idea this is an actual thing until just recently!

“Rental Family” is a gentle, poignant dramedy exploring loneliness and the human need for connection through the lens of Japan’s real-life, niche-for-hire family services. The film has been generally well-received as a charming and touching film that offers a moving, well-acted story about being seen and finding connection.

Cast: Brendan Fraser (Phillip Vanderploeg); Takahiro Hira (Shinji); Mari Yamamoto (Aiko); Shannon Gorman (Mia Kawasaki); Akira Emoto (Kikuo Hasegawa); Shino Shinozaki (Hitomi); Kimura Bun (Kota); Sei Matobu (Masami Hasegawa); Misato Morita (Yoshie Ikeda)

Writer/director: Stephen Blahut (writer); Hikari (director/co-writer)

MPA: Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some strong language, and suggestive material   (runtime 109 minutes)

The remaining show dates and times for “Rental Family” during the Winter Film Festival are as follows: Thursday March 5 - 2:30 pm; Saturday March 7 - 2:30 pm; Thursday March 12 - 7;15 pm. If you can’t make it to any of the remaining showings, the film is also streaming on Hulu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0pqP6ClcE8

• The earliest known rental family service was offered by Japan Efficiency Corporation (Nihon Kokasei Honbu) starting in the fall of 1991. Today, numerous agencies provide professional actors to portray friends, relatives, or colleagues at events such as weddings, business functions, and social gatherings, reflecting a uniquely structured niche industry.

• Brendan Fraser studied Japanese in preparation for the role. However, much of his on-set dialogue was learned phonetically, with assistance from his Japanese co-stars to ensure accuracy in tone and delivery.

• The project entered development in 2019. In November 2023, Brendan Fraser was announced as the lead, with Hikari directing from a screenplay she co-wrote with Stephen Blahut. Additional cast members, including Mari Yamamoto, Takehiro Hira, and Akira Emoto, were announced in March 2024. Filming began in Japan on March 12, 2024, and concluded in late May.

• An international co-production between the United States and Japan, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2025. It was released in the United States by Searchlight Pictures on November 21, 2025.