It may have come and gone rather quickly from most theatres, but when you get a chance, you should certainly give Rental Family a go. Sure, it’s sappy and fairly low-stakes, but there’s also a very human story about the impact an individual can have, framed from a culture that has a dark history with mental health treatment. So, what is a “rental family”? It’s …
It may have come and gone rather quickly from most theatres, but when you get a chance, you should certainly give Rental Family a go. Sure, it’s sappy and fairly low-stakes, but there’s also a very human story about the impact an individual can have, framed from a culture that has a dark history with mental health treatment.
So, what is a “rental family”? It’s the name of a company within the universe that hires actors to fill roles in people’s lives. Mental health awareness and treatment are often shunned in Japan, so people like Shinji (Shogun’s Takehiro Hira) have created opportunities for people to find escape and catharsis, and hopefully help, through other means. Enter Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Fraser), a struggling American actor who has been living in Tokyo for seven years, who finds himself at the Rental Family agency after their need for a “token white guy” in their roster of actors.
As an outsider, Phillip does find the profession questionable and dubious at first, let alone bizarre, but comes to realize the potential for good. But he’s also not blind to the potential damage that could be inflicted upon his subjects, especially when they’re not privy to the act. Over the course of the film, he finds himself playing roles such as a loving husband at a wedding (and the reasoning for that role is a neat twist), an estranged father to a young girl whose mother hires him to help secure her position in a prestigious school, and as a journalist for a prolific retired actor suffering from dementia.
Phillip ends up embedding himself quite deeply and positively into the lives of these people (especially the latter two), so much so that he questions the ethics of his newfound profession. On one hand, he’s giving false hope and downright deceiving those around him, while on the other, he’s having a noticeable positive impact on their lives. Helping with this moral dilemma is Fraser in the lead role. We inherently like Brendan Fraser and thus, we like Phillip and the roles he plays. He’s an incredibly likable guy, and the lessons he both learns and bestows upon make this movie ultimately a “feel good” experience, despite the more tragic and morally shady themes at play. Certainly an award-worthy performance.
If Fraser is good in the movie, that said, then Shannon Mahina Gorman as Mia Kawasaki is the MVP. She steals the movie, and I hope she gets recognition come award season too. The dynamic between Mia and Phillip, posing as her estranged father “Kevin”, is fantastic, and that’s in no small part due to her performance, which has to grapple with both resenting her absentee father while getting to know and understand Kevin, who isn’t really her father, but is nonetheless a positive reinforcement in the child’s life. With Philip also not having a father figure growing up, he’s able to channel certain emotions and experiences into the role he’s playing. The film overall explores the themes of isolation, legacy, and identity in accessible but complex ways that hook you in. It’s also got a great ending that’s sure to put a smile on your face.
Much like Lost in Translation, an unseen yet critical character in the film is Tokyo itself. I love films that can make a city feel like a character, and Rental Family, directed by Hikari, excels at this in spades. There’s countless shots of daily routines and the mundane, mixed in with the frantic and densely packed nature of the city, that you can’t help but feel you’re passing through the city, which only serves to enhance that “stranger in a strange land” angle the movie goes for. If you find a showtime for this one or want to wait for streaming, I’d definitely recommend giving it a go. It has great performances and overall a great vibe.
