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Rental Family

  • Rated PG 13
  • 1hr 50m
  • 3.8/5 (2.6K)
  • 66

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  • Trailer 1

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Hikari

Producer:

Hikari, Julia Lebedev, Eddie Vaisman

Writer:

Hikari, Stephen Blahut

Release Date:

Nov 21, 2025

Runtime:

1hr 50m

Synopsis

Set in modern-day Tokyo, RENTAL FAMILY follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) 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.

Cast

  • Brendan Fraser
  • Takehiro Hira
  • Mari Yamamoto
  • Shannon Gorman
  • Akira Emoto
  • Nihi
  • Gan Furukawa
  • Takao Kin
  • Yuji Komatsu
  • Ryôko Osada

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.8
6.2K
8.4K
2.3K
RATINGS 31 FANS
3.8
  • Sep 7, 2025

    Sweet movie but that’s about it so it’ll win best picture #thankyoucoda

    357 Likes
    jonathan fujii
    jonathan fujii
    Nov 5, 2025

    movie #19 @38th Tokyo International Film Festival You have likely by now heard something about the unusual service in Japan where individuals can hire a “rental family.” Essentially, this service allows clients to hire professional actors to serve as family members,…

    109 Likes
    Jomari Bashin
    Jomari Bashin
    Sep 12, 2025

    Hey this was really nice

    221 Likes
    Amanda the Jedi
    Amanda the Jedi
  •
    Sep 6, 2025

    RENTAL FAMILY is a profoundly moving film lead by a gentle and affecting performance from Brendan Fraser as an actor hired to fill the missing roles in his clients’ lives. Also, Akira Emoto ripped my heart out. Very strong supporting performance. Beautifully shot with a…

    186 Likes
    Matt Neglia
    Matt Neglia
    Oct 16, 2025

    so there’s this really cute movie

    126 Likes
    aaron
    aaron
    Sep 7, 2025

    Very sweet and cozy movie

    164 Likes
    The Oscar Expert
    The Oscar Expert
  •
    Oct 16, 2025

    Why does the rental system feel like a Nathan Fielder experiment?

    98 Likes
    _modino
    _modino
    Oct 15, 2025

    I like watching Brendan Fraser being nice for two hours.

    83 Likes
    Mike Ryan
    Mike Ryan
    Sep 7, 2025

    Thoroughly enjoyable, gentle, and heartwarming. You’ll wish Brendan Fraser was your dad or your son or whatever floats your boat — he’s pitch perfect and utterly sincere in the role (or… roles?) I did want a little more depth with his character besides telling us where the…

    107 Likes
    Brother Bro
    Brother Bro
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Metacritic

66
metacritic
Based on 14 Critics
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
58
Sep 9, 2025

Rental Family, directed by Hikari, displays an almost admirable amount of restraint in its tear jerking, opting for quieter moments of grace rather than overdone emotion. In fact, it’s so restrained that Fraser’s Phillip Vandarpleog is not much of a character at all, and you leave itching for more of his inner life.

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Esther Zuckerman
The Daily Beast
90
Sep 8, 2025

Rental Family is practically poetic in its handling of its themes. It gets to the root of human emotions and how they’re affected by the world around us and the decisions made by others. It’s a heartwarming film that asks thoughtful questions, and I promise you won’t be disappointed by its answers.

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Mae Abdulbaki
Screen Rant
75
Sep 7, 2025

Rental Family could have gone deeper, darker, and more boldly into the oddities of the human rental market. But that would be a different film. It seems silly to come down too hard on this good-natured comedy-drama––especially for offering a much more impressive performance than the one that earned Fraser an Oscar.

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Metacritic review by Christopher Schobert
Christopher Schobert
The Film Stage
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