Tokyo Role-Play: Brendan Fraser Delivers a Masterclass in Poignant Artifice in 'Rental Family'

In his first major starring role since his Academy Award-winning turn in The Whale, actor Brendan Fraser has found a vehicle that exquisitely showcases his dramatic range. In the dramedy Rental Family, Fraser embodies an American actor grappling with professional stagnation in Tokyo, who unexpectedly finds a novel avenue for practicing his craft. The film, directed by Japanese filmmaker Hikari (37 Seconds), is a delightful cinematic surprise, skillfully balancing genuine poignancy with sharp humor.

The story opens with Philip (Fraser) seven years into his expatriate life in Tokyo, struggling to find footing in the acting world. His career has dwindled since a prominent toothpaste commercial, leaving him with roles as minor as playing a tree. Desperate for employment, he accepts an ambiguous gig from his agent, instructed only to play a "sad American."

This assignment leads him to a funeral featuring an open casket and weeping mourners. The twist, which introduces the film’s central conceit, is that the supposed deceased is very much alive. Philip has been hired by the “Rental Family” agency, a service specializing in providing actors for "specialized performances" in deeply personal, role-play scenarios—a concept apparently prevalent in Japan.

Impressed by Philip’s somber aptitude, the agency owner, Shinji (Takehiro Hira of Shogun), offers him a permanent position, explaining, "We need a token white guy." Initially hesitant, Philip eventually accepts, though his first assignment—playing the groom for a young woman secretly marrying her female partner—nearly costs him his job when he panics.

Rental Family brilliantly utilizes its unusual premise for both comical effect and deep emotional resonance. As Philip delves into his new career, he struggles with the professional obligation to maintain distance from his characters' lives.

His challenging assignments highlight this conflict:

• He is hired to play a journalist interviewing a legendary Japanese actor (Akira Emoto of Dr. Akagi fame) because the actor’s daughter wants to ensure he does not feel forgotten.

• He accepts the role of the American father of an 11-year-old girl, Mia (Shannon Gorman, making an affecting film debut), whose single mother desperately needs the parental façade to enroll her in a prestigious private school.

In both instances, Philip, who wears his heart on his sleeve, makes choices driven by his inability to separate his feelings from his professional duties, creating trouble for his clients.

The film's most moving element is the tender relationship that develops between Philip and Mia, who believes he is genuinely her long-absent father. Beyond the poignancy, Hikari and co-screenwriter Stephen Blahut cleverly explore the concept of role-playing that exists in all aspects of life. This thematic exploration is wittily rendered through a series of narrative surprises where various relationships are revealed to be facades, providing some of the movie's most amusing moments.

Cinematographer Takuro Ishizaka makes stunning use of Tokyo’s urban expanse, frequently employing vast shots that subtly underscore the loneliness experienced by Philip and many of the city's inhabitants.

Fraser’s performance is key to the film's power. Where his early career capitalized on his physique for comic effect (George of the Jungle), he now utilizes his comparative physical bulk to convey profound emotion. Lumbering through Tokyo and looming over the Japanese figures he encounters, Fraser powerfully communicates his character’s physical and emotional otherness. His superbly nuanced and expressive acting anchors the dramedy.

Fraser is excellently supported by the ensemble, including Mari Yamamoto as one of his role-playing co-workers, with whom he develops a strong friendship that refreshingly avoids the cliché of a predictable romantic interest.

The film strikes a universal chord when Mia plaintively asks Philip during a vulnerable moment, “Why do adults always lie?” Rental Family provides touching and insightful answers to this relatable question, delivering a charming and rare delicacy that reaffirms Fraser’s status as a formidable dramatic actor.