Common Sense Media Review
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fraser's performance is the heart of thoughtful dramedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
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Where to Watch
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Rental Family
What's the Story?
A longtime resident of Tokyo, American actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser) is always looking for his next gig—and feeling increasingly isolated and cynical about his life. When a RENTAL FAMILY agency (a real business type, of which Japan has about 300) that hires actors to fill clients' emotional needs wants to cast him in the role of groom for a real-life wedding, Phillip isn't sure whether playing a part that involves deceiving people is unethical—or the role of a lifetime. As his job with the agency expands, he proves to have a heart of gold and a character as strong as steel as he steps into parts that bring comfort to a child and to a man with advancing dementia.
Is It Any Good?
Fraser's inherent sweetness is the spoonful of sugar that turns a potentially stomach-churning practice into an emotional milkshake. At Rental Family's core is this question: Can the easiest or most convenient choice also be the right one? And is it OK to lie or stage an interaction if it gives everyone the result they want, even if it's not real? That's for viewers to decide, but here's a spoiler: The answer isn't as obvious as you might imagine.
Casting Fraser as the actor confronting this situation is a stroke of brilliance. He has built up enough love and audience loyalty over the decades that, from the moment he appears on-screen, viewers are with him. Operating from a Western morality that prioritizes truth over comfort, his Phillip tenuously enters the Japanese world of purposeful pretending, weighing both the pitfalls and pleasures of offering clients an emotional surrogate as the means to a potentially happier end. Since this is cinema, viewers do get a heart explosion of an ending, but director and co-writer Hikari also allows us to be left wondering whether the characters' real-life counterparts would feel the same contentment if they knew the truth.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the moral complexity of pretending in real life, as Phillip does in Rental Family. Do you think any of the characters being fooled were better off because of the deception?
How does Phillip demonstrate empathy, humility, and integrity? Why are these important character strengths? Do you consider him a role model? Why, or why not?
How does the movie depict Japanese culture? How does that culture compare to your own, if yours is different?
If you could hire someone to play or stand in for a role in your life, who would it be, and why?
What does it mean to you to find a purpose? Do you think that can make life feel more satisfying and rewarding?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 21, 2025
- On DVD or streaming : January 13, 2026
- Cast : Brendan Fraser , Takehiro Hira , Mari Yamamoto , Akira Emoto
- Director : Hikari
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Asian Movie Director(s) , Japanese Movie Director(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Searchlight Pictures
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Friendship
- Character Strengths : Empathy , Humility , Integrity
- Run time : 103 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : thematic elements, some strong language, and suggestive material
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : November 25, 2025
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