Rental Family

Rental Family 

Directed and Co-written by Hikari

What a radical piece of storytelling RENTAL FAMILY is. The new dramedy starring Brendan Fraser as a struggling actor living in Japan had all the looks and feel of a typical Hollywood crowd pleaser. Fraser's character takes a job as different surrogates in people's lives to help them fulfill some sort of social need. Eventually he has to play the role of a little girl's father to help her get into a school, and we can see where this is going...

Or do we! While it's clear as day what the overall message and theme of RENTAL FAMILY is, how we get there took quite a few unexpected turns for my sadly American sensibilities. That is because the film is directed and co-written by as well as starring entirely Japanese people. This isn't a fish out water story, we see Fraser has been living and working in the country for some time. He speaks the language and knows the customs for the most part, but is still hesitant to take on the "rental family" job. 

Soon we have a whole ensemble, with Fraser making profound changes in people's lives. The recent Oscar winner and all time Hollywood hunk towers over nearly everyone with his 6'3" frame, yet this is the softest he's been since maybe BLAST FROM THE PAST (real ones remember!). What an incredibly gentle and sweet performance, commanding in every way yet never once raising his voice or flailing about. 

The footage of normal day to day life, the skylines, the natural locations are filmed with such pristine beauty. Japan, a country that has looked gorgeous on film many, many times, is shot in a way that I've never see before. So many little profound moments throughout, such as the way the film comments on sex work. We are gently reminded time to time that there are still many cultural differences and customs, no matter how assimilated an American might feel.

This turned out to be the crowd pleaser all along! We just took the Japanese scenic route to get there. Brendan we love you always and forever now get your ass on set for THE MUMMY 4!

☆☆☆1/2 out of 4