A One Mann’s Movies review of “Rental Family” (From the 2025 London Film Festival). (2025, 3*, ’15’).
In amongst all of the heavyweight dramas at the LFF, “light and fluffy” movies have been a bit of a scarcity. OK, there was “Roofman“, “DJ Ahmet” and “100 Nights of Hero” (still to review) which probably fits that bill. But none of them have quite the same feel-good vibes as “Rental Family”, only the second feature film from the sparsely-named “Hikari” (real name Mitsuyo Miyazaki) and her most accessible film for Western audiences. Given that I went straight from “Die My Love” into this, I needed something a bit more heart-warming, and this was definitely it!
I saw this one at a public screening in the Royal Festival Hall and it received the most sustained applause of any film I saw at the LFF this year: which has “sure fire hit” written over it for its UK release.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Phillip Vandarpleog (Brandan Fraser) is an American who has been living in Tokyo for the past seven years. He has a passing knowledge of Japanese to get by, but as a local tells him, seven years is nothing in terms of being able to understand the intricacies of Japanese society.
Phillip works as an actor, picking up parts for Western actors in Japanese productions. He lives something of a sad and lonely existence, regularly sleeping with a sex worker and viewing the lives of the residents in the opposite apartments as a Tokyo-based version of “Rear Window“. But then he gets cast in a new role as “Sad American” for a very different type of production and his life takes an interesting turn.
Certification:
UK: 12A; US: PG-13. (The film has not yet been rated by the BBFC but I would expect it to be a ’12A’ for language, and sex references.)
Talent:
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman, Akira Emoto, Shino Shinozaki, Kimura Bun.
Directed by: Hikari.
Written by: Hikari & Stephen Blahut.
Running Time: 1h 43m.
Summary:
Positives:
- Phillips bafflement that his Japanese employees actually pay money for these services is very enjoyable.
- The episodes with the famous old actor Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto) are touching and work the best out of all of the jobs.
- A decent number of laughs blended well with some genuinely moving moments.
Negatives:
- Some may view the whole subterfuge involving Mia’s emotions to be in poor taste.
- It’s not the deepest of films.
Full Review of “Rental Family”:
The stiff’s alive!
We delve here into a type of business transaction which I don’t think you find anywhere outside of Japan. Sure, businessmen have been employing call-girls for sex for centuries and I’m sure the sort of “Pretty Woman” scenario exists where rich people have paid for eye-candy to accompany them to important social events, even where sex is not involved. But here we see a different sort of transaction: people employed to partake in companionship or face-saving where sex is definitely not on the table (or indeed, in the bed). For the rental company employees – “Providing Perfect Happiness” – are sort of ’emotional prostitutes’.
For example, when Phillip (Brandan Fraser) gets his first job from his new boss Shinji (Takehiro Hira) it is to play a “sad American” among the mourners at a funeral. But a twist is that the stiff is not stiff at all but rises from the coffin like the zombie apocalypse has arrived!
It’s a neat idea…. to have your funeral and hear all the nice eulogies your friends and family will say about you while you are still around to hear it. (“Ah yes, Bob Mann. He gave decent film reviews, but gave too much credit to Florence Pugh for improper reasons”!) It’s fun seeing Phillip’s bafflement at the whole affair and why anyone would then want to hire a “sad American” to bulk up the numbers!
A wide range of jobs.
As the film progresses, we get to see a wide range of different types of jobs: a companion to play video games with; a fake girlfriend to take the flak and apologise for a husband’s multiple dalliances; a cheerleader; and a member of the press.
A particularly touching story is where Phillip is hired to play a Canadian marrying a young Japanese girl. What’s the reason for the subterfuge? Why is the wool being pulled over the girl’s parents’ eyes? The reason is a neat twist (although I can hear the derisive calls of the MAGA cult shouting “Woke nonsense”!)
But the primary plot centres around two particular jobs, one a bit more icky than the other.
Job 1: The icky one.
For this job, a single mother (Shino Shinozaki) hires Phillip to play the missing father of a mixed-race girl,
Mia Kawasaki (Mia Kawasaki) in order for her to make a good impression in the entrance interview for one of the most prestigious private schools in Japan.
Now, you or I might have enough respect for their daughter’s mental health to let her into the ruse: “hey kid, we’re hiring this guy to pretend to be your Dad so that we can get you into this school”. But no. Phillip is introduced to Mia AS her father and, as Phillip is desperate for deeper relationships, he is so good at his job that Mia’s initial icy attitude melts and she starts having fun with her ‘Dad’.
You realise that this can’t last forever. You also realise the obvious flaw in the plan, when Phillip is also resident in Tokyo AND is a jobbing actor and the face of “Toothpaste Man”, one of the most successful adverts on Japanese TV. It’ll all end in tears, and indeed it does.
Job 2: the less icky one.
The other main job we spend time on is where Phillip plays an American journalist set up to interview a famous Japanese actor, Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto). Kikuo-san has dementia so Phillip has to work hard to keep on his right side, but warms to the task and develops a genuine friendship with and respect for the old man.
When Phillip takes his friendship beyond professional levels and teams with Kikuo on a ‘jailbreak’ he gets into trouble with the law. It is up to his Rental Family colleagues – Shinji (Takehiro Hira); Aiko (Mari Yamamoto) and Kota (Kimura Bun) – to help him; a genuinely hilarious scene.
Another sort of transactional relationship.
You might guess from this review that the film is quite shallow in terms of plot… but it’s delightfully shallow! The element that is perhaps the deepest it gets is in the relationship between Phillip and his sex worker. Phillip needs sex, is not in a relationship, so he pays for it. After we’ve seen dozens of different types of other transactional relationships, where the actor fulfils a need, this is reflected as just another sort of transaction: only this time with bodily fluids exchanged! She (I can’t seem to find her IMDB credit at the moment) comments “I help people physically; you help them emotionally”. Two sides of the same coin.
Summary Thoughts:
It’s not a deep film, but it is a highly enjoyable film. Very much recommended. It is currently slated for a UK release on January 9th 2026.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0pqP6ClcE8.
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