In Rental Family, Brendan Fraser accepts money to emotionally manipulate a sweet little girl—and yet the movie is, somehow, a sweet, tender hearted drama.
Directed by Hikari, it begins in splendid form: Phillip arrives late to a Japanese funeral—he’s the only white guy in the small room, and he’s large (but not The Whale large)—only to nearly fall out of his seat when the guest of honor sits up in his coffin. Turns out the not-quite-dead dude paid a “rental family” agency to bring in strangers to eulogize him, while he could still appreciate it.
I didn’t know you could do that, but I’ve made a mental note for when I’m close to the end.
Phillip, a struggling actor and a lost soul, hesitantly agrees to be hired on by this agency to play roles in people’s lives, from being a groom at a wedding to, and here comes the emotional core of the story, a substitute dad brought in to help sway a prestigious private school into accepting the poor girl. Phillip befriends Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman) and the two hit it off, even though the Big Lie is bound to be revealed at some point.
Rental Family sweeps some of the inconveniences of said storyline under the rug, but the plotting by Hikari, who also co-wrote the movie, tends to favor sweet over sour. And that’s okay.. Rental Family, even though it deals with some heavy themes, questionable ethics, and even death, is generally lighthearted, approachable, and utterly pleasant.
Fraser, of course, embodies the tone of the film, delivering a lighthearted, approachable, and utterly pleasant performance. He’s perfectly cast and strikes the right balance between the complexities of his character and the film as a whole with ease; it’s hard to picture anyone else as Phillip.
Rental Family may not carry the emotional heft you’d expect from “year-end” fare, but it’s refreshingly different from the darker dramas we tend to get this kind of year. It’s the kind of movie that if you let it into your heart, it will reward you accordingly. Even if it is about emotionally manipulating children.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.