‘Rental Family’ REVIEW: Living in a fabricated reality
‘Rental Family’ REVIEW: Living in a fabricated reality
WARNING! This review contains spoilers ahead.
What is better than an ever-present father, a supportive friend, and a reassuring companion who takes you to the perfect destination every step of the way? Between the truth and this so-called happiness, where does perfection lie?
Rental Family, a comedy-drama directed by Hikari, helps us answer the simplest, yet most complex questions of life: Why does the truth matter? Can I find truth in happiness? Starring Brendan Fraser as Phillip Vanderploeg, Takehiro Hira as Shinji Tada, and Mari Yamamoto as Aiko Nakajima, the three stars’ dynamics reflect the greater values that each character has to offer.
Phillip (Brendan Fraser) and Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman) in Rental Family / Still from IMDb
Phillip is made aware of a small business through Shinji. Shinji invites Phillip to their small Japanese rental family agency, where they literally let their customers rent them according to the client’s requested role: a father, a mistress, or simply even a friend. By doing so, they must learn about the clients’ lives, backgrounds, and why they need this particular service.
Generally, the film centers on truth and happiness. It presents a simple life philosophy as a not-so-easy map for what is wrong and right. Initially, Phillip finds the navigator to be defective. He knew that lying blatantly in front of a lot of people was something he could not do, especially when he could act it out effortlessly.
When met with his first client — a lesbian woman who needed a fake fiancé for their fake wedding — he is revealed to the first truth: he could actually provide this happiness in ways he could not see. After the ceremony, he found out that this client was actually in a relationship with a woman, as this is something they had to hide from their families. The traditional wedding held was simply a ceremony to satisfy her parents before moving to Canada with her true partner. The realities that they were living were not the same for everyone. Love, in this aspect, was actually a starting point for Phillip.
Shinji then introduces him to two other clients: a dementia-stricken film director, Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto), and a single mother, Hitomi Kawasaki (Shino Shinozaki), who has a young daughter named Mia (Shannon Gorman). He plays two roles simultaneously: for Kikuo, he poses as a journalist conducting an interview, fulfilling the director’s daughter’s (Sei Matobu) wish that her father experience a dignified sense of closure. On the other hand, Phillip plays the absent father of Mia, a half-Japanese girl, as Hitomi deemed it necessary for an exclusive school application and interview.
Phillip (Brendan Fraser) in Rental Family / Still from IMDb
The interaction between their characters started on a bumpy road. At the start, Mia hated Phillip, asking questions about why he left and why he suddenly showed up was something he had to actually think about, not just for his job, but also for the sake of Mia’s feelings. After meeting her, Phillip calls Shinji and admits, “She hates me.” Shinji simply responds, “That’s what being a parent is.” This remark pushes Phillip further as he develops a growing relationship with Mia as her “father.” This is something that mattered to him now. It is also something that mattered to Mia.
Their dynamic is as tender as it is complicated, given that their relationship is entirely fabricated. Phillip actually listens to Mia’s frustrations about the school interview. He answers her questions about where he came from. And most importantly, their bond seems genuine. This is similar to his relationship with Kikuo. Besides the journey that they had to embark on to discover Kikuo’s treasure, Phillip went beyond his business-agency responsibilities not for a client, but for a friend.
Phillip (Brendan Fraser) in Rental Family / Still from IMDb
Between the strict lines of providing this service and building relationships to the best of your ability, the film poses an important question of truth and happiness — how do I become happy in a world where truth is fabricated? Going beyond what you can do for yourself and what you can do for others may not be as easy as it is, especially when feelings matter.
Some have pointed out the mawkishness of the film — too sentimental, crowd-pleasing, and even unrealistic. But if I may say, these evident points, the wholesomeness, and its ability to shed a tear are what make the film great, easy to appreciate, love, and even rewatch.
‘Rental Family’ was shown exclusively at Ayala Malls cinemas and was part of 2025 QCinema International Film Festival.
