★★★★ out of 5 -- Rated: PG-13 -- Run time: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Actor Brendan Fraser, now 56 years old, has made a wide variety of movies since his career kicked off nearly 35 years ago.
From young hunk roles in films like “Encino Man” to box office action star with “The Mummy” franchise, to his well-deserved Oscar as an extremely overweight man in “The Whale,” Fraser has proven his versatility.
Now with “Rental Family,” he’s showing an even more nuanced, sensitive side, playing a struggling American actor living and working in Japan.
This fish-out-of-water story is the brainchild of Japanese-born writer/director Hikari, a former actress-turned-director (“Beef”) who herself struggled with living in a foreign world when she was a high school exchange student who went off to live in Utah.
The script she co-wrote with Stephen Blahut follows Phillip (Fraser), an actor who is eking out a living in Tokyo doing bit parts in various movies and TV shows.
His best-known role came years earlier when he starred in a flashy, high-profile toothpaste commercial (one of the film’s funniest scenes), and he’s lived in Japan ever since, looking for his big break. (The script never really explains why he decided to stay, or how he can afford the regular services of a hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold with whom he’s become friends -- kind of.)
One day, Phillip gets a last-minute gig to play a “sad American” at a family function, which turns out to be an actual funeral complete with an open casket.
It turns bizarre and is Phillip’s introduction to the world of “rental families,” where people are hired to play everything from pretend-grooms or companions to fathers, friends, etc.
Writer/director Hikari says there are more than 300 agencies like this in Japan, supplying people to help provide an emotional connection for their clients.
The owner of the company – Shinji (Takehiro Hira from “Shogun”) – recruits the reluctant American for a variety of these gigs.
Despite his misgivings, Phillip proves to be an excellent role-player and takes his assignments seriously. However, things get complicated when a single Japanese mom hires the actor to pretend to be her young daughter’s long-gone American father.
Mom desperately wants Mia (excellently played by 11-year-old newcomer Shannon Mahina Gorman) to be admitted into an exclusive school, which first requires an all-important interview with school officials.
The mother thinks Mia’s chances will improve if she believes that Phillip really is her dad, so she has them spend lots of time together to bond. And yes, things don’t go as planned.
At the same time, Phillip is balancing another challenging job: The daughter of a well-known, aging actor (Akira Emoto from ”Dr. Akagi” and “Shin Godzilla”) knows her dad is lonely and is in the early stages of dementia.
She hires Phillip to pretend to be a reporter who needs to interview the actor for a magazine article. That turns out to be a life-changing experience for both men.
Emoto is just wonderful as the old performer who still can put on a show, while Fraser really delivers with a low-key, understated performance that’s the perfect choice for this film.
Also noteworthy is Mari Yamamoto (“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”) as one of Phillip’s fellow actors, who is struggling with the emotional toll of her job. A scene where she pretends to be the mistress of a cheating husband being confronted by his wife is one of the movie’s highlights.
Although this is a sentimental story, director Hikari successfully walks the tightrope and avoids going over the top with the emotion. She captures the beauty and nuances of Japanese traditions while also depicting the balance and challenges of modern urban life.
It’s a wonderful look at a different, fascinating culture and how some things in life are universal, no matter where you live.
The end result? “Rental Family” is a warm, hopeful film that will leave audiences satisfied.