Rental Family is an upcoming comedy-drama set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this September. Centered around Brendan Fraser, the film looks to continue the late career resurgence that has taken the former star of George Of The Jungle, The Mummy, and Monkeybone to new heights as seen by his major roles on streaming television in Doom Patrol, lauded roles with critically beloved directors such Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon and Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move, and even an Oscar for Best Actor with his work in The Whale. Rental Family appears to be a referential film taking advantage of its lead’s history by showcasing the story of an actor down on his luck, doing bits part in Japanese commercials, a career trend shared by quite a many actors and musicians (including Harrison Ford and David Bowie); then finds job opportunity as a stand-in for a rental family company.
The trailer for Rental Family prominently features many lies that seem to touch on the state of the modern film industry and the labor of actors in it. After showcasing the type of commercial work performed by Fraser’s character, his agent describes to him that “the market isn’t the same anymore. It’s half the rate, twice the work,” a phrase likely to have been uttered to stated to many actors in recent years, in light of stated difficulties with finding work and getting projects made for all notable and aspiring artists.
The trailer does not stay too downbeat, as the rental company employee seen in the trailer, played by Takehiro Hira (Rumours, Shogun, Ace Attorney), jokingly describes the need for “a token white guy” in between his sales pitch of how they offer “roles with real meaning” to the actors. Throughout the trailer, the film seemingly alternates between tones of heartfelt sentimentality and humorous self-awareness, as it goes through a classic story of strange acquaintances finding companionship through the most unlikely of circumstances.
Rental Family is co-written and directed by Hikari, a Japanese filmmaker most notable for her work on the Netflix comedy-drama series Beef. Hikari had written and directed episodes of Beef, including its pilot. Beef has also received acclaim from critics for its portrayal of an Asian cast and the problems and life events experienced by that demographic. Rental Family, with its Japanese crew and setting, seems set to contribute to that emerging canon of English-language Asian art and artists, including a spin on the typical fish-out-of-water white person in Japan story that Hollywood has seen in projects such as Lost In Translation and The Geisha Boy.
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