Japan's role-playing proxy services, which began in the 1990s, have become so commonplace that people say "you can rent anything in Tokyo."
Last year, a former comedian's "ugly man rental service" advertisement went viral in Japan. The ad read: "I will be a practice partner for women who want to stand out next to an ordinary man or practice dating with a handsome man."
The film "Rental Family" takes Japan's proxy services—where even family members can be rented—as its subject matter. Through fake relationships, the movie delves into questions of relational authenticity and the modern pursuit of convenience. Paradoxically, it resonates by exposing the deep loneliness lurking within contemporary life.
The story follows Philip (Brendan Fraser), a struggling American actor in his seventh year in Tokyo. After bouncing between auditions, he lands a job at a company called "Rental Family," where his work involves playing whatever role clients need.
From his first assignment standing as a groom at a wedding to playing fathers and journalists, Philip's "fake existence" gradually becomes a "real presence" filling voids in people's lives. While playing Mia's fake father, Philip comes to understand her more deeply than her own mother who requested the service. The boundary between fake and real blurs. The film illuminates how genuine understanding and empathy stem not from the formality of relationships but from the intimacy of human connection.
Philip also takes on the role of a journalist interviewing Kikuo, an 80-year-old veteran actor. Meeting both present and past versions of Kikuo, Philip transforms into a real presence in another's life. Yet crisis arrives when he becomes too emotionally invested in his lonely clients' lives.
The film reveals the vast emptiness and profound loneliness hidden behind the convenience of proxy services. What we truly seek through relationships is not a hollow shell but warm comfort and deep empathy.
Director Hikari noted: "In big cities where loneliness comes easily, you can hire anyone—parents, siblings, relatives, lovers—by the hour. Even though it's a relationship formed through money, people want to build bonds with others."
Rated 12 and above.