Brendan Fraser in ‘Rental Household’. Picture by James Lisle/Searchlight Photos. © 2025 Searchlight Photos. All Rights Reserved.
In theaters by way of Searchlight Photos on November twenty first is ‘Rental Household’, a comedy drama in regards to the lies we inform others (and ourselves) that explores an interesting real-world service in Japan via the eyes of an American actor.
“Happiness tailor-made to you!”
Launch Date: Nov 21, 2025
Run Time: 1 hr 50 min
Directed by Hikari (‘37 Seconds’), ‘Rental Household’ stars Brendan Fraser (‘The Whale’), Takehiro Hira (‘Shōgun’), Mari Yamamoto (‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’), Akira Emoto (‘Shin Godzilla’) and, making a formidable debut, Shannon Gorman.
Associated Article: ‘Every thing All over the place All at As soon as’ Wins (Nearly) Every thing on the 2023 Oscars
Preliminary Ideas
(L to R) Shannon Gorman and Brendan Fraser in ‘Rental Household’. Picture by James Lisle/Searchlight Photos. © 2025 Searchlight Photos. All Rights Reserved.
Movies that view Japan via the lens of outsiders can typically be distancing. But in ‘Rental Household’, co-writer/director Hikari has discovered an emotionally satisfying approach into the bizarre enterprise of performers taking part in members of the family to assist strangers via awkward social conditions that not solely has stable issues to say about how we work together, but in addition tells a satisfying story.
Script and Course
Director Hikari on the set of ‘Rental Household’. Picture by James Lisle/Searchlight Photos. © 2025 Searchlight Photos. All Rights Reserved.
Hikari co-wrote the script with collaborator Stephen Blahut, and collectively, they’ve crafted a delicate, well-sketched portrait of a person in search of his place in a altering world who finds it within the seemingly faux world of faux relations.
Whereas there are initially considerations that one of many subplots –– about Fraser’s character pretending to be a journalist interviewing a famed filmmaker whose schools are failing –– may appear much less efficient than the principle story of his bonding with a younger lady needing a father to assist her go a faculty admissions take a look at –– all of it will get tied collectively and works effectively.
Forged and Performances
(L to R) Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, and Bun Kimura in ‘Rental Household’. Picture by James Lisle/Searchlight Photos. © 2025 Searchlight Photos. All Rights Reserved.
Fraser, who received the Oscar for ‘The Whale’, is, if something, even higher right here, his large body juxtaposed together with his fellow Tokyo residents for each comedian and emotional impact. He’s excellent within the position of a struggling actor seeking to discover which means, and his scenes with Shannon Gorman as younger Mia are notably efficient.
But the film additionally boasts nice roles for the likes of Takehiro Hira and Mari Yamamoto, by no means neglecting to discover the interior worlds of the rental household firm’s staff.
Ultimate Ideas
Brendan Fraser in ‘Rental Household’. Picture by James Lisle/Searchlight Photos. © 2025 Searchlight Photos. All Rights Reserved.
A film akin to this might, within the fallacious arms, end up mawkish and saccharine, however Hikari walks the road with such magnificence and care that ‘Rental Household’ by no means has to lean on stereotype or crude laughs.
It’s a beautifully-crafted and efficient comedy drama.
‘Rental Household’ receives 85 out of 100.
(L to R) Akira Emoto and Brendan Fraser in ‘Rental Household’. Picture by James Lisle/Searchlight Photos. © 2025 Searchlight Photos. All Rights Reserved.
What’s the story of ‘Rental Household’?
Set in modern-day Tokyo, ‘Rental Household’ follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to search out function till he lands an uncommon gig: working for a Japanese “rental household” company, taking part in stand-in roles for strangers.
As he immerses himself in his purchasers’ worlds, he begins to kind real bonds that blur the traces between efficiency and actuality. Confronting the ethical complexities of his work, he rediscovers function, belonging, and the quiet fantastic thing about human connection.
Who’s within the solid of ‘Rental Household’?
- Brendan Fraser as Phillip Vandarpleog
- Takehiro Hira as Shinji Tada
- Mari Yamamoto as Aiko Nakajima
- Akira Emoto as Kikuo Hasegawa
- Shannon Mahina Gorman as Mia Kawasaki
Brendan Fraser in ‘Rental Household’. Picture: James Lisle/Searchlight Photos. © 2025 Searchlight Photos. All Rights Reserved.