Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 3 months ago
Discover the joy of unexpected connections. Join star Brendan Fraser and director Hikari for a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming film, Rental Family. Rental Family also stars Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman, and Akira Emoto. Rental Family opens in theaters on November 21, 2025.

Set against modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese "rental family" agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.
Transcript
00:00In Tokyo, you can rent just about anything,
00:05and the family is really no exception.
00:10Tokyo, in a big city like that, you feel so isolated.
00:13And you can hire people hourly to be your mom, your dad,
00:17brother, sister, cousin, boyfriend, anything you want.
00:20Welcome to our army.
00:23That sounds out of the ordinary to most of us,
00:26but when you look a little bit closer,
00:28you see that it actually serves a purpose
00:30that's beyond what you might think.
00:33If you're not married,
00:34if you don't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend,
00:36family close,
00:37then you just want to be friends with somebody,
00:39and you can just have a guy come to you.
00:41They're looking for connection,
00:42even though they're paying for the connection.
00:44There's a lot of interesting chemistry happens
00:47between people who rent
00:48and people who work at a rental company.
00:51Hello, Mia. I'm your father.
00:53I'm pet you.
00:55The movie center is around Philip, the American.
00:59Philip has been living in Japan for many years,
01:02and he's basically an out-of-work actor.
01:04The owner of a rental family agency
01:07gives him his card and says,
01:08maybe I could use you.
01:10What do you need me for?
01:11We need a talking white guy.
01:13It's a niche monk,
01:14and I need someone to fill the role.
01:16Looking at happiness,
01:18keeping my flavor fresh.
01:20Nobody knows, I guess.
01:21That's good.
01:22Okay, let's do that.
01:23This character is a fish out of water,
01:25and he had to redefine himself,
01:26and then found a new home.
01:28I think, deep down,
01:29Philip has also been looking for connection
01:31with other people.
01:34These people look at you
01:35like they've been waiting for you
01:37their whole lives.
01:39Through playing roles in the client's lives,
01:46he discovers what's been missing in his life,
01:49and every character he meets
01:51will start adding a little bit more color into his life.
01:54The journey that he goes on
01:56takes him to all the different places,
01:58and his character goes through transformations.
02:00This story is really about letting family be the people
02:09who we treasure,
02:10and the rental family agency gives everyone that chance.
Comments

Recommended