Yearning for some familial connection? A stand-in rental service may be just what you need.
On Tuesday, Searchlight Pictures released the official trailer for the upcoming film Rental Family, which spotlights Japan’s rental family service industry.
In the comedy, Brendan Fraser shines as a struggling American actor living in Tokyo, who begins taking on roles for the Japanese Rental Family Agency. With the agency, Fraser’s character is paired with families looking for familial stand-ins in their lives, and he soon finds unexpected connections of his own. Rental Family, directed by filmmaker Hikari, also stars Monarch actress Mari Yamamoto, Shōgun actor Takehiro Hira and Dr. Akagi actress Akira Emoto.
Fraser shed some light on what drew him to the role while discussing his slated projects at the Red Sea Film Festival late last year. Rental Family was filmed on location in Tokyo from March to May 2024, Variety reports.
“I finished a film earlier this year in Japan called ‘Rental Family,’ the director, Hikari … is a Japanese American who has written a story about what it means to have a family as not being the one necessarily that we were born into, but whom we encounter and collect in our lives,” he said. “Rental Family is an absurd-sounding, funny title in itself, but you can rent just about anything in Tokyo: a hat, a go-kart and a family.”
While it may sound unusual, the rental family industry is booming in Japan. With an increased number of single-person households in the country, hiring a stand-in family member, whether that’s a parent, sibling or spouse, can temporarily alleviate feelings of loneliness. Renting a family member, however, could set you back a pretty penny: The average cost is reportedly between $150 and $300 USD for just a few hours. The trend of renting stand-in family members has been well documented on TikTok, where travelers try out the service and speak about their experience using it.
Thomas Manuel, an American TikToker who rented an entire family in Japan, said they were “the most kind, open-hearted, welcoming and respectful people that I’ve ever met.”
Tyen Rasif, a Singaporean social media influencer, flew to Tokyo and rented an elderly man for the day. Rasif’s own father left when she was a child.
“As a young girl seeing my friend’s dads watch their concerts, I can see how this is healing,” she said in a TikTok video. “Saying goodbye was really hard, but it was comforting knowing that I have a father in Japan, that I would hopefully meet again.”
As demonstrated by these firsthand accounts, it’s not hard to see how stand-ins could leave a lasting emotional impact on those they’re paid to spend time with, just as Fraser’s character appears to do in Rental Family.
Brendan Fraser at 2023 Academy Awards. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Rental Family will mark Fraser’s first role since his triumphant return to Hollywood with 2022’s The Whale, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor. Fraser famously stepped away from the spotlight two decades ago due to a combination of health complications and personal struggles. Fraser, in 2018, alleged to GQ that he had been sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, during a luncheon in 2003, and that his career “withered on a vine” following the incident.
Now that he’s back, fans are rooting for his continued success. Brendan Fraser’s renaissance, or “Brenaissance,” if you will, is moving full steam ahead. The Mummy star is happy to be back in action.
“I was never that far away,” Fraser told Variety in 2022. “I’m glad to be here. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I’m grateful to be doing the job that I love.”