Brendan Fraser's latest misfire, 'Rental Family', is a cringeworthy attempt at Japanese role-play drama that fails on nearly every level. As Phillip, a hapless American actor stuck in Tokyo, Fraser plays it safe with a bland, ingratiating performance that lacks any real depth or emotion.
The film's plot revolves around Phillip's job as a "rental family" member, where he pretends to be various roles for wealthy clients who pay to work through their emotional issues. With his troubled past and penchant for playing the part of a dutiful son, Phillip is tasked with pretending to be a father figure to a young girl whose mother needs him for an elite private school interview.
But what makes this setup so fundamentally problematic is that it relies on a toxic dynamic where Phillip's clients are essentially paying him to pretend to be someone he's not. And yet, the film tries to pass off this as some kind of profound commentary on the nature of roles and identity. It's a reactionary, patriarchal society that's more concerned with presenting a veneer of respectability than actually confronting the issues at hand.
The result is a film that feels like a lazy, farcical take on the very real problems it tries to address. With a tone that veers wildly between quirkiness and saccharine sentimentality, 'Rental Family' ultimately fails to deliver any real emotional resonance or intellectual heft.
It's hard not to compare 'Rental Family' unfavorably to other films like Werner Herzog's 'Family Romance, LLC' (2019) or Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Alps', which both tackle similar themes of identity and role-playing. While those films were uncertain in their own ways, at least they had the courage to confront the complexity of these issues head-on.
In contrast, 'Rental Family' plays it safe with a vacuous narrative that relies on cheap twists and empty platitudes about the nature of roles. And even when Phillip finally has to explain himself to the young girl he's been pretending to be, there's no real apology or growth to speak of – just more of the same smug, saccharine sentimentality that pervades the entire film.
Ultimately, 'Rental Family' is a pointless exercise in Japanese role-play drama that fails on nearly every level. With its bland performances, tonal problems, and reactionary worldview, it's a film that feels like it was made by someone who's more interested in padding out the runtime than actually exploring any real themes or ideas.
The film's plot revolves around Phillip's job as a "rental family" member, where he pretends to be various roles for wealthy clients who pay to work through their emotional issues. With his troubled past and penchant for playing the part of a dutiful son, Phillip is tasked with pretending to be a father figure to a young girl whose mother needs him for an elite private school interview.
But what makes this setup so fundamentally problematic is that it relies on a toxic dynamic where Phillip's clients are essentially paying him to pretend to be someone he's not. And yet, the film tries to pass off this as some kind of profound commentary on the nature of roles and identity. It's a reactionary, patriarchal society that's more concerned with presenting a veneer of respectability than actually confronting the issues at hand.
The result is a film that feels like a lazy, farcical take on the very real problems it tries to address. With a tone that veers wildly between quirkiness and saccharine sentimentality, 'Rental Family' ultimately fails to deliver any real emotional resonance or intellectual heft.
It's hard not to compare 'Rental Family' unfavorably to other films like Werner Herzog's 'Family Romance, LLC' (2019) or Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Alps', which both tackle similar themes of identity and role-playing. While those films were uncertain in their own ways, at least they had the courage to confront the complexity of these issues head-on.
In contrast, 'Rental Family' plays it safe with a vacuous narrative that relies on cheap twists and empty platitudes about the nature of roles. And even when Phillip finally has to explain himself to the young girl he's been pretending to be, there's no real apology or growth to speak of – just more of the same smug, saccharine sentimentality that pervades the entire film.
Ultimately, 'Rental Family' is a pointless exercise in Japanese role-play drama that fails on nearly every level. With its bland performances, tonal problems, and reactionary worldview, it's a film that feels like it was made by someone who's more interested in padding out the runtime than actually exploring any real themes or ideas.
I mean what's up with the premise? Like paying to be somebodies fake family member and then trying to pass off that as deep commentary on identity and roles... no thanks! The fact that it relies on toxic dynamics and just glosses over actual problems is major red flag for me 
And don't even get me started on the tone - quirkiness and saccharine sentimentality? No thanks, give me something with some real substance any day 
. I need a movie that's gonna make me think, not just pat me on the head and say everything's gonna be okay 
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brendan fraser deserves so much better than this mess his performance is literally cringeworthy and the plot is super problematic idk what kind of commentary they were going for but it feels like a lazy try at tackling complex issues 
and those other films mentioned in the article are like the total opposite of rental family - werner herzog and yorgos lanthimos are geniuses compared to brendan's bland attempt 
i dont get why anyone would think its a good idea to pay someone to pretend to be a family member, that's just creepy as hell. and brendan fraser plays it so bland lol like he cant even bring any depth to the character. and what's with the tone of this movie? its supposed to be some kind of profound commentary on identity but really its just a bunch of empty platitudes 
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. And don't even get me started on the tone – it's like the filmmakers are trying to be ironic, but really they're just being insincere 
. At least their films were willing to get uncomfortable and messy, whereas 'Rental Family' is just a sanitized version of the same problems 
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. And don't even get me started on Fraser's bland performance as Phillip - it's like he's just phoning it in 
. Compare this to actual films that tackle similar themes head-on, like 'Family Romance, LLC' or 'Alps', and you'll see what a total misfire 'Rental Family' is 
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he tries to play this character philip but it comes off as super fake 
I mean, I get what they're saying about the plot being kinda problematic and all, but at the same time... Brendan Fraser is just so charming in this film 
and he brings a weird kind of vulnerability to the role that actually makes Phillip feel more relatable than cringeworthy. And can we talk about how refreshing it is to see an American actor playing a Japanese role without resorting to stereotypes or tokenism? It's like, finally! Some representation on screen!
And that young girl he's pretending to be is actually super talented and gives a standout performance 
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The idea of a "rental family" setup sounds intriguing, but it's executed so poorly that it feels like they're just phoning it in 
The film's tone veers wildly between quirky and saccharine, making it hard to take seriously. Comparing this to Werner Herzog's 'Family Romance, LLC' and Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Alps', it's clear that they're trying to tackle complex themes in a more thoughtful way 
'Rental Family' just doesn't deliver on that front. It feels like a lazy attempt at drama that relies on cheap twists and empty platitudes. Overall, I'd say it's a skippable watch 
. I've seen more depth in a high school film project 
. It's like they took some cool ideas and squished them into a bland, forgettable mess 
. Not exactly what I'd call a rental film that'll stay with you for a while... unfortunately it's more like a quick flick to fill the time 
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The 'rental family' concept is actually kinda interesting, but they completely mess it up by making the clients seem like toxic dudes and then expecting us to feel bad for them 
. The setup for 'Rental Family' seems so rich with potential, but it gets watered down by the film's heavy-handed tone and shallow character development. I mean, what really bothers me is that it tries to tackle these deep themes of identity and role-playing without actually putting in the work 
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. I get that they're trying to say something about the nature of roles, but it feels like a half-baked commentary 
, and Werner Herzog and Yorgos Lanthimos are definitely masters of that game 
. But 'Rental Family' feels like a cop-out 
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. And don't even get me started on the plot - it's like they took every cliche from rom-coms and Japanese dramas and mashed them all together into a big mess 
. It's like, come on guys, get real for once! Or better yet, just stick to a rom-com formula - at least those are predictable and we know what we're getting 
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. You're not sure if you want to hang out with her or hide under the couch, but either way it's gonna be awkward 
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. I get that the film is trying to say something about roles and identity, but it just didn't land well for me 
. Maybe I'm just too jaded, but it felt like they were going through the motions rather than actually exploring any real ideas or emotions 
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