A postcard travelogue exploration of Japanese culture

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

Movie Review
Rental Family
Directed by Hikari
MTRCB Rating: PG
Now showing in Ayala Malls Cinemas

RENTAL FAMILY is a sweet attempt to portray the absurdity and magic behind a service in Japan that offers human stand-ins who can be rented for any occasion. Why do the Japanese feel the need to hire people to act as their loved ones? What is the cultural context?

This film tries to explain all of it — as well as be a heartwarming showcase of human connection in picturesque locations in Japan — and unfortunately taking on both tasks leads to its downfall.

We follow Phil Vanderploeg, an American actor in Tokyo who has lost all purpose in life after ending up in Japan playing token white guy roles in obscure TV projects. His life changes when he is hired for an unusual job with a “rental family” agency, where the employees play stand-in roles for strangers in events like funerals and weddings.

Played by Brendan Fraser, Phil is miserable but also likable, as he has a bighearted quality about him despite bumbling around in a country he barely understands even after seven years of residing there. Rental Family takes us on a journey alongside Phil as he attempts to make sense of it all.

The film unsteadily toes the line between over-the-top and subtle, between believable and farfetched. It should be one of those stories where Japan itself is a character of its own, but it feels like there’s a deeper world beneath the thriving, bustling land of emotionally repressed, quietly eccentric worker-bee types that director Hikari never quite dives into. This is presented by Searchlight Pictures and is technically a US production, so perhaps straightforward storytelling was all that was required for this to get made.

There’s a nice variety in setting, from the big city lights of Tokyo as salarymen go about their day to vibrant festivals where people unwind and display the most colorful aspects of their culture. There are tranquil temples, schoolyard cherry blossoms, and a subplot set entirely in the lush, forgotten countryside, but the variety does not equate to depth. Some parts of it feel like a postcard or a travelogue (or even a postcard travelogue?).

Perhaps for those who are immersed in Japanese cinema and culture, the mix of Hollywood and Japanese sensibilities comes off as typical. What’s great about Rental Family, though, is how Hikari’s polished direction and Fraser’s endearing acting allow the fluff to feel enriching while also remaining accessible to the general public.

Jonsi (yes, of Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós) and Alex Somers’ synth-infused score provides a distinct mood that carries us through the narrative. You can never go wrong with Fraser as a perpetually lost yet ultimately kindhearted man who seeks to come by real connections, so the film ultimately succeeds at gaining our sympathy.

One thing that irks me is how ludicrous the story gets at times. Most things that happen in Rental Family are fictionalized, even though the service itself is based in reality. And that inconsistency in authenticity shows — it would probably be fun to watch this movie with someone who studied law, because even to a layperson it’s clear that many of the jobs they take have endlessly glaring potential for lawsuits! There’s just too much deception at play, with glimpses of lines being blurred but never fully explored in an interesting manner with actual consequences, so you just have to suspend disbelief.

There’s a way to portray the magic of rental family services with both sympathy and dignity without resorting to too much whimsy, but this film isn’t able to do that. While there’s a pleasant calm in the way Hikari allows some scenes to unfold, it’s contradicted by a pressure to serve up basic platitudes and trite wisdoms for audiences to come away feeling like they “feel slightly more Japanese” — in short, an obvious attempt to cater to Western tastes.