Cinematic Point Of View

Well, here’s a movie I didn’t know I needed. Check out the trailer for Rental Family starring Brendan Fraser.

In the movie, Fraser’s character is a down-on-his-luck American who takes a job playing family roles for lonely clients in Japan and then finds himself emotionally entangled in the lives of the people he’s pretending to belong to.

You gotta fake it till you make it?

What a brilliant looking role for Fraser. He excels at playing the lovable unloved. The idea of a “rental family” is such a great playground for touching on the topics of belonging, identity, communication, love, and purpose.

Looking at how we communicate with our own family, and the families we form throughout life, is such an important conversation. As the world builds more walls and divisions arise at the most mico levels in every country, I’m hoping there are some glimmers of hope and thoughtful nuggets to chew on in this one. Probably a lot to ask, but can’t hurt to hope.

Rental Family hits theaters November 21, 2025.