The idea of a “rental person” or “rental family” — services that provide stand-in friends or relatives for hire — has drawn fascination in and outside of Japan for years. Transactional on the surface, these arrangements often point to deeper needs: a desire for connection, a buffer during difficult moments or simply someone willing to show up when no one else can.
That tension between performance and genuine human longing has inspired a steady stream of articles, books and films. The latest entry is “Rental Family,” directed by the single-named Hikari and starring Oscar winner Brendan Fraser. The film, which screened at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival and comes out in the U.S. on Friday and Japan on Feb. 27, 2026, follows Phillip (Fraser), a struggling American actor in Tokyo who takes a job at an agency called Rental Family and finds his professional role blurring into something more personal as he steps into the lives of his clients.
Among his co-stars is Japanese actress and writer Mari Yamamoto, who plays Aiko, an employee at the agency.
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