Brendan Fraser Says ‘Rental Family’ Speaks To “Loneliness” And “Our Need For Belonging”
While many have already written off the film as ‘just another wacky oddity’, Rental Family star Brendan Fraser says the Japanese dramedy’s uncommon premise actually belies an exploration into one of the world’s most pressing epidemics – “Loneliness”.
The second feature film from 37 Seconds director Hikari, Rental Family tells the story of Phillip Vandarploeug (Fraser), a middling American actor who, after feeling himself growing more and more isolated after moving to Japan to star as a toothpaste mascot, accepts a job working at a local rental family service.
Initially throwing himself into his new role in order to get out of the house, he soon finds himself forming a real attachment to two of his clients – an elderly actor who hires him as a journalist to give him one last interview (as played by Akira Emoto) and a single mother (Mari Yamomoto) who asks him to pose as her husband in order to help boost her daughter’s (Shannon Mahina Gorman) chances of getting into a prestigious private school – his relationships with each providing a glimpse into the different forms in which human loneliness can manifest.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Fraser explained that in regards to the film’s conception, “Hikari, she and her writing partner, were intrigued by a story that she had read about rental family agencies in Tokyo.”
“She looked closer and observed it through the prism of being non-judgmental and coming up with this story of discovering one’s family, no matter where you are, and doing it under the guise of it being a service until it becomes more human and real. She wanted to tell a story about what it really means to have a family. They aren’t necessarily who we’re born into.”
“The reality is that there’s an entire demographic of people who are shut away, who shut themselves away and live with their parents, for instance, well into their forties or fifties even. It trickles down through the society, the concerns about who’s raising who and that responsibility, and to whom does it fall upon.”
“Rental Family is a love letter to loneliness. It’s an elegy to loneliness. Because there’s really no bad guy in the movie. The bad guy is apathy.”
Turning to the subject of the rental family services themselves, Fraser detailed that they existed to help “People who lack the social skills, for whichever cultural reasons, have feelings too, but they don’t know how to address or fulfill them necessarily.”
“A service like this really does have a place in that society. It doesn’t sound so daft as it does when you first read the headline or logline of it.”
From there giving a brief summary of the film’s emotional core, Fraser asserted, “It’s awkward.”
“This film’s prickly in some ways too, as it is lovely, well-intentioned and careful. There are darker turns also. It speaks to gender politics, and ultimately, our need for belonging.”
Closing out his thoughts, the actor ultimately declared, “I hope this particular film does inspire people to find a way towards accepting one another with a little bit more authenticity.”
At present, Rental Family is set to report for work in theaters on November 21st.
