The idea of a ¡°rental person¡± or ¡°rental family¡± ¡ª services that provide stand-in friends or relatives for hire ¡ª 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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