Brendan Fraser's latest cinematic venture, Rental Family, has landed with a thud. The Canadian-born actor brings his trademark everyman charm to the lead role of Phillip, an unemployed American actor who becomes embroiled in Japan's bizarre "rental family" industry.
For those unfamiliar, these firms offer bespoke therapeutic role-play services where clients can pay to interact with actors playing different roles, such as grieving spouses, deceased loved ones, or unsatisfactory colleagues. It's a concept that sounds more like a scene from a farcical episode of The Simpsons than a genuine attempt at therapy.
Fraser's Phillip becomes a makeshift father figure to a young girl whose single mother needs a respectable guardian for an elite private school interview, while also playing the part of a grieving son for an ageing actor. The roles are absurdly conflated, with no apparent attempt to reconcile their contradictions. This is not just a case of role-playing; it's a desperate attempt to fill emotional voids.
Rental Family has all the makings of a satire: it lampoons societal expectations and the performative nature of human relationships. However, instead of embracing its absurdity, the film settles for saccharine platitudes about the importance of embracing our roles in life. The result is a tone that veers wildly from farcical to maudlin.
A more thoughtful approach might have revealed the inherent contradictions and vulnerabilities at play. Instead, we're treated to a film that sidesteps these complexities, opting for an unearned feel-good ending. Werner Herzog's Family Romance, LLC (2019) and Yorgos Lanthimos's Alps (2012) both probed similar themes with more nuance, but even those films were uncertain in their conclusions.
Rental Family is a misfire, one that fails to grasp the subtleties of its own concept. The film's lack of self-awareness makes it feel like an opportunistic cash-grab rather than a genuine exploration of human connection. Fraser's performance, usually so dependable, is undermined by this tone-deaf script. With Rental Family, it's clear that sometimes less can be more – or, in this case, more can lead to less.
For those unfamiliar, these firms offer bespoke therapeutic role-play services where clients can pay to interact with actors playing different roles, such as grieving spouses, deceased loved ones, or unsatisfactory colleagues. It's a concept that sounds more like a scene from a farcical episode of The Simpsons than a genuine attempt at therapy.
Fraser's Phillip becomes a makeshift father figure to a young girl whose single mother needs a respectable guardian for an elite private school interview, while also playing the part of a grieving son for an ageing actor. The roles are absurdly conflated, with no apparent attempt to reconcile their contradictions. This is not just a case of role-playing; it's a desperate attempt to fill emotional voids.
Rental Family has all the makings of a satire: it lampoons societal expectations and the performative nature of human relationships. However, instead of embracing its absurdity, the film settles for saccharine platitudes about the importance of embracing our roles in life. The result is a tone that veers wildly from farcical to maudlin.
A more thoughtful approach might have revealed the inherent contradictions and vulnerabilities at play. Instead, we're treated to a film that sidesteps these complexities, opting for an unearned feel-good ending. Werner Herzog's Family Romance, LLC (2019) and Yorgos Lanthimos's Alps (2012) both probed similar themes with more nuance, but even those films were uncertain in their conclusions.
Rental Family is a misfire, one that fails to grasp the subtleties of its own concept. The film's lack of self-awareness makes it feel like an opportunistic cash-grab rather than a genuine exploration of human connection. Fraser's performance, usually so dependable, is undermined by this tone-deaf script. With Rental Family, it's clear that sometimes less can be more – or, in this case, more can lead to less.
Rental Family sounds like a cringeworthy concept on paper and it looks like they ran with it without any critical eye. I mean, come on, a film that tries to tackle human connection but ends up feeling like an unearned feel-good fest? It's like they took all the potential satire and nuance and replaced it with sappy platitudes about embracing our roles in life 
. Werner Herzog and Yorgos Lanthimos are like gods compared to this messy, tone-deaf script 
. Brendan Fraser is usually solid, but even he can't save this one from itself 
it was like a mini convenience store attached to the side of a building... and it had everything from hot ramen noodles to umbrellas 
I swear, it was like stepping into a sci-fi movie or something. anyway, back to brendan fraser's movie... I mean, i get what he's trying to do with rental family, but ugh, that ending gave me life 
rental family industry? come on, who pays to pretend to be a grieving spouse or an unsatisfactory colleague? it's just some rich people trying to avoid their problems 
, but Rental Family just didn't deliver for me. It's like they took a wild concept and tried to make it into a heartfelt drama, but ended up with something that feels super superficial 
. The whole "rental family" thing is already pretty absurd, but I thought it had the potential to be a commentary on how we present ourselves to others 
. Instead, it just felt like they were trying to milk it for some feel-good moments and forget about the complexities of human emotions 
. I mean, Werner Herzog and Yorgos Lanthimos are like the OGs when it comes to exploring these themes, so I was expecting something more thought-provoking 
. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but it feels like they're trying to cash in on a weird idea rather than actually exploring what makes us human 
.
! Brendan Fraser's everyman charm can only take the film so far, and sadly it feels like he's fighting a losing battle against a cringeworthy script 
. The "rental family" concept is already pretty wild, but this film just leans into its absurdity instead of cleverly subverting it 
. It's like they wanted to poke fun at societal expectations, but ended up delivering a saccharine message that feels forced and unearned 
. I've seen better satires from, like, 10th grade English class 
Brendan Fraser is such a talented actor, but this film just didn't do him justice. The whole "rental family" concept is so fascinating and ripe for satire, but the movie kinda phoned it in instead of going all out on its absurdity 
. I wish they would have dug deeper into the complexities of human relationships and emotional voids – that's what makes movies truly impactful 
. Instead, this one just felt like a shallow cash-grab 
. Can we get a real satire from Brendan Fraser next? 
. I mean, Brendan Fraser is a great actor and I love him, but this movie just feels like a shallow attempt at exploring some deep themes about human connection and relationships. The concept of the "rental family" industry is so interesting, but they completely missed the mark by making it all feel forced and saccharine 
. I wish they would have taken more risks and really delved into the complexities of human relationships instead of just trying to hit us over the head with some feel-good message 
. The ending is just so abrupt and unearned, it's like they didn't even want to grapple with the themes they were exploring in the first place 
. They tackle complex stuff in their films but still keep it ambiguous, you know? That's what makes it good drama, not this saccharine nonsense 
. Anyway, Rental Family's a miss for me 
.
. I'm not sure if Brendan Fraser's charm can save this film from itself