‘Heartwarming masterpiece’ boasts 96% Rotten Tomatoes score – ‘should be Oscar contender’ | Films | Entertainment
A soon-to-be-released “masterpiece” comedy/drama starring Brendan Fraser has been hailed by fans – and has a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. Rental Family tells the story of Phillip (Fraser), a struggling American actor living in Tokyo, Japan, who starts working for a rental family agency, posing as temporary friends and family members for clients in need.
But what starts out as just a gig to pay the bills becomes a moving story about loneliness and belonging. The film was directed by Japanese filmmaker Hikari, who co-wrote the script with Stephen Blahut. Large sections of the film are in Japanese, with Fraser, who won an Oscar for his performance in 2022’s The Whale, coached by a tutor to help him get to grips with the language.
The film also stars Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, and Akira Emoto.
Fans took to IMDb, where the movie has a 7.9/10 rating, to shower it with praise, with one calling it a “masterpiece of simple/complex: the writing, the design, cinematography and the acting. This one should be an Oscar contender”.
Another wrote: “This movie had everything. It moved me, it entertained me, and it stayed with me long after it ended. Truly a must-see.”
A third wrote that it was a “great movie” that shows “the best of both drama and comedy”.
“It showed the drama of both peace and confrontation between every character, shows the emotion of the characters,” the viewer added.
“The comedy was just right. Overall the movie was a 9/10 great!
It is also highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes, where it has an 87% score on the review aggregator’s Tomatometer, reflecting the percentage of approved critics who have given it a positive score.
Additionally, the film’s 96% Popcornmeter score reflects a positive response among general audiences.
One fan wrote on the site: “Very touching tale of a yearning for family and connection. Entertaining and humorous as well. Beautiful scenery!”
Another held it up as a “beautiful movie that shows how beautiful humans are and all that they do to get through life meaningfully”.
Rental Family is set to arrive in UK cinemas in January 2026.
