Rental Family trailer: Brendan Fraser is family-for-hire in Hikaris Tokyo-set drama

Searchlight Pictures has launched the primary trailer for Rental Family, a dramatic comedy starring Brendan Fraser as an American actor navigating life in Tokyo’s uncommon surrogate household trade. The movie is ready for theatrical launch on November 21 following its world premiere on the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

In Rental Family, Fraser portrays a struggling actor who begins working for a Japanese company that gives stand-in relations for shoppers looking for emotional help or companionship. Through his work, he turns into entangled within the lives of strangers. This marks Fraser’s first main function since his Oscar-winning efficiency in The Whale (2022).

The movie additionally stars Mari Yamamoto (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters), Takehiro Hira (Shōgun), and Akira Emoto (Dr. Akagi). Shot on location in Japan between March and May of final yr, the venture brings collectively Japanese and Western views on themes of loneliness, identification, and emotional connection.

Directed by Hikari, recognized for 37 Seconds and her work on the Netflix sequence Beef, Rental Family is her second function movie. She co-wrote the script with cinematographer Stephen Blahut. The manufacturing crew contains Hikari, Shin Yamaguchi, Julia Lebedev, and Eddie Vaisman.

Ahead of the trailer’s launch, the advertising marketing campaign featured mock commercials for the fictional Rental Family Agency, with Fraser showing in character in varied household situations. These posters, written in each Japanese and English, promoted providers like “24/7 session” and “Happiness Tailored To You,” blurring the traces between actuality and fiction.