Brendan Fraser’s New Film Soars as Critics Rave and Rotten Tomatoes Score Skyrockets

Brendan Fraser has a new one, and it is landing with a thud-free splat: strong festival buzz, great reviews, and a shiny Rotten Tomatoes score. The movie is called 'Rental Family,' and it takes a strange-but-true Japanese industry and turns it into a gently funny, quietly sad story about lonely people trying to connect.

• Who made it: Directed by Hikari, starring Brendan Fraser as Phillip
• Festival debut: Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival
• What it is: A poignant comedy-drama about an American actor in Tokyo who gets hired to play a stand-in relative
• Rotten Tomatoes: 91% on the Tomatometer as of now
• Release: In theaters November 21, 2025

So what is 'Rental Family' actually about?

Fraser plays Phillip, an American actor living in Tokyo whose career has lost its pulse. His agent throws him the oddest lifeline imaginable: show up to a funeral as a professional 'sad American.' That gig introduces him to a company that provides rented family members and friends for clients who need them. Yes, that is a real service in Japan. The movie uses that setup to poke at grief, isolation, and the weird ways people find each other when they have no one else.

Why critics are into it

The big throughline in the reviews: it is empathetic, it is human, and Fraser is perfectly cast as a guy whose charm is a little scuffed but still very much there. The movie treats the premise seriously without turning it into a gimmick.

'The success of the movie relies heavily on the inherent appeal of its lead. Likable and vulnerable, Fraser is the perfect choice for Phillip.'

- Charles Koplinski, Reel Talk with Chuck and Pam

'Hikari’s Rental Family is an ode to all the people out there who are lonely, grieving and in pain... It’s irresistibly human, and it’s the best film of the year.'

- Serena Seghedoni, Loud and Clear Reviews

'It might not sound like much of a compliment, but Brendan Fraser is extraordinarily convincing as a marginally talented actor a few years past his sell-by date.'

- Robbie Collin, The Daily Telegraph

The naysayers

Not everyone is swept away. A couple of critics feel the film over-explains and softens the edges.

'Hikari... belabours the various plot points. It’s as if she’s worried that if she doesn’t hold our hand at every turn, we’ll get lost.'

- Adam Nayman, Toronto Star

'Fraser walks through this aggressively sappy drama with the aura of simple goodness... But such concentrated radiance starts to feel like a denial of the painful reality Rental Family ignores.'

- Tim Grierson, AV Club

About that Rotten Tomatoes score

As of now, 'Rental Family' is sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. That number moves, obviously, but the early consensus is clearly in its favor.

Vibe check and comparisons

People are likening the film to 'Lost in Translation' in the sense that it is about dislocation and connection in Tokyo. The difference is the perspective: this one approaches the city and its culture from a more distinctly Japanese point of view. Hikari’s direction keeps the story grounded, and Fraser brings that mix he does well — a little playful, a little bruised, and very human.

When you can see it

'Rental Family' opens in theaters on November 21, 2025.