The film stars Brendan Fraser as a hard-on-his-luck actor based in Japan who signs on with a "rental family" agency where he takes jobs as a surrogate for families in whatever capacity they need: friend, groom, journalist, father and more.
On The Red Carpet caught up with Fraser and the cast of "Rental Family" in Tokyo, Japan where the film was having its theatrical premiere (it arrives in Japanese theaters February 27). He told us working on a film in a country he's always loved was a dream come true.
"People have always been welcoming...always have been enthusiastic about filmmaking in a way that's unique to Japan," Fraser said. "And this was unique to me because, you know, hey, I'm the Western guy in a Japanese movie. So that ticked all the boxes of what I hoped to be able to achieve in a film career. And beyond that, working with just incredible people and getting to see the nascent performance of a young actor who came out of the woodwork to rescue us with her incredible little self is Shannon Gorman."
Nascent, which means "coming into existence" and "beginning to develop" seems like a good way to describe Gorman. "Rental Family" is her very first acting job. And she had great teachers in Fraser and director Hikari, who showed her the ropes of being on a film set. And she taught them as well!
"She was listening and you guys just had incredible chemistry," said Hikari as she looked at Gorman and Fraser.
"I learned from her, I was reminded about things that I should know anyway, which are just listen, don't act, just listen to one another," added Fraser.
"It was just so fun. It didn't feel like work. Well, I didn't know what work felt like," Gorman said with a laugh."But it was really fun. We had snacks, drinks, we had breaks in between, and Hikari, you're really funny and Brendan is kind and just everyone's like we're all like a big family."
"Rental Family" addresses feelings of isolation and loneliness and the need for human connection. Hikari said she hopes audiences take away one thing in particular from watching.
"I hope people know that they're never alone, you know. We'll all be here for each other and this story is really about that," she said.
Grab your own family and watch "Rental Family" when it streams on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ February 18.
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