Rental Family
Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: November 21, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
10
Negative:
4

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJan 16, 2026
With Fraser as her figurehead, it’s certainly a work of broad and deep compassion. But there are self-imposed limitations that you’d wish Hikari and her co-writer Stephen Blahut would cross, if not purely out of curiosity. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJan 15, 2026
It could be enormously clunky, but the quiet warmth of Fraser’s performance, the delicacy of Hikari’s direction and the ravishing location work just about distract from the teeth-smarting sentimentality. Soothing balm to kick off the cinematic year. Read full review
60
EmpireBeth WebbJan 15, 2026
The execution doesn’t always keep up with the premise, but Fraser is an affable guiding light in this crowdpleaser about the complexities of connection. Read full review
60
Time OutHanna FlintJan 13, 2026
Everything is wrapped up a little too neatly by the final act. But with the epidemic of loneliness only growing larger, maybe, every once in a while, a sweet, hopeful ending is exactly what audiences need from cinema. To feel seen. To be reminded that it's going to be okay. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriDec 18, 2025
Rental Family might be a modestly likable, often uneven movie about a fictional American actor in Japan, but it’s also a thoroughly fascinating movie about a very real actor in the midst of one of the strangest careers I’ve witnessed. Read full review
60
The Travers TakePeter TraversNov 21, 2025
Brendan Fraser excels as a failed American actor adrift in Japan. Is his film a shameless soap opera or a far flintier look at human frailty? It’s more like both. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 6, 2025
A movie like Rental Family lives or dies by its tone, and the one Hikari strikes is reflected in the concerned creases of Fraser’s forehead: It’s maudlin and unconvincing, means well but isn’t above manipulating us for the desired emotional outcome. Read full review
58
The Daily BeastEsther ZuckermanSep 9, 2025
Rental Family, directed by Hikari, displays an almost admirable amount of restraint in its tear jerking, opting for quieter moments of grace rather than overdone emotion. In fact, it’s so restrained that Fraser’s Phillip Vandarpleog is not much of a character at all, and you leave itching for more of his inner life. Read full review
54
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzNov 18, 2025
The star’s eager-to-please persona and overgrown puppy-dog physicality keeps the film from falling into complete shtick. It is all the more remarkable a feat given that Phillip is a complete cipher of a character. Read full review
40
The GuardianRadheyan SimonpillaiSep 8, 2025
Hikari and company mostly skim over the tension in a movie seemingly built out of highlight reels and lacking connective tissue. Read full review
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