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Brendan Fraser’s new comedy debuts with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score — here’s how you can watch it

‘Rental Family’ is Fraser’s best performance since ‘The Whale’ — and yes, it’s that good

Since the time Brendan Fraser made a comeback, it has been grand. Moreover, the recent release he is a part of has been a standout on Rotten Tomatoes. The outing in question is Hikari’s ‘Rental Family,’ which was a part of the Toronto International Film Festival. ‘Rental Family’ has received a mindblowing 100% score on the review aggregator site. While this is a rare score, this could be another chance for Fraser to join the list of the ‘Best Lead Actor’ category at this year’s Academy Awards. The last time he was nominated, he nabbed the accolade with his one-of-a-kind performance in ‘The Whale.’ The same outing had also won him other awards, such as the Critics’ Choice Award in the Best Actor category, as well as Screen Actors Guild Awards in the Outstanding Cast in a Leading Role category. 

In his latest role, ‘The Mummy’ star plays a struggling actor in Tokyo. He is shown to start a job at a "rental family" agency, where he plays stand-in familial roles for his clients. "As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality," the official synopsis reads. "Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection."

In addition to Fraser, the comedy outing also stars Takehiro Hira, a theatre actor best known for his award-winning FX series ‘Shogun.’ Joining them is Mari Yamamoto from ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ and the Mary Elizabeth Winstead starrer ‘Kate.’ The movie has been co-written by director Hikari and Stephen Blahut. ‘Rental Family’ is a quirky comedy that not only makes the audience laugh but at the same time even makes them giggle over dramatic moments involving family and friends. 

Talking to People in a post-screening Q&A session, during TIFF, on September 6, the Academy Award winner shed light on his journey to learn Japanese. The actor from ‘George of the Jungle’ mentioned that although he would not call himself “a very good student," he happens to be “an excellent mimic." "So what you, of course, didn't see through the magic of editing, people were feeding me lines as I was making them sound as if they were my own," the Canadian actor mentioned. Dilvuging more, Fraser added, he got "really good at it really fast," as his Japanese cast mates were extremely supportive of him.

Recalling his lessons, the Canadian actor mentioned, “I think that if we all just try, we're gonna understand each other a little bit better.” "That's what I took away from it, and my gratitude and love to all my fellow cast members." In recent years, Fraser has also been a part of Martin Scorsese's global hit, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ The movie also starred Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Lily Gladstone. De Niro was nominated for ‘Actor in a Supporting Role’ during the 96th Academy Awards, along with Gladstone for ‘Actress in a Leading Role.’