Words Aaron Potter

East meets West in Hikari’s heartfelt comedy-drama about a struggling American actor living in Tokyo, who finds himself taking on the most unusual role of his career.

To the surprise of no one more than himself, his agent’s signed him up to work for a Japanese “rental family” service. Be it a father, uncle, brother, or son, Brendan Fraser’s Phillip Vandarploeug is the man for the job. That job being fulfilling the unique needs of people with missing relatives and want to fill the hole in their lives. One thing’s for certain: he’s in for some surprises along the way.

Despite a decades-long hiatus, he remains best known for The Mummy, but Rental Family still feels like a natural next step for Fraser, whose cinematic comeback has seen him specialise in more dramatic roles – most notably Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. Here, he’s joined by an all-star Japanese cast, including faces familiar to British audiences: Tokyo Vice’s Mari Yamamoto and BBC’s Giri/Haji and FX’s Shōgun star Takehiro Hira.

Having made the festival rounds last year, Rental Family has already charmed critics with its quiet power. Now, it’s audiences’ turn to feel the full force of Frasers more sensitive brand of Hollywood star power.

Fish Out Of Water

Back To The Future

Michael J. Fox stars as wise-cracking teenage skater Marty McFly, who’s hurled back in time via a DeLorean and tasked with keeping his high-school-age parents together. The result? A timeless, infinitely rewatchable family classic.

Kindergarten Cop

What do you get if you drop the ultimate eighties action star into a classroom of preschoolers? Kindergarten Cop, of course! Its premise may be gimmicky, sure, but Arnie’s deadpan delivery and nature to play it straight ensures it tugs on the heartstrings.

Elf

Will Ferrell’s wide-eyed North Pole elf is arguably the most innocent and genuinely pure character ever put onscreen. His quest to find his real dad – blissfully unaware of the real world’s stresses – is a Christmas mainstay year after year.