Hikari directs Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira and Mari Yamamoto in this comedy melodrama where an American actor in Tokyo lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing the fiancée; long lost father; white best friend as needed.

Sweet to the point where your teeth will rot. It is just way too formatted and structured. Brendan Fraser’s wardrobe has been given much more consideration than any emotional verisimilitude. Having said that… this is genuinely the best use of his utterly unique Hollywood cache in decades. He has alluring Jimmy Stewart vibes here. Not a terrible movie, just an overly calculated one. I prefer my manipulation to be under the bubbles.

6

Perfect Double Bill: With Honors (1994)