NEW YORK (OSV News) – "Rental Family" (Searchlight), a gently sentimental blend of comedy and drama set in Japan, has the tone of a classic Frank Capra film with maybe a little of "Mrs. Doubtfire" tossed into the mix. Yet for all its ostensible pleasantry and charm, the movie's plot raises a fundamental philosophical question.

Can the use of immoral means ever lead to an ethically sound outcome? In this case, can a bald-faced deception undertaken for profit produce an improvement in people's emotional welfare? For director Hikari, who co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Blahut, the answer is a resounding yes.

To understand the picture's fact-based premise, some insight into contemporary Japanese society is required. Family structures in the Land of the Rising Sun have undergone the same kinds of fracturing that has beset those of other developed countries.

Yet in Japan, this trend clashes with ancient traditions forbidding the loss of face, the breaching of decorum or any deviation from accepted norms. The resulting conflict between messy reality and notions of respectability places people under a great deal of pressure.

One solution to this dilemma, developed a few years ago, might be called the relative for hire. Need someone to accompany you to a marriage or funeral, or stand in for a missing spouse? A meticulously trained impersonator is now available to do so -- for a hefty fee.

If all that comes as news to some viewers, it proves equally novel to Phillip Vandarpleog (Brendan Fraser), an agreeable but down-on-his luck American actor who has lived in Tokyo for seven years. Adept at both the local language and culture, Phillip has had sufficient personal success to acquire an on-again-off-again girlfriend. Yet he longs for something deeper.

As for his professional fortunes, after initial success, steady work has all but evaporated. So when Phillip's agent lands him a gig playing a "sad white guy" at a stranger's funeral, he agrees to the job. Only belatedly does he discover that the staged event is, in reality, an audition for the organization of the title, headed by Shinji (Takehiro Hira).

Once Phillip reluctantly agrees to engage in further charades, he finds himself portraying the fictional groom at the wedding of a Japanese bride. The faux nuptials placate her family, who wish her to be independent. What they've not been told is that she's in a romantic relationship with another woman.

Phillip next takes on two simultaneous scenarios. In one, he's asked to stand in for a long-missing father so single mom Hitomi (Shino Shinozaki) can eventually get her daughter Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman) into a prestigious private school that only caters to intact households.

The other setup has Phillip posing as an entertainment journalist under the pretense that he's interested in writing about legendary retired actor Kikuo (Akira Emoto). Skilled as Phillip is at make-believe, real emotions and relationships predictably ensue.

Amid the complications, the characters are shown going out of their way to avoid hurting anyone else's feelings. There's a refreshing lack of cynicism in this, despite the story's tangled ethical underbrush.

In fact, grown moviegoers can accept the fantasy, refrain from overthinking its real-world implications and simply enjoy the company of the sympathetic figures on screen, knowing that nothing really bad is going to befall them. Kids, on the other hand, would likely be confused by all the guile inextricably bound up with the good intentions.

The film contains scenes of sensuality, references to a lesbian relationship, at least one use of profanity and fleeting rough language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.- - -CAPSULE REVIEW"Rental Family" (Searchlight)This gently sentimental blend of comedy and drama set in Japan explores a contemporary cultural phenomenon in that country, the relative for hire. For a hefty fee, people caught between the messy reality of fractured families and prevailing notions of respectability can hire a meticulously trained impersonator to stand in for absent or nonexistent kin. Recruited by the organization of the title (headed by Takehiro Hira), an agreeable but down-on-his-luck American actor living in Tokyo (Brendan Fraser) takes on two simultaneous scenarios, one involving a mother (Shino Shinozaki) and daughter (Shannon Mahina Gorman), the other a legendary retired actor (Akira Emoto). Predictably, real emotions and relationships ensue. Amid the complications, the characters are shown going out of their way to avoid hurting anyone else's feelings. There's a refreshing lack of cynicism in this, despite the story's tangled ethical underbrush. Thus grown viewers can accept the fantasy, refrain from overthinking its real-world implications and simply enjoy the company of the sympathetic figures on screen. Kids, by contrast, would likely be confused by all the guile inextricably bound up with the good intentions. Scenes of sensuality, references to a lesbian relationship, at least one use of profanity, fleeting rough language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

- - -CLASSIFICATION"Rental Family" (Searchlight) -- OSV News classification, A-III – adults. Motion Picture Association rating, PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - Kurt Jensen is a guest reviewer for OSV News.