Feuding brothers is a conceit that dates back to antiquity with the likes of Jacob and Esau, Romulus and Remus, to even now with Princes Harry and William, allegedly.
And it’s this fraternal tension narrative that drives Dave Franco’s directorial debut, The Rental.
Do-right entrepreneur Charlie and do-wrong brother Josh, along with their significant others, Michelle and Mina, rent a sprawling seaside home in Oregon, off some kind of Air B’n’B analog.
Despite their ahem, reservation reservations, the foursome head north to take a break from whatever it is Silicon Valley types do in the Bay Area to make their millions.
And in The Rental, we get a wonderful red herring off the bat in the form of a surly, and possibly bigoted home owner, who gives the renters a lay of the land, and rubs Mina (who is of Middle Eastern extraction) the wrong way.
The trip is off to a rocky start when Mina suspects the home’s caretaker of being an Islamophobe and all-around a-hole. However, the foursome has invested time and money in this weekend getaway, and figure it’s best to let things lie.
Things go smoothly until bro Charlie cheats with Josh’s paramour in the back porch hot tub, sending things southward quick.
One of the better ensemble piece horrors of the last couple of years (along with the mercurial The Invitation), The Rental has enough twists and turns to keep viewers guessing.
**** (out of 5)
