A Kid Like Jake

Danes, Parsons, and Spencer are all critically acclaimed actors, but their performances don't save this film from being overly talky and at times inauthentic-feeling. Considering the title, it's hard to reconcile the fact that A Kid Like Jake focuses so little on Jake and how he interacts with friends, other than to show him wearing princess costumes and briefly playing imaginatively with other kids. Jake is spoken about but never really to. And given that the story is set in New York City, it's also somewhat difficult to believe that a progressive mom like Alex would react so vehemently to questions about Jake's identity and behavior. While there's merit in proposing that, even in New York City, parents struggle to believe or acknowledge that their kids are gender-nonconforming, that aspect of the story might have felt more believable if the movie took place somewhere where there's typically more controversy around LGBTQ tolerance.

Parsons and Danes are both excellent actors, but many of their exchanges feel stilted and unnatural -- in particular, a poignant but horrible conversation between them after a traumatic medical event. More believable is Alex's complicated relationship with her mother, Catherine (Ann Dowd), who gives Alex backhanded compliments and second-guesses her parenting decisions, as well as her choice to give up her career to stay home and raise Jake. The screenplay definitely brings up important issues, but it's a shame that the emphasis seems to be on Jake's acceptance into an elite New York City school, rather than acceptance of Jake, period.