Brooklyn parents Alex (Claire Danes) and Greg (Jim Parsons) are lucky to have a kid like Jake. Their four-year-old is bright, precocious, creative — and just happens to prefer Disney princesses to toy cars and skirts to jeans.
Jake's "gender expansive" behavior — as local preschool director Judy (Octavia Spencer) dubs it — is no big deal to Alex and Greg. Or so it seems, until the process of navigating New York City's hyper-competitive private school system opens up a parental quagmire: could Jake's gender nonconformity be just the thing that gives their child an edge in the admissions game? At what age is it appropriate to put a label on a child's identity? Is this just a phase and what are parents' roles in their child's process of self-discovery?
Split in their opinions on how to handle the situation, Alex and Greg find themselves navigating an emotional and ethical minefield with one patch of common ground between them: their fierce desire to do what's right for Jake.
“A Kid Like Jake” beautifully wades into the uncomfortable, messy territory of gender identity, where there often are no clear answers, especially for parents trying to navigate the challenges of raising a non-conforming child.
“Transparent” director Silas Howard helms this timely, honest, emotionally rich look at 21st-century parenting.
"Both Danes and Parsons excel in these well-written roles, with a compelling supporting cast around them. ‘A Kid Like Jake’ is profound in its simplicity and truthfulness about what real fights sound like and what real lives look like.” — Associated Press
“Expansively humane and funny … Claire Danes and Jim Parsons are stunningly good!” — Emily Yoshida, Vulture