A Kid Like Jake, adapted by Daniel Pearle - 8 out of 10

A Kid Like Jake, adapted by Daniel Pearle
8 out of 10


A Kid Like Jake is thought provoking, interesting if not shattering and unique.

There is in fact a remarkable, much better, exquisite, delicate and still so intense, dramatic, yet amusing, sad and mirthful masterpiece made in Belgium in 1997 with a similar subject:

Ma Vie En Rose

The description you may find of A Kid Like Jake is:

"The story of parents who try to face the fact that their four years old son is transgender"

I disagree, or anyway, this is not how I saw this.
First of all, he may turn out to be transgender and live a happy life, even if some of the advanced countries in the world have not yet come to terms with fully respecting transgender people.

Indeed, some steps have been taken in America, but under Trump, they seem to be getting back to your sex is determined by whatever genitals you have had at, or just before birth.
Then there are push backs on other fronts to , against previous, Obama era liberalization of policies in the domain of these people's rights.

On the other hand, the other objection we could raise to the description of this motion picture is that it is surely to early to tell if Jake is transgender, homosexual or heterosexual...actually, there are now many more "labels"  under which one could list oneself.
Claire Danes plays Alex Wheeler, the mother of the child with issues, although she seems for some time to be in denial.

The parent is Greg Wheeler aka Jim Parsons - recently the highest paid actor, although it is somewhat hard to see in this film why.
A very good performance comes from Octavia Spencer in the role of Judy, the educator that attracts the attention to the outre, sometimes aggressive, peculiar behavior of the boy.

He likes to wear dresses and we can agree with the mother that this is not unusual, but the father is intrigued and worried by the fact that he hides his penis between his legs when he takes a bath.
There is tension at kindergarten and mother and father worry that although bright, Jake would not be accepted in the top schools they have in mind for his further education.

Alex is mean to Judy by stating that she has her own agenda, referring to the fact that the latter is a lesbian living with another woman and therefore interested in promoting that lifestyle.
Which is not just wrong, but insulting and the opposite of the truth for the educator has nothing but respect for the child and she does a perfect job, meaning she tells them the Truth and they can act in accordance.

When the solution of having the boy see a specialist, an analyst is brought forward by the father, himself an analyst, but for adults, Alex is at first terrified and vehemently against the project.

- he would think there is something wrong with him...
Why would we do that?

A dinner out with friends becomes an embarrassment, for Jake attacks his grandmother who is baby sitting him and then the discussion with the friends reveals some delicate, awkward and opposing views on their respective children and their having or not issues...

Psychological issues.

Again, the film is decent, but not otherworldly, with all the contribution of one of the highest paid actors in the world, who might be better at comedy...I don't know...