A Kid Like Jake

Danes gives it her very considerable best, but there is something weirdly inhibited about this movie.

It's a demonstration of a parent's most innate instinct: to protect their child, while also intimating that love and understanding is the ultimate protection.

It's a daring premise, which makes Howard's fluffy approach to the material all the more frustrating.

But the filmmakers seem to hold back from other confrontations, and their subplots involving the boy's pushy grandmother (the great Ann Dowd) and a brittle client (Amy Landecker) of the therapist father ultimately fizzle.

The movie's premise sounds like it should be the basis for a barbed satire of the finest proportions. Instead, it opts for a tone that is decidedly sober and lacking any kind of sharp edge.

Some of this material is too sensitive, granted, to have a very young actor play it. But "Jake" goes too far the other way, giving us only glimpses of the boy, who emerges as more of a symbol than a real child.

Despite some weaknesses in the script, Howard and his cast create a moving family drama that is a must-see, especially for LGBT audiences.

Claire Danes is a revelation, playing a character that flips the script on gender-based parenting norms. Her character is abrasive, annoying, even abusive, as she deals with the anxiety of not knowing how to raise her child.

A Kid Like Jake is a necessary movie in theory, but that doesn't mean it works or feels entirely authentic.

A contemporary premise with serious dramatic potential is all but squandered by dull direction and emotionally clinical acting.