Parents get schooled A KID LIKE JAKE

Mom and Dad, meet Culture War.

In the smart new movie “A Kid Like Jake,” a couple of progressive Park Slope parents are going through the rigmarole of getting their son into a posh private kindergarten — filling out long applications, attending interviews and prepping for aptitude tests.

One day, Jake’s observant preschool counselor (Octavia Spencer) points out the 4-year-old’s affinity for wearing dresses and playing princess.

“Let’s be honest,” she says. “Jake is very special. This is a card we could play.”

Play it they do, believing a gay or transgender child might have a better shot at getting a coveted slot at the school. But their scheming takes an emotional toll when they realize their innocent sprout has been turned into an ideological pawn.

“A Kid Like Jake” is based on a fantastic play of the same name by Daniel Pearle that premiered offBroadway in 2013. Now, the story is even more prescient — and damning — because five years later, the PC police sirens are wailing louder than ever, thanks to social media.

This film is a cynical but spot-on take on the world we live in today, where even Lego-loving tykes become wrapped up in social-justice movements. And it’s a reminder that lefty ideas about social change are often easier to spout off than they are to actually live by.

Even as Jake’s affluent parents — lawyer mom (Claire Danes) and therapist dad (Jim Parsons) — struggle to accept their son as gay or trans, they insist that they have no problem whatsoever with those groups.

Shouldn’t kids, they ask, just be kids?

Danes and Parsons are a weird pairing, who carry their TV personas with them like tote bags. Their “Homeland” and “Big Bang Theory” shticks don’t quite click. Even so, when Danes’ character’s mother comes to realize that her sweet kid is more than just a talking point, she’ll have you wiping away tears. Running time: 92 minutes. Not rated. Now playing.