Candy Jar (2018)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

"Candy Jar" tells the story of two highschool students, Bennett and Lona, who are on the debate team and have practically no social life. They are both very driven characters who believe in working hard to achieve their goals. They share a love of debate and of finding the facts, but yet relentlessly hate each other after years of knowing each other. At the beginning, it can become tedious since you don't quite understand why they dislike each other so much. However, the story develops in a mature and sensitive coming of age story that explores Bennett and Lona's finding their own personalities out of the pressure of debate and school as well as their mothers - and the romance is a sweet touch. I highly recommend it.

I enjoyed the flip on a high school students' story where they actually studied hard. It was interesting and quite charming. I genuinely laughed and cried. It felt a lot like an indie movie and I honestly couldn't guess what was happening next.

Candy Jar tells the story of Bennett (Jacob Latimore) and Lona (Sami Gayle). They're two compulsively competitive high school classmates, both debate team standouts, both with eyes set on Ivy League colleges. They share similar mindsets, personalities, drives, and aspirations. They seem to be two peas in a pod, compatible and meant to be great friends, or even a couple. Only one problem: they can't stand each other. Their similarities are obvious to any third-party observer, but they see each other as opposites. They can't agree on anything. She dreams of attending Harvard, while he has his heart set on Yale. See, total opposites. This whole notion that they can't agree on anything is largely silly and unbelievable. It only takes one chance encounter at a movie for the two to realize that they get along splendidly. No kidding, thinks anyone who knows them. How they took 18 years to figure this out, I have no idea. Struggling to ingratiate themselves with their classmates is something that makes sense. They're exhausting. They talk a mile a minute and dismiss anyone who isn't on their level of obsession with debate and academics. When debating, they talk 100 miles a minute, thanks to some strange rule change they mention that led to the competitors emailing all their arguments to the judges and opponents minutes before the debate begins. Now everyone speaks at an absurd rate that makes them impossible to understand and unbearable to listen to. This movie features a lot of debate scenes, so a lot of it is unbearable to listen to. The moments when Bennett and Lona behave like human beings are actually charming. They have real personalities when they aren't reading frantically from their scripted debate notes. In these moments, we see their contrasting home lives. Bennett's mom is a state senator, while Lona's mom works multiple jobs get by. We also see that the students share a bond with the school guidance counselor and her candy jar. Even though keenly aware and only moderately obnoxiously vocal about the downsides of sugary foods, they can't help but indulge in a sweet treat during each office visit.During the course of the debate season, we witness Bennett and Lona run over every one of their opponents, every one except a couple of girls who deploy anecdotal evidence and emotion-based argument tactics. Lona dismisses the girls and their strategy, convinced that the facts are all that matter. She doesn't see the value in the emotional angle that the girls present. The main characters never square off against these girls directly, but they scout them since they could be opponents later in the state finals. You can guess where this is going.There's a fair deal of learning involved in the story. Bennett and Lona learn from each other. They also learn from the emotional debaters, although the lesson is a bit unclear. Overall, the movie has some potential but doesn't quite fulfill it. These characters are interesting when given a chance, and they needed more of an opportunity to do so. Although Candy Jar isn't the worst Netflix movie you'll find, there are certainly better movies out there to see.

This movie although makes no sense at times but overall was a pleasurable experience.. you get to relive your teenage by the means of this movie.. these two teans have been debating everyday since their kindergarden,and the beautiful story goes on....