Candy Jar

I was actually enjoying this but had to switch off because of the relentless background which was really distracting and gave me an ear worm long after the film. Clearly it was aimed at making it quirkier but it was the same tune rehashed over and over and it drowned out the performances, which was a shame as the two young leads were very engaging. I wish they wouldn't add music to everything and just trust the performances to carry the film.

My initial draw to this film was that these two characters would be debating with all the intense energy high schoolers are known for. That's a real feat to pull off well, the split second timing and in and outs of the debate topic. Turns out that this kind of 'debate' is based on READING your research as fast as you can for 8 minutes, there was no real debate, very annoying to listen to, and there was no real demonstration of their brillian minds, we have to take that on faith. Huge disappointment, and gave very little for the film to run on.

Other than that, it's your typical story of boy and girl that don't like each other until they fall for each other, and over achievers that spend all their time studying, and realize what they've been missing out on their life. Wasn't worth the time to watch. I think these actors had it in them to pull of real debates, but the creator / scriptwriters took the easy way out.

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.

For the teen romance crowd, this movie has a good premise with two warring teens in the debate club who inevitably fall for each other. But it's actually so frenetic and fast-paced that half the dialogue you will miss as it whirls from one joke to the next. There's a rhythm to comedy and you have to let moments build and sit. This movie has its own unique rhythm to it, and it's fun in a lot of ways, but I just don't think it worked as well as it could have.

Lona and Bennett have been competing since kindergarten, maybe egged by their mothers who seem to have some issues that need to be resolved. And now college is beckoning them - Havard - or Yale - or not. Partly to look good on their CVs they are in the school debate club. But here everything gets very strange as competitive debating seems to have degenerated into a kind of bizarre speed talking contest in which points of evidence are made so fast that scarcely anyone understands.

Lona and Bennett are in some ways hugely similar and in others diametrically opposed so boy - girl, black - white, but both with single mothers, both geeks, bookworms, loners, and both very much attached to Kathy, a school counselor whose room is filled with the candy jars that give the film its title.

It's an unusual idea but it makes the film fresh and different. For me, the nonsensical debating process was a bit of a distraction, but maybe the very fact that we don't understand what they're struggling to achieve, let alone the actual arguments they make, maybe that helps us focus on them and how they matter more.