So far I have not found a netflix movie that I have not liked. This one is very enjoyable and entertaining. It's not the greatest movie ever, but it definitely deserves a watch and has some serious merit.The chemistry between the two main characters is great. My all time favorite story line has always been two people who can't stand each other who ultimately fall for each other. The movie is very funny while at the same time being extremely heartfelt.My heart nearly broke when the main character, Lona told her mother that she was going to homecoming, got all dressed up, went to meet her "friends" and instead went to a double feature movie showing by herself because she has no friends! Bennett of course was in the same boat, lying to his mother and instead going to see a movie. This was a very nice way to make the characters bond. Very poetic in the end they do the same thing with prom but by choice this time. I have always felt sorry for people who are obsessed with schoolwork and this movie really shows the dark side of ambition. All the two main characters cared about was getting into IVY league schools, so much so that they became robots and never formed connections with anyone. The rivalry between the two moms was very enjoyable and although I did not see Kathy's death coming, I see why it needed to happen in this story. Her unexpected death was an eye opener for Lona and Bennett, it made them see what a real problem was as they were camping out outside her office to be petulant about not getting into their choice schools, only to find out she had been in a fatal accident.I am not certain why the movie is called candy jar other than the fact that Kathy had them all over her office. I believe they are supposed to represent what Bennett and Lona were missing out on all these years. I love the scene where Bennett tells his hypocritical mom off and I love his line at the final debate when he says "It's time for us to start talking to each other and not at each other." I am glad his mother grew and learned her lesson in the end though.This movie does not get a perfect score for me though because I was very confused in the end as to how Lona got into Yale and Bennett got into Harvard. How did Lona get into Yale when Bennett couldn't even get in with a recommendation from Obama?? That seemed very strange and needless to me that they both got into each other's coveted school. Unless they were just being funny in the end? It was unclear to me. I also did not like the ambiguous ending where you do not know if their relationship will last. I get that they were going for the whole "You never know what's gonna happen in life" vibe, but I like my movies to be conclusive, I loathe ambiguous endings.Definitely check this one out though! Teenagers will love it as well as anyone who was formerly a teenager. Makes teens think about their futures and makes adults see how far they have come from their past, even if their futures did not turn out the way they thought, they see that they can still find happiness and success.

Similar to many Netflix original films, the best value in this is laughing at it. The show is not funny when it try's to be. Most of the humor seems to be from in-jokes that debate students and over-achievers understand, and even from those standpoints it is not at all amusing. Also, anyone who understands college admissions at all will see the false reality of the way these kids decide to handle their college admissions and the result of their college admission plans. A little research on the writer of this show gives a lot of tells. It is a self-indulgent nightmare made by a debate-star who is not only totally detached from the general realities of college admissions, but as well as the realities of debaters and over-achieving students. Would not recommend as a drama, comedy, or coming of age film. Would recommend as a study in terrible film and for some unintended humor. Not to mention, the title is symbolically, metaphorically, and literally insignificant and non-impactful to the story.

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.

Candy Jar is like watching the pressure of a purpose driven life spill out of a young woman's diary onto the screen and then draw you into story to the point you feel and experience what she is going through.I started watching Candy Jar because Helen Hunt and Christina Hendricks were among the cast. That drew me in initially but the acting by Jacob Latimore and Sami Gayle kept me glued to the screen.It's a teen angst, high pressure to get into Ivy League school set up with a more subtle message in the overtones and in the finale. Light hearted, yet poignant as it seeps into your emotions and evokes feelings for and with Lona and Bennett.My favorite movie this year so far.