Candy Jar is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by Ben Shelton and starring Sami Gayle and Jacob Latimore.

[1] In the principal's office of Hemlock Prep Academy, Lona Skinner internally monologues about her hate towards Bennet Russell, her fellow and only other debate club member.

They compete to be president of their two-person debate club as it would look good on their college applications; Lona - Harvard and Bennet - Yale.

After the movie ends, Bennet offers Lona a ride home, but instead of taking her there, they get fast food and eat outside by the waterfront.

The following day at the state championship, they make it to the final, and compete against a team with an unconventional style of citing personal feelings over facts.

Speaking of her brother and the role, Gayle said: He saw the types of material that was coming in for me, the types of characters that I was being sought after to play, and he wanted me to be able to fulfill my dream of having a leading role in a film where it was about a driven, independent young woman who was looking for a kind of self-fulfillment that was independent of external things like a relationship.

Kenny wrote Candy Jar "honors young people of intellectual achievement while also making sharp points about class and educational standards.

Shelton has a clear understanding of the genre and liberally tosses in some fun split screens, close-ups and dynamic presentations of the debates to make them more exciting.

"[6] Joe Reid of Decider.com also gave a positive review, saying "between Hunt, Aduba, and Hendricks, the acting level for a movie of this caliber is uncommonly high.