Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Dueling high school debate champs who are at odds on just about everything forge ahead with ambitious plans to get into the colleges of their dreams.
Candy Jar is a formulaic teen romance-comedy that hits familiar beats: rival overachievers who clash and fall for each other. The plot is predictable and offers little surprise beyond genre conventions. The young leads deliver competent, occasionally charming performances that elevate the material slightly. Visually, it is a standard Netflix-produced production with no distinctive cinematographic ambition. The concept of debate-team rivals is not fresh, and the film does little to distinguish itself from similar high school fare. The ending resolves warmly if unsurprisingly, providing modest emotional payoff consistent with the genre.