Candy Jar

Candy Jar is a high school comedy about Lona Skinner and Bennett Russell, two star debaters who disagree on nearly everything. Lona comes from a working-class family and keeps to herself; Bennett has money behind him. Both are determined to get into their dream colleges, and their rivalry on the debate team is intense. When they have to work together for a state championship, their constant arguing slowly gives way to something else, even as the pressure of competition and college plans keeps testing them.

The film was directed by Ben Shelton from a screenplay by Chad Klitzman, with Michael A. Simpson and Judy Cairo producing. Sami Gayle and Jacob Latimore lead the cast as Lona and Bennett, supported by Christina Hendricks, Uzo Aduba, Helen Hunt and Tom Bergeron among 47 credited cast members. It runs 92 minutes and blends comedy, drama and romance inside the world of competitive high school debate.

Released in April 2018, Candy Jar received a critics' rating of 6.3/10 from six reviews, slightly above its audience scores: 5.8/10 on IMDb from around 5,800 votes and 6.1/10 on TMDB from roughly 490 votes. The film plays on the familiar friction between two opposites who are forced into partnership, setting that tension against the ambitions and pressures of the college admissions race.