This movie is a true gem! Two fine actresses who make a fine team: Christina Ricci(The Addams Family movies, Casper, and Now and Then) and Anna Chlumsky(Vada on "My Girl 1&2"). The year go back, and adventure is what everyone seeks. Instead of boys doing the seeking, it's the girls. Beth(Ricci) is a city girl who meets Jody(Chlumsky) rough and tumble tomboy who seek "lost treasure". The other girls don't trust Jody, but Beth pays no mind to them. Good call. They ride on a rickety boat, which Beth is at the helm, while Jody gets down to The Bee Gees' "You Should Dancin'" which I think is the best scene I ever enjoyed. Jody's stepfather is a bigger gold digger than the daughter, and Beth doesn't trust him at all. The sheriff who's a friend learns the hard way, that he's not all worth trusting. Letting his greed tear up the family, and the trust of everyone around him. The real fortune to me was the bond, and the trust Jody and Beth has formed. It was worth more than any amount of gold anyone would find. This movie is a steal, but the rewards of watching it is worth a fortune! Rating 5 stars!
Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain
1995
Action / Adventure / Drama / Family / Mystery
Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain
1995
Action / Adventure / Drama / Family / Mystery
Plot summary
Moving from Los Angeles to a backwater town is always difficult, but especially for the one doing the moving. After her father's death, Beth Easton and her mother, Kate, move to the house left to the family by a deceased aunt. Kate meets up with several old friends, but Beth has none. Slowly, however, she makes some, despite the lack of a nearby mall or anything else to do. Soon she meets up with two boys fighting...except one isn't a boy. It's a girl. She, Jody, is shunned by her peers as a "bad kid". As the film progresses, we see her as the apparent victim of a bad relationship between her own widowed mother and Ray, a man who, like everybody else, grew up in the town. Somehow, Beth sees that Jody isn't all that bad; "she just needs a friend." Beth sticks by her, even when she is blamed for almost killing Beth. She has a dream about finding lost gold left in Bear Mountain by a legendary woman named Molly Morgan. Jody has a map, and a "condo" in the mountain near the entrance to a series of caves and tunnels leading to the supposed gold. On the first day of summer, she and Beth find the cave where the gold supposedly is hidden. The movie continues digging deeper into Jody's life through Beth's eyes. Although the legend of Bear Mountain is the prime motivator of several incidents, it's Jody's relationship to Ray, her mother, Beth, and the rest of the townspeople that provides the focus of the movie.
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This movie is rich in friendships!
teases great adventure
It's 1980. Recent widower Kate Easton (Polly Draper) moves her daughter Beth (Christina Ricci) from L.A. to Wheaton, Washington into the farm inherited from her aunt. Beth struggles with small town life and befriends tomboy black sheep Jody Salerno (Anna Chlumsky). They don't get along at first but they bond over Winnie the Pooh and their dead fathers. Jody has a troubled home life with mother Lynette (Diana Scarwid) and her boyfriend Ray Karnisak (David Keith). Jody tells Beth about Bear Mountain and the legend of gold miner Molly Morgan.
This starts great with two charismatic child actresses in an outdoors adventure that is often left for the boys. Their relationship is interesting. They even get on a boat like all great adventures. The caves are the first signs of trouble. They are grim, artificial, and not magical. What starts as a great adventure turns into a melodrama. The adults are all dumber than the kids. I want this to be Goonies or even Stand by Me. Instead, it teases that but gives something less. In the end, there is still the compelling friendship.
I ain't sayin' she's a gold digger
Before Christina Ricci was truly established as the screen's indie queen, it seems that she mostly starred in what were viewed as family movies. "Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain" is a prime example. It's one of those movies that seems really cool when you're young. My favorite part of the movie was the history of the woman associated with the cave. Otherwise, the movie isn't anything special (especially since 1995 also saw movies like "Smoke" and "Unstrung Heroes"). As for Anna Chlumsky, she also gravitated more towards serious roles as she aged. I'll give the movie that.
Also starring Polly Draper, Diana Scarwid (Christina in "Mommie Dearest") and David Keith (Drew Barrymore's father in "Firestarter").