Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain
Two teen girls, one from the city, one from the country, try to find the hidden gold of Bear Mountain learning about friendship, loyalty and courage on the way.
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- Cast:
- Christina Ricci , Anna Chlumsky , Polly Draper , Brian Kerwin , Diana Scarwid , David Keith , Gillian Barber
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Reviews
The greatest movie ever made..!
Overrated and overhyped
Blistering performances.
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Okay I decided to sit down and watch this because I have seen both leading actresses in movies that have shown me they are pretty versatile actresses. So even without giving a damn about the plot I decided to sit down and watch it because I was convinced the actresses would carry it.The plot is that a city girl named Beth (Christina Ricci) moves to a country town and her father is dead (If you've seen Casper, you'll find that a little surreal). She eventually meets a tomboy named Jody (Anna Chlumsky) who I think is meant to be a kleptomaniac. Over time they seem to develop a bond as friends and Jody tells Beth that she knows of a mountain that used to be mined that may still have gold in it and it all ties into a girl the same age as them living around that time called Molly Morgan.Okay so this is pretty much the same family/adventure movie that you may have seen at least once before. What really ties this movie together though is the 2 leads. They do have believable chemistry as friends and that really is the focus of the film - it's the friendship.With that said I just feel that this movie tries to fall into the climax that again, you would have bound to see in any movie at least once. I mean did this movie really need a climax? I don't even think it needed the whole "Gold at Bear Mountain" thing. Without it the movie could have been just as good as it was, if not even better.So at it's root the real reason why anyone would want to see this movie is the 2 leads who do just as good of a job here as I've seen them do on other movies I've seen them in. If you haven't seen these 2 in other movies nor care for them as actors then this could carry a risk of you not liking this movie. So this movie is worth it, just for fans of Christina Ricci and Anna Chlumsky.
The story started out okay: A teenager from the big city moves to a small town and begins a friendship with the girl no one likes, who is physically abused by her stepfather. Then both of them decide to set out to find gold on Bear Mountain.However, early in the movie, it takes a turn for the worse: it starts looping in an endless chain of clichés, which I'd like to point out.(WARNING: the following might be a spoiler for whoever hasn't seen the movie.)When Beth can't use the breaks on her bicycle, she screams for Jody to get out of the way - however, she refuses to take this advice, and runs forward - and faster than the bike - and falls in the river.Later, Jody tells Beth that she found an old book with the story of Molly Morgan. The book is later revealed to contain everything on how to get to the gold, and even a map! Yet, no one ever went searching before.Jody and Beth wait on the boat for the exact time when the sunlight will bounce off the gold and reveal the mine (for only ten minutes). Coincidently, the beam lands EXACTLY where the girls have their boat - and the it looks amazingly like a spotlight.Jody moves in to the cave - which has naturally formed stone furniture - and reveals to Beth that she killed her stepfather the previous night - with a fishing pole - and says that she was sure he wasn't breathing. Yet, in the latter scenes, he reappears, perfectly okay and unbruised.Beth nearly drowns when she gets her leg stuck under a big rock and the water level rises - did it ever occur to her that she could sit up? It was her LEG that was stuck.Jody never tells the police that her stepfather abuses her - even though she has the bruises to prove it.In the scene where Beth tries to find Jody in the mountain, she finds a particular cave with awesome lights moving on the walls. These lights are revealed to be reflected by the natural - and lapidated - crystals in that cave.Jody and Beth find the gold! But when they reach out to grab it, they discover they're larvae. Golden, glowing larvae.And finally, Molly Morgan appears and saves them both from Jody's stepfather. Then, later, Jody and Beth receive a pack of gold from a lawyer "whose client wishes to remain anonymous". But it's never explained how Molly Morgan has a lawyer - and just why she gave that gold to the girls.
If I could just say a few words about this movie they would be, "A Must Buy!". In fact, I don't know why I let this movie go for so long before getting it myself and watching it because it is very good -- a fantastic adventure and enough suspense to keep you watching it all the way through (at least the 1st time).When this movie aired on the Wonderful World of Disney this past Sunday night (June 11, 2000) I watched it for the first time to preview it. I was also trying to do something else at the time, but it was so good that I could only continue what I was doing during commercial breaks.The next day, I just had to go out and find it on video to add it to my own video library and then I watched it again later that night and one more time the next night. This is real good movie to watch over and over again, though, seeing it the 1st time is the best.To sum all this up in a few words, this movie has surely become one of my favorites and will most probably be a heavily played video, too! An excellent movie! 10 Stars!!
I loved this movie but then I guess I love anything Christina Ricci is in. But this is great for family time it is the mini- Indiana Jones and it was set in the pacific norhtwest that in itself gives it high marks.