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Parents' Guide to

Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Teen girls' adventure has mild peril, alcoholism, abuse.

Movie PG 1995 93 minutes
Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 6+

Based on 1 parent review

age 6+

Excellent Movie

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!!

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Good performances by Ricci as Beth and Chlumsky as Jody give this otherwise run-of-the-mill story some weight and interest. Even the title, Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain, seems off, misleading in its use of "gold diggers," words with connotations of underhanded schemers who befriend others for financial gain. This is at its best the story of teen friendship, of one girl recognizing the good in someone who has been ostracized for her bad luck and quirky behaviors. But too often the script veers into sloppy narrative techniques, and cliched, well-worn plot turns seen in dozens of other movies that came before.

Despite the overly simplistic storytelling, tweens and young teens will probably get something from the action and the likable two leads. Both girls may take a few more risks with their safety than most parents would prefer. But they do set examples for the way that girls with agency can sometimes correct grown-ups and save the day. This could be seen as a mild precursor to such scarier and more violent movies about resourceful girls such as The Hunger Games and Divergent.

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