The art of making an enjoyable family film is one that seems particularly hard to nail down. Year after year parents have been dragged by their children to a never ending supply of mind-numbing narrative experiences intended to talk down to young audiences rather than strive to be something the entire family can enjoy. While not a great cinematic achievement, the 1995 family adventure film Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain from director Kevin James Dobson at least achieves points for trying to be a good representation of young women that we rarely got at this time. This coupled with the presence of two of our favorite young 90s stars, Christina Ricci (The Addams Family) and Anna Chlumsky (My Girl), made this a viewing experience that amounted to a pleasant use of our time while admittedly suffering from some inconsistent narrative issues.
Christina Ricci stars as Beth Easton, a teenager who has just moved from Los Angeles to the sleepy town of Wheaton, Washington with her recently widowed mother, Kate (Polly Draper). It is the summer of 1980 and the pair are moving into an old farmhouse owned by Kate’s aunt. As is often the case when city folk move to a slower paced environment, Beth finds Wheaton to be a bit of a drag. The one bright spot in town comes in the form of Jody Salerno (Anna Chlumsky), a free-spirited teenager who has a reputation in town for getting into trouble and just generally being considered a bad influence. Through an airy voice over from Beth we learn that Jody is considered to be one of the best people she has ever met. The friendship may start off with a few bumps along the way, but we know that there is an epic friendship in store. One of the most refreshing aspects of this film is the fact that these two are allowed to exist and become friends without boys coming into the equation at any point. These two get into crazy situations and prove their strength on more than one occasion.
The performances from our two young stars are quite strong and do a lot to carry this story to the finish line in an enjoyable manner. Without them, the film mostly becomes a second-class Goonies with less whimsy and more plot inconsistencies. Jody tells Beth about a local legend in which a female miner named Molly Morgan left behind a treasure trove of gold whose location within Bear Mountain can only be revealed on the summer solstice. The promise of a treasure hunt is always fun, but the plan is given even more weight when Jody reveals she only wants the money so she and her mom can get away from her mom’s abusive boyfriend, Ray (David Keith), who everyone around town considers to be a stand up individual. You have to admire when a family film dares to get a bit uncomfortable and tackle real-life issues that affect so many. This is the type of narrative plotting that separates the “kids films” from the “family films” at the end of the day.
As fine as the performances are and as well-intentioned as the story may be, the film does suffer from a mixture of issues that keep it from being a beloved classic. Outside of the two young leads, the performances from the adults are middling to weak in the end. Although, sometimes it is difficult to tell whether or not this can be attributed to the specific performer or the material they are trying to deliver with a straight face. A particularly egregious example of this is the local cop, Matt (Brian Kerwin), who just so happens to be an old acquaintance of Kate, and his continuous trait of being the most worthless officer committed to screen in some time. The film also forces you to accept some leaps in logic that it does not go out of its way to earn. What starts out as a family film starts to slip more into “kids film” territory the closer it approaches the end. At the end of the day, numerous technical elements may hinder your enjoyment of the feature, but fans of Ricci and Chlumsky will enjoy seeing these two light up the screen.
Video Quality
Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain gets somewhat of an upgrade to Blu-Ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment, but with it comes many issues that could have been avoided in parts. The transfer is sourced from a flawed older master provided by Universal Pictures for its Blu-Ray debut. The biggest issue with this disc is not the occasional speck of damage to the print, but rather the ugly compression artifacts and occasional macroblocking that plague most of the film. The presentation struggles when it comes to textural detail, as the underlying transfer has been greatly smoothed over with digital tools. The resulting image loses much of the precise detail found in the beautiful photography. The colors are one of the standout aspects of the disc, as the green of the lush woods wows pretty splendidly. Skin tones fall a bit more on the side of pasty and unnatural, and the presentation offers up some fairly weak black levels. The disc experiences a fair amount of black crush that can be unsightly. Mill Creek Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray disc that is a step up from DVD, but not the massive improvement you might expect thanks to digital tinkering with the master and compression issues.
Audio Quality
The film comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is capable and well balanced. Environmental effects play a substantial role in the film, and this track brings these elements to life quite splendidly. The use of the rear channels to create a fully enveloping world works quite well. The directionality is quite precise so sounds always present as natural when coming from their respective points. Dialogue mostly comes through crisp and clear with only a few moments when it gets overwhelmed by competing sounds. The movie can get quite lively and bombastic, but it does not always hold together with perfect fidelity. This movie is not an action powerhouse, but activity in the low end is engaged in many points. Mill Creek Entertainment has delivered a decent track for a film that capably brings this adventure to life.
Special Features
There are no special features included on this disc. The only notable aspect of this release is the “VHS-Style” slipcover that ships with the packaging sporting alternate cover art.
Final Thoughts
Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain is a pretty decent family film that could have been exceptionally beloved with a more keen eye behind the camera and a more polished script. Christina Ricci and Anna Chlumsky are without a doubt the main reason to devote time to this one particular story. Mill Creek Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a middling A/V presentation and no supplemental features. If you are a fan of the talent involved, there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.
Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Mill Creek Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
