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.

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.

Watched this the first time this morning on HBO and LOVED IT!!! Just ordered the DVD to watch it again when I want to!! Can't believe I never saw it before!! The friendship between the girls is right on, reminds me of being young! LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!! Will recommend it to family and friends, and even let them borrow the DVD I just ordered! I know there are family members who will enjoy it, especially since the whole family can watch it together. This is unusual to find one these days, even programs on regular TV surprise me with some of the language! My DVD will arrive on Wednesday, and I can't wait to watch it again. so many ups and downs in it, was so happy there was a very happy ending! I have four Grandchildren now, so nice to have a good, clean movie for them to watch.

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!!