Made just before the Disney company started its own adult movie division (Touchstone Films), "Trenchcoat was one of several movies the company made in a desperate attempt to change the image of its product while trying to appeal to both adults and kids. Despite the great effort, the end result is a complete misfire. The script is the greatest offender - it is a deadly mix of tired clichés (like when the heroine kills a bad guy but the body disappears when she goes for the police), stupid characters, and a really slow moving (and predictable) plot. The insulting script might explain why the cast doesn't really give any effort to try and liven things up - Margot Kidder is abrasive and annoying, and Robert Hays is vanilla bland. And under the direction of Michael Tuchner, the entire enterprise feels not only very subdued, but cheap and tacky despite the studio filming on location in Malta. The acting careers of the two leads never recovered from this embarrassment, and it's easy to see why.

The descriptors "simple" and "uninspired" apply to both this film and its title. It's the story of a stenographer who flies to Malta to write a mystery noir novel during her two week vacation. While there, she inadvertently comes into contact with nefarious elements.Unfortunately, "Trenchcoat" has no charm, no intrigue, no artistic value. Margot Kidder--playing the wannabe writer--looks like she is doing a walk-through. Reportedly she did not get along with the director.The direction and everything else about the film feels amateurish. The only thing that could make it worse would be a laugh track. The main problem is the script, which offers very little that is original. Its main approach seems to be putting the "heroine" in dangerous circumstances and having her lament that no one believes her. Not funny, unless maybe the actress is someone who is intrinsically funny.Avoid this stinker.

Once upon a time, people knew who they were. Some were mechanics, some were politicians, some were writers.Since about 1980, the real writers have been removed so that the rich tea party families could "write on the side".That's why we had so many "situational tea party type Miss Marple comic murder mysteries", comic fantasies purely going with formula.There is no "writing" here. It is formula stage play. It is a mixture of "Romancing the Stone", "Miss Marple", and virtually every stage comedy one has ever seen.Then again, all good cinema begins as good stage plays, so you have at least a mediocre movie here.What helps here is great casting. Margot Kidder is a bit like Lois Lane here, only more likable. She shows that comedy is her forte, and the role seems to have been written specifically for her.This is probably what Kidder should always have done. The rest of the cast is also splendid.In a formula film like this, casting makes a big difference. It's lightly likable, with the cast pulling it up over the 5/10 mark.

I saw this film many years ago and loved it immensely...much better than the current "Stranger than Fiction" which follows a similar theme. My question now is, "When is it coming out on DVD???" This is one film I would purchase in a flash and I'm a bit disappointed that it has not yet been released on DVD and even the VHS release has been out of print, so to speak, for many years. Time to write Disney again! The coupling of Margot Kidder and Robert Hays is brilliant and the intrigue is captivating. The tension builds when Kidder's "novel" ends up in police evidence files and is taken literally but all along the banter between hers and Hays' roles is delightful. A definite keeper!