Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

atlasmb 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.

drystyx 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.

gridoon2018 I wasn't aware of the Disney studios' involvement in the production of "Trenchcoat" until I read about it; the final result certainly has few Disney-ish touches. It's more of an 1980s update of classic "innocent caught in an exotic adventure" films like "Charade". Of course Robert Hays and Margot Kidder are not Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, but anyway - Kidder is charming and her body language shows that she has a knack for physical comedy, while Hays is a little bland yet adequate. And there is an extra bonus for fans of the long-running "Poirot" TV series: a young-looking David Suchet appears (only in the first half, though) as a Maltese police inspector, with voice mannerisms that will sound very familiar to anyone (like me) who has closely followed his "Poirot" interpretation through the years. This inspector, by the way, is pretty much the only important character who really is who he claims to be in this twisty tale. The Malta locations are not outstandingly captured, but they're pleasant enough. Forget any possible Disney prejudices and watch this one. **1/2 out of 4.

bentleyray 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!