The film's lead star and scriptwriter were married when this picture was made and released. Playwright David Rabe adapted Barbara Gordon's auto-biographical memoir especially for his actress wife Jill Clayburgh.
This film was made and released about three years after the source autobiography by Barbara Gordon was first published in 1979. The memoir was nominated for the 1980 American Book Award for Best Autobiography (hardcover). The book was translated into nine languages and was a best-seller.
The first movie where actors Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern would share screen-time together; the other two being Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).