During a 1987 interview, Adam Ant said that he got the part without knowing the other cast members. When he showed up for rehearsals, he was told that Tom Hulce would be the lead, and instantly thought it was good news. He was very surprised to find Harry Dean Stanton sitting beside Hulce, admitting he was also a bit concerned due to the respect he's always had for that actor.
After writing and directing Chan Is Missing (1982) and Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985), the latter receiving "mixed reviews [and] modest [ . . . ] box office earnings", Wayne Wang chose to direct this film to avoid being seen as a director primarily of stories about Chinese-Americans; as such, it was Wang's first film in which none of the main characters are Chinese.
Lisa Niemi's debut.
Features two Star Trek alumni with Robert Beltram (Chakotay from Star Trek: Voyager) and Rosalind Chao (Keiko Yoshikawa O'Brien from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).