After being given the news that he was going to be cast as the husband of Julia Roberts' character, Bryan Cranston went on an accelerated workout and diet regiment. He also bleached his teeth white. Cranston claimed it was an attempt to come as close as possible to convince people that his character would be married to someone like Roberts, by having a younger looking character.
The last name of the lady at the bank is Gammelgaard. This is a reference to That Thing You Do! (1996) (also with Tom Hanks). It is the same last name as the boy who last 'decently' kissed Faye (Liv Tyler). This is one of the last lines of the movie.
Chet Hanks, the son of Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, appears in a bit part as a pizza delivery boy. Rita also has a supporting role.
The fictional "U-Mart" where Larry ( Tom Hanks ) works is actually a K-Mart. Based on the color scheme and the outtakes on the DVD where Tom Hanks mentions about being able to "find everything they need at K-Mart". At the time this film was made, K-Mart was in serious decline and had been on a downward spiral for some eight years. While the excuse given to Crowne was about restrictions on who could move up into corporate management, the fact is that they were actually scaling back in those positions. Another issue was that they had been gaining notoriety for firing long-term employees so that they would not qualify for any retirement benefits. While Crowne might have found the departure difficult, it was inevitable.