Clayton Rohner's character Rick Morehouse is obsessed with James Brown. Before the prom scene was shot, Brown spent three days on the set teaching Rohner his dance moves. During the 30 year cast reunion Clayton quipped, "I got to spend a week with James Brown!"
The generic blue-striped beer cans during the campfire scene were real products in the 1980s, popular for their low cost during the sluggish national economy and for young people looking for the cheapest possible buzz. These generic products were a subject of satire in the movie Repo Man (1984) which has lead many modern viewers to think they had no basis in reality.
In the boy's restroom at the high school, there is graffiti on a stall that reads: LISA + JOYCE ARE SLUTS, an in-joke referring to star Joyce Hyser and director Lisa Gottlieb.
This movie scored very well in test screenings, especially among the teenage group. However, 1985 in film saw a huge boost in the Young Adult genre, particularly the John Hughes films, which were getting a lot of publicity due to the Brat Pack. This movie ended up getting lost in the shuffle, and only made a little over 11 million dollars worldwide. It would later gain a larger following on the home video market.
Actress Joyce Hyser, who played the lead character Terry Griffith, wore a wig for her early scenes as a female, and then had her hair cut short for her later scenes as a male.