Based on actual events.
The answering machine message that is played at the end of the movie is an actual message that John Turturro's father left him before he died.
John Turturro and Brandon Cole originally wrote the script as a play while they were students at Yale. The play ran Off-Broadway in 1986 titled "The Worker's Life" and was directed by Aidan Quinn
Actor, Michael Imperlioli has a small un-credited role as one of the friends riding around in the car scene.