John Laroquette was John Candy's first choice for the role of Elliott Draisen, because the two had been friends since working together in Stripes (1981) eight years earlier. However Laroquette was busy with Night Court (1984) and couldn't accept the role. Candy's good friend and frequent collaborator John Hughes then suggested Jeffrey Jones for the role as Hughes directed Jones in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). Candy initially was hesitant because he felt the film would seem too much like a John Hughes film without the involvement of Hughes himself, but Hughes assured Candy Jones was right for the role and he was cast.
This is the third movie in the 80's which the song "Holding Out for a Hero (1984)," by Bonnie Tyler was playing in an action sequence. The first in the movie "Footloose (1984)," where Kevin Bacon is playing chicken with Jim Young's on a tractor's, the second movie is "Short Circuit 2 (1988)," where in the climactic scene Johnny 5 the robot is chasing, and fighting bank robbers before they escape, and the third movie "Who's Harry Crumb (1989)," John candy also chases after the kidnappers while this song is playing before they escape, similar to "Short Circuit 2 (1988)."
This was the first of four movies starring John Candy first released in 1989. The others were: Uncle Buck (1989), Speed Zone (1989), and The Rocket Boy (1989).
Director Paul Flaherty and actor John Candy were alumni of the Canadian sketch comedy improv troupe The Second City, whose work is anthologized in Second City Television, later SCTV Network 90.
Cans of Coca-Cola are seen been drunk as product placements in this movie on at least a couple of occasions, one of them being Diet Coke. The movie was made by Tri-Star Pictures which was a division of Columbia Pictures which was owned by the Coca-Cola company. Around 1985, home video cassettes of Ghostbusters (1984) had been released with an advertisement for Coke on the tapes.