Shot without permits. The crew wore UCLA T-shirts so they could pass themselves off as students learning how to film in the field.
Robert Townsend put $40,000 of the film's $100,000 budget on ten personal credit cards. He got free film stock by splicing together leftovers from the production of Odd Jobs (1986) and El niño rata (1986). The 17 days of shooting were spread over two years, between Townsend's tours as a stand-up comedian.
At the beginning of the film, just after Bobby Taylor walks into the TinselTown Pictures offices, there is a close-up of the interview sheet showing his appointment for 10:30. The other names on the sheet are the actual names of other actors appearing in the film.
Included among the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 500 movies nominated for the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.