When Will Smith asked his mother what she thought of the movie, she replied "You've done better, baby".
Will Smith turned down the lead role in Matrix (1999) to star in this movie, being a fan of the television series. He later said this was the worst decision he made in his career.
Sir Kenneth Branagh self-deprecatingly joked that his accent in this movie might be the worst American accent performed by a British actor.
Though a box-office failure in the U.S. (it managed to turn a profit overseas), it's commonly joked that the only reason this movie earned any money at all is because unaccompanied minors would buy tickets to this movie, then use them to sneak into screenings of South Park, le film : Plus long, plus grand et pas coupé (1999) and American Pie (1999).
This movie underwent costly re-shoots in an attempt to inject some humor, after it was found that test audiences weren't sure if it was supposed to be a comedy.