This film was originally to be shown in the "Madstone" theater in Salt Lake City, Utah (which has a heavy LDS population) on the day of its national release, but the theater pulled it a few weeks before it was scheduled to open. The reason given was that the film "lacked artistic merit", but the film's promoters contend that the theater management gave in to local pressure not to show the film due to its unflattering portrayal of the LDS Church. The film was shown a few weeks later in a different Salt Lake theater and attracted a large audience.
Through researching his role as a man with AIDS, Erik Palladino discovered that some of the medications his character was taking would cause at least some hair loss. Therefore, he took a pair of clippers to his own hair to create bald spots, although he shot all of his scenes in one day.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt originally auditioned for the role of Elder Aaron Davis, but the producers gave him the role of Elder Ryder.
Writer/director C. Jay Cox's inspiration for the movie was his history as both a 19-year-old Mormon missionary (Aaron character) and who he became later after spending a number of years in LA (Christian character). He wondered what would happen if these two totally different people met.
Feature film debut for Steve Sandvoss, who portrays Elder Aaron Davis, and who had only one small television role before this film. In October 2013, Sandvoss retired from acting, changed his first name to Max and moved to East Bethany, New York to run a farm with his brother.