The ten "Dirty Deeds" are as follows: 1. Drink a beer in front of a cop. 2. Punch the toughest kid in town. 3. Masturbate into a loaf of bread in the supermarket bathroom. 4. Move the inflatable leprechaun from the local car lot to the school football field in one piece. 5. Steal a dead body and put it in the middle of the school. 6. Get a signed homecoming queen's bra. 7. Steal the Blank Lodge's night watchman's artificial leg. 8. Steal a car worth over $100,000. 9. Find Duncan Rime. 10. Ruin the homecoming Carnival.
The film is loosely based on events at Barrington High School in Rhode Island. The screenplay was created as part of student Jonathan Thies's senior project. Jon Land a resident of the town of Barrington mentored Thies, and co-wrote the screenplay.
Was originally going to be titled "10 Things", but it was changed because it was too similar to 10 bonnes raisons de te larguer (1999) (another high school-based comedy). Screenwriter Jon Land came up the title Dirty Deeds after hearing the AC/DC song, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap".
Christopher Walken was considered for the role of Vincent Scarno.
Milo Vintimiglia (Zach) and Arielle Kebbel (Allison) both worked on the hit TV series 'Gilmore Girls' though never meeting on the show.