The scene where Stanley (Tom Arnold) and Petunia (Alex McKenna) walk into an empty auditorium and assume they have died is a reference to the book "The Stupids Die". In that book, the entire Stupid family experiences a blackout in their home, leading them all to believe that they have suddenly passed away.
Mark Metcalf's character, Colonel Neidermeyer, is a reprise of his role in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), despite the epilogue of that movie stating that Neidermeyer was killed by his own troops in Vietnam.
During filming, Tom Arnold became so exasperated with the script that he would frequently ask director John Landis, "Is this supposed to be funny?"
One of the movie's U.S. trailers is a spoof of the one for Rumble in the Bronx (1995), using the same music and inviting the audience to see the family "who do all their own stunts", which is a parody of Jackie Chan doing his own stunts. Both movies were released by New Line Cinema in the U.S.
John Landis: [filmmakers] Appearances by directors Gurinder Chadha, Costa-Gavras, David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Mick Garris, Norman Jewison, Gillo Pontecorvo, and Robert Wise.