Trivia

Pauly Shore once admitted that this film was the beginning of the end of his movie career. While he enjoyed making it, and doesn't regret doing it, he was offered the script when he was under a 3-film contract with Disney. He'd already made California Man (1992) and Son in Law (1993), which had been modest box office hits. Right after "Encino Man," executives at New Line Cinema offered him the script for a film called "Totally London," in which Shore would've continued a variation on his popular Weasel character. But, Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg refused to let Shore out of his contract, bought "Totally London" from New Line, and then put it on the shelf leaving Shore to do "Son in Law." After "Son in Law," "Totally London" was renamed "London Calling" and retooled to star Doug E. Doug. Doug signed a multi-picture deal with Disney when he was cast in Cool Runnings (1993) and his appearance in "London Calling" would've applied toward the contractual obligation, but the film ended up not coming to fruition. Katzenberg then gave Shore the option to do this movie. Shore's agents advised him against it because they thought the script was mediocre. They also felt audiences wouldn't accept Shore without his usual Weasel style, since he would have to cut off all his hair in the beginning for the basic training sequences. Shore said he made the film because it was his only available choice at the time, and he desperately wanted to be on a movie set. When this movie earned less at the box office than his previous films, Disney didn't offer him another contract. His next two films, Jury Duty (1995) and Bio-Dome (1996), were box-office failures, though the latter eventually gained a big cult following.

This is the third Pauly Shore movie to feature Brendan Fraser as Link in progressive life roles. The others are California Man (1992) (in high school) and Son in Law (1993) (in college).

According to an interview, the scar on the back of Pauly Shore's neck, visible when he first encounters the female drill sergeant, occurred during filming when a shell casing ejected and landed on his neck, burning him. This scar is first visible when the barber turns him around after his haircut.

Sandra Bullock was offered the role of Christine, but declined as she was busy with post-production on Speed (1994), the film that made her a star.

Bones enlists as a Water Purification Specialist in the Army Reserve thinking he'll be in safe position far from danger. In reality, a reserve water purification unit assigned to the 14th Quartermaster Detachment suffered the highest casualty rate of any American unit in the Gulf War. A Scud missile struck their barracks in Saudi Arabia, killing or wounding 81% of the soldiers present.

Brendan Fraser: Link, his character from California Man (1992), during the dinner scene in the tent with the Special forces guys.