Fantasy-vacation TV origin; plot borrowed from The Cowboys; Jake Gyllenhaal's debut; the true best-day story; 10 or 11 Normans; river-crossing trouble; Lindsay Crystal as Mitch's daughter
Crystal got the idea from a TV show about middle-aged men on life-changing fantasy vacations, borrowed the plot from John Wayne's The Cowboys, and hired Lowell and Babaloo.
Ten-year-old Jake made his film debut as Crystal's son, and a Crystal quote about him always performing and singing South Pacific is read and questioned.
Kirby's horse allergy is repeated, defended as half-assed internet research.
Crystal's best-day story really happened, 10 or 11 cows played Norman, and Norman's birth scene was shot in three states.
The river crossing was the toughest to shoot because the cows kept mounting each other, and Mitch's daughter was Crystal's real daughter Lindsay, called the best casting ever.
