The mall parking lot Gladys' pulls into to pick up the dresses is Eden Prairie Center in Eden Prairie (not the Mall of America), the same mall that was used in Mallrats (1995) The giant cow statue is located at a creamery in Bongards, Minnesota. Screenwriter Lona Williams was herself a contestant in local beauty pageants. She appears in the film as the pageant's third, non-speaking judge, Jean.