Lauren Ambrose changed her mind about playing the role of the daughter whose obsession with dance and dieting almost kills her. Keri Russell soon took on the role. Russell had studied classical dance when she was younger. She said she just needed some catch-up classes.
Although Erika Christensen is six years younger than Keri Russell, she plays a sister older than Russell, and Alicia Witt, who is only one year older than Russell, plays the eldest.
The first song the band at the wedding sings is "Try a Little Tenderness," opening with the line "Oh, she may be weary Young girls they do get weary.." This is the same line the Costner's Crash Davis gets in a fight over in Bull Durham. Costner plays a minor league catcher in "Bull Durham" while playing a retired baseball player in this film, "Upside of Anger".