Synopsis

On Christmas Eve, a cash-strapped supermarket clerk tries to turn a small ecstasy deal into enough money to save her apartment. Her impulsive scheme collides with a chaotic trip to Las Vegas and the increasingly complicated lives of two soap-opera actors. Told through three intersecting viewpoints, the night spirals through deception, police trouble, car chases, rave culture and unexpected danger.

Factoids & Trivia

• Screenwriter John August originally wrote the Ronna section as a short film for a friend to direct. The other two sections were added after readers wanted to know what Simon was doing in Las Vegas and how Adam and Zack fit into the story.

• The supermarket setting was inspired by the Rock and Roll Ralphs grocery store on Sunset Boulevard, where August lived nearby. The production selected a run-down store for its authentic look, but had to restore parts of it after the owner repainted and repaired the location.

• The film's three-part structure developed partly out of necessity. August felt that simply expanding the original short from within would weaken its tension, so he restarted the story twice and followed the same night from different perspectives.

• Much of the production took place at night. August recalled working from approximately 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. for more than three weeks, with the schedule turning the cast and crew's lives upside down.

• The Las Vegas car chase was considered too expensive and was nearly removed. The filmmakers ultimately devoted a substantial portion of the budget to preserving the sequence and economized elsewhere.

• The neck tattoo seen on Todd was not originally planned. Timothy Olyphant arrived with a temporary flaming-dice tattoo, and it was kept after the filmmakers decided it suited the character.

• Melissa McCarthy made her film debut in Go. Jennifer Coolidge, who knew McCarthy through the Groundlings, encouraged the casting department to meet her.

• Although the movie was not a major theatrical hit, it developed a strong following over time and is now commonly regarded as a late-1990s cult favorite. The structure was also referenced by The Simpsons episode "Trilogy of Error."