Synopsis

After escaping from a chain gang, Wayne and Harry steal an RV and are mistaken for the gay pageant organizers expected in the small town of Happy, Texas. They accept the job while hiding from the law and planning a bank robbery. Their impersonation becomes increasingly complicated as they form unexpected relationships with townspeople and struggle to keep their identities concealed.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it attracted competing bids from several distributors before Miramax acquired it.

• Although the story is set in the Texas Panhandle, most of the movie was filmed in Piru, California. Lancaster, California, was also used, and one sequence was filmed at Oil Can Harry's in Studio City.

• The filmmakers had scouted the real town of Happy, Texas, and used photographs of it while developing the script. Production ultimately stayed in California because doing so reduced costs.

• The production was made on a reported budget of approximately $1.75 million. The filmmakers spent years seeking financing and reportedly used family loans to get the movie made.

• Residents of the real Happy, Texas, objected to the film's depiction of their town around its 1999 release, even though the movie was filmed elsewhere.

• Miramax released the film in the United States on October 1, 1999, beginning with a limited theatrical run.